Just another Saturday night
Well here we go again. It’s a Saturday night and I’m watching the race. This week they’re in Darlington, the ‘Lady in Black’. They are not racing tomorrow because it’s Mothers Day. NASCAR has never run a race on Mothers Day.
So would someone please explain to me why I bust my butt working the yard and it continues looking like poop? Technogirly said that her place is so big that by the time you get done working on the land it’s time to go back to the other end and start again. My place is not that big and sometimes it feels that no matter how much I do it continues to look like shite!
Ok, so last Thursday I raked the shite out of my front yard so as to re-seed all the bare spots. Maybe some background is needed here.
When the original owner was moved out of here they backed a big-ass truck through the front yard and loaded out and then when I moved in I backed a big-ass truck through the front yard and loaded in. This caused there to be two very deep ruts in the front yard. I posted a picture of my neighbor standing in one of the ruts awhile ago. I’m too damn lazy to look up when it was but it was probably about a year ago. Anyways, the ruts were about 2 feet deep. Last summer a local guy who does landscaping came by one evening and dumped a mess of (not so) clean fill on my front yard. That was nice of him and he pointed out to me that it saved him from having to pay to dump it. My neighbor Jody and I picked most all the rocks out and spread it one morning then I spread grass seed and straw. The problem was it was already late June and way too late to plant grass. Needless to say it didn’t germinate and weeds, thistle, violets and little baby oak trees took over my front lawn. Because of all that I didn’t bother with my lawn this past autumn, for a reason. Stay with me here. This spring, the first time I cut my grass I didn’t rake it first so I mulched all that crap that had accumulated.
Now we’re back to last Thursday. I raked all the mulchy stuff off the lawn and spread a mess of grass seed down. Then I covered most of it with some dirt and walked all over what I had just done so as to help with the soil to seed contact. It has been raining since Thursday afternoon. That helps. Today, Saturday, I raked all the leaves and shite from around the foundation. I then took notice of where the ivy was growing back and sprayed it down with Roundup.
Tomorrow I’m going to rake out and weed the bushes out front then go dump the leaves and stuff from today(boy, it’s nice having a pickup) and then finish spraying Roundup on the area where the pines trees use to be.
If I EVER finish just cleaning up the yard then I’m gonna’ bring the grilling table and grill out and put them on the porch.
If any of yous’ guys’ wish to come help you’re more than welcome.
I’ll make lunch and dinner!!
Oh, and I’ll buy the beer too!
Let’s go racin’ boys!
Heh. yardwork.
When I moved in here, there was much I didn’t like about the “landscaping” – it all looked liked someones failed attempts at landscaping that they didn’t want to try and fix, as if they were still clinging to hope that it would work out.
I spent a fair amoutn of money ripping out said “landscaping”. I finally gave up on trying to do the grass part on my own, and hired Trugreen to come out and weed/fertilize/etc I think they come like 6 times a year (?) In January, I wondered why I was paying them the back yard looke like CARP. But now, in early May, I have this thick green carpet of grass in my front yard, and the back is coming right along., bare spots are filling in (even the dug up areas for the deck project) and remember, I have two big dogs. I am impressed! I do nothing but cut and ‘weed whack’., in fact I dont’ even own a sprinkler.
I have no idea why I just spent 5 minutes talking about my lawn, but there you have it.
good luck with all that.
JC
Well, when you’ve done yours can you come and do mine? I know this feeling all too well. My property has shitty soil – poor, horrible stuff that rejects water. Nothing but indigenous vegetation grows and I don’t like indigenous vegetation. I’ve dug in over two tons of compost – to little avail. I’ve created beds, though I don’t know why. On top of that if I plant seedlings the squirrels dig them out and the guinea fowl scratch up the lawn. Sigh… And now the winter storms are blowing up a treat and there are leaves and branches and twigs all over the place. Sigh, again. I think I’m just going to call the garden service and let them deal with it!
Good luck with your yard and I hope, come summer, you can post a pic to show us how all your hard work has paid off!
Adam and I spent two whole days in the garden and all we managed to do was trim two hedges (admittedly they’re bout 20 metres long), whipper snip around the borders and driveway and repot 15 hanging baskets! Next week it’s break out the mulcher and get rid of all the bark that constantly falls off gum trees. Oh,then there’s the pool which has turned into a winter resting place for 20 wood ducks. I need a full time gardener! Hot tip for a healthy lawn . . use really good quality topsoil, the smellier, the better and keep the water up to it.
Jen, You spent five minutes going on about your lawn and I spent a half hour writing a post about my lawn.
You are also now the third person who told me they use TruGreen. I may go that way if this round of grass seeding doesn’t work.
AbVan, I took down 5 very large pine trees only to find out that ivy, thistle and weeds are the only thing that’ll grow there. That and my small vegetable garden of last year fed all the local squirrels and deer. This year I’m going to try flowers.
Technogirly, I wouldn’t mind the yard work so much if I would see some improvement. The bushes and landscaping are looking Ok for now and I know they’ll get better each year but my grass situation may need some serious professional help.