Memorial Day Weekend Roundup

I know that it really is not quite proper to view Memorial Day as just another holiday, a chance to go to parties and catch up on the yardwork. Nonetheless, that's pretty much what I found myself doing this weekend:

- Three cookouts on three successive evenings, well beyond Robbo's usual level of social activity. Fortunately, two of them were just with other families and only one was a large party, a form of entertainment which I find increasingly loathesome as I get older.

- Lots of time in the yard - we had some new grass laid in last week which has transformed the side yard beyond all description and I spent much of the weekend fiddling with the sprinkler (chuckling to myself all the while that "watering in the sod" is one of those expressions that sounds dirty but really isn't), plus putting the finishing touches on the new landscaping with brick pavers round the edges. Inspired by the new cleanliness of the area, I also cleared out a lot of overgrown brush nearby, actually getting the Llama-ettes to help me drag branches back to the woods without a squawk. Indeed, I got so far down my to-do list that yesterday morning I found myself tackling the poison ivy that's trying to establish itself in the beds round the east side of Orgle Manor. Feel the burn, baybee!

- Lots of time in the garden, too: I haven't written much about it this year, but the garden is coming along just fine. How nice (and unusual!) it is to feel that as of Memorial Day, I'm still ahead of the game. The columbine is in full bloom, as are many of last year's foxglove. The peonies and roses, too. (I was very bad about not cutting back the roses this year, but at least I got out and fed them this weekend.) The iris didn't do so well, as we had a lot of rain just when they were opening up. Plus, it's about time that I dug them up and divided them. (Anybody want some?) On the other hand, I put in some phlox this spring which is coming up fast, as is the butterfly weed (it goes without saying that the butterfly bush known as "Kong" is going great guns, as are the Konglings that I put into whiskey barrels). And wonder of wonders, the hollyhock, almost wiped out by a groundhog last year, somehow survived and is well on its way to blooming this year. Perhaps I'll take some pics.

For some reason, I'm rayther tired this morning!