Gratuitous Domestic Posting (TM) - Outdoor Division

Where's Robbo? Well, out having a good morning in the yard. While I suppose that doing yardwork isn't really part of the Good Friday litany, I will say that I did meditate on the Seven Last Words as I made my rounds.

Also in the spirit of the day, I tell you truly that my main achievement was to whack the holy jebus out of the forsythia hedge on the west side of the garden. I was deeply disappointed with its flowering this year and after a bit of research, convinced myself that I simply hadn't been pruning it heavily enough for the past couple years (forsythia blooms on new growth from the previous year). Also, I noticed a lot of dead and scraggly stuff in the middle of the bushes indicating not enough light was getting in.

At it's peak, the hedge stands about fourteen or fifteen feet tall. This year, instead of knocking it back to eight or nine, I razed it down to a mere three feet and chopped back all the little niggly twigs and whatnot. It looks awfully stark now, but I think this is just what it needed.

All this may be going to my head, as I was eyeing the azaleas with a mind to give them the same treatment. They, too, have become scraggly and unkempt, with lots of internal branches dying off. Howsomever, it's my understanding that it is best to hog azaleas back before they start their spring growth, so it's too late this year. The good news is that they all seem to have many more buds than I was expecting just a week or two ago and should open out pretty soon.

After I was done chopping, I hauled out the ol' lawn mower for the first time this season. Happily, it started right up without complaint. This is probably because it knows that the instant it starts giving me trouble I will simply toss it and buy a new one. I know this is horribly consumerist behavior, but really, messing about with repairs and whatnot on something so inexpensive really isn't worth the time and effort. (If you disagree, you can come over and fix it when it finally breaks down.) Not a bad day for mowing, but I swallowed a surprising quantity of insect life.

As I sit here with my tall iced coffee (the nectar of the Gods), I notice that the clouds are getting darker. There's nothing so nice as finishing up the job just before the weather sets in. I also notice that yet another yearly ritual has begun again. My next door neighbor is one of those ultra-competitive lawn guys. I cannot remember a single time in the last five years when, if he hasn't actually beaten me to the punch, he isn't hard at it within half an hour of my getting done mowing. I can hear him out there right now. (This is the same neighbor who raids our raspberry and blueberry bushes when he thinks we're away and who once, when the 'rents were babysitting the Llama-ettes, famously filched an entire dinner's worth of asparagus just before Dad went out to cut it for his own.)

Well, it's off to the showers. Tomorrow I plan to start rearranging the garden, basically flipping the north and east sides. It's far too complicated to explain all the steps, so I'll just wait until I'm done and describe everything in its new setting.