We went over to visit some friends the other night.
Sat outside and had a few cocktails Covid style.
And then out of the corner of his eye…. the husband spied something.
It was this mini chain saw his friend’s wife had bought to clear some small brush in their backyard.
And, because you know it had to happen….
He really can’t help himself.
Strange things are happening at Casa River this year.
First, the husband wanted to clean out the big barn ( Okay, he didn’t really. It was just a bit of organizing… but I’m counting it.)
Second, the husband helped me make a garden bed. ( I would have laid money on that never happening. )
And a week ago…
I looked out back….
And saw the husband planting a tree.
Planting! Not chopping down.
Somewhere in America, pigs are flying.
Okay, he didn’t buy them.
And only one of the three stands taller than my knee, but hey.
It’s still a miracle.
He dug them up from the wood line and I seriously doubt he got enough roots to make them viable…. which is why I told him they were going to need lots of water for the first few weeks.
Shall I give you one guess who has to drag that water to the far reaches of our property line because we only have 200 feet of hose and it won’t reach?
Yeah.
I didn’t think so.
Apparently even miracles have limits.
So, can you see it?
Look closely now.
Not until you get near enough to look up.
There.
The neighbor’s tree adjacant tree house, hidden from sight by trees.
I love trees.
Here’s the husband for size reference, holding the enemy of trees. The chain saw birthday gift I’ve lived to regret.
I neither know, nor want to find out what he was cutting down there.
I shall just enjoy the leaf cover those glorious trees provide.
And maybe do this –
Our last day of the long Memorial Day weekend meant a morning of yard work.
Tag team mowing with the husband on his new toy and me slogging along with the old push mower.
It was a gorgeous day.
The pear tree was blooming.
The mallows I’d planted were thriving.
And everything had finally turned green.
Except the baby barn which I decided to start painting that afternoon.
Let me preface this by saying I used to love to paint.
I used to.
Until I had to use an artist’s tiny brush around all the nooks, corners, flashing and crooked angles on that beast.
Did I wear some paint, get covered in dirt, rip my pants, tumble off a ladder and work until almost 8:00 at night?
Yes I did.
But paint was applied.
And covered a multitude of sins.
Three sides done, one to go!
Have you ever given someone a gift and had cause to regret it?
I’ve lived with regret for the past few years and felt the old twinge again yesterday.
At first I looked outside and thought how nice…
The husband is trimming a tree.
And then I saw the gift I’ve lived to regret.
He wasn’t trimming branches off the tree, he was cutting it down.
Why?
I don’t know.
Because it was there… and he could, because I’d given him a chain saw as a birthday gift.
Whatever the reason, it’s gone.
Or at least part of it.
And if he thinks he’s leaving this abomination on our lawn he’s sorely mistaken.
Chain saws.
Worst. Gifts. Ever!!
Thankfully the eau de la cow pie fragrance is dissipating and something more wonderful is taking it’s place.
It started like this…
And then…
Boom!
Apple blossoms.
And if you’ve never stuck your head right up inside a tree and sniffed?
What are you waiting for!
We have 4 such trees.
And they’re glorious.
Remember I blogged about our neighbor giving us 3 free trees….
And the fact that he planted a row of 54 on his property across the street?
Well, yesterday…
He added a little something to those trees.
Okay a lot of something.
And it was quite…. how shall I say?
Pungent.
Maybe I should rethink that title…. don’t need the porn spammers dropping by again.
Anyway, after we planted our free trees the other day we had to do something with this under performing flowering plum that was now ruining the alignment.
We planted 2 of these before the big barn construction began, but one died and the survivor gets eaten alive by Japanese beetles every year. I was all for heaving it, but the husband had other ideas.
When my mother died in 2014, she was cremated and I planted some of her ashes with a lovely tulip tree in our backyard.
It did well for 4-5 years until we had crazy late spring freezes and frosts that it couldn’t tolerate.
Since I planned to replace it this year? Husband decided to do a little transplanting.
I (very helpfully) told him we’d need a bigger hole since we were moving a mature 12 year old tree with an extensive root system. With this (ever so helpful) advice, he did what he always does….. and promptly ignored it.
Digging up the plum was an absolute nightmare. The roots were thick and deep and under the topsoil? Hard clay that might as well be cement.
Our farming neighbor offered to come over with his backhoe and scoop it right up, but no.
The husband didn’t want to tear up his lawn and went with the spiderweb approach to removal.
It took us approximately two hours of digging and tugging and even then we ended up chopping what had to be 10 foot long roots.
Whoever said gardening isn’t a workout needs to be bitch slapped.
This photo caught the other half gasping for air after the last pull.
I had serious doubts the hole out back was large enough, but away we went.
Yeah, not quite.
There was a lot of twisting. And turning. And laughing. ( Okay, that was just me. Husband didn’t find it the least bit amusing. )
Some quite inventive spiderweb root trench digging later……
He made it work.
Whether it survives is anyone’s guess.
In an effort to beautify his farm, our neighbor grew 100 silver birch trees. He planted a row of them (54!) alongside the road and I must say…. they’ll look impressive in a few years.
Next thing we knew he was planting them down his driveway, on the next door neighbor’s property and along the road on the other side of the street.
Not wanting to be left out, I asked if we could buy 3 to put in front of our big barn.
He said no.
But that he would be over the next day to give us three and plant them.
We love our neighbors.
This half dead flowering plum will have to go.
Spring was late in coming this year, and while our lawn is still trying to recover from some mid May snow and frost and doesn’t look it’s best yet, I had to laugh at the husband’s reaction to having parts of it disturbed.
You know that man in your neighborhood who’s constantly outside raking, picking up twigs, and screaming “Get off my lawn!” at children? That’s my husband. He’s been known to mow the same patch of grass 3 times in one day.
And yes, I bought him that shirt.
I think watching our neighbor tear up and fling the soil around was physically painful for him.
But he endured with stoic silence.
And we all got in on the act.
Say no to free trees?
Next up on our Outer Banks day trip? The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.
But first?
Some rocks…
You’re welcome.
From Nags Head to Manteo?
Scenery.
Scenery from a bridge.
More scenery.
How’s that for detailed description?
The Gardens were recommended to us as a must stop… so we did. Even though it was off season and very little was blooming.
Gardens without flowers? Let’s go!
It was a pretty spot… with lots of different areas to explore.
They were in the middle of their annual Christmas light show….
So of course we went in the middle of the day when the sun was shining.
There was an impressive set of gates.
Neatly trimmed boxwoods…
And Queen Elizabeth I.
There were paths with balls…
And paths with statues.
And some extremely large butterflies.
Funky Christmas lights were everywhere.
And I’m sure it would have been quite pretty….
Had we been there at night.
Okaaaay.
Not sure what that was all about, but I don’t like peas either….. so, huzzah!
There was a lonely ruin of something.
And a man shivering in the cold wind.
Oh, wait. That’s the husband…. I didn’t recognize him from the front.
There were fountains.
And ass ends of statues.
Surrounded by tightly trimmed bushes.
Stop snickering…. I know where your mind went.
There were creepy garden gnomes.
And an indoor butterfly garden…
With no butterflies.
But plenty of fluffy gnomes.
Garden path U turns…
And yay!
Finally something was blooming.
There were also the type of Christmas decorations you only see down south.
Wouldn’t be much point of laying these on the ground up my way.
But there was an impressive old tree.
And yes, I do mean old.
Now that’s a senior citizen!
More paths…
More decorations….
A courtyard….
A gift shop….
And a fellow with a wilder hairdo than me after the windy pier.
By this time we’d looped back around to the beginning.
But not before we learned a few things…
About bees.
In case you’re wondering, Maine’s state insect is also the honeybee. Although we designated it as such in 1975.
Long live the bee!
And plagiarism apparently.
River's world..... 