Monday, October 6, 2008

This Ain't Gonna Be Pretty...

...well, maybe someday it will...but that's still a long way off.

***SPECIAL REPORT***

We interrupt the beauty of autumn in Utah to bring you an update from the front lines...er... make that the back lines. The Battle for the Backyard continues, and just ramped up to all out war. Last Spring, the first wave went in and removed the giant Cottonwood trees lining the back fence. Ten fruit trees were also listed as casualties of that day. They was much rejoicing on our side, as we looked forward to no huge leaf piles in the fall to deal with,  no rotting fruit on the ground, a reduction in wasps, and the elimination of the threat of imminent destruction from those huge trees in a wind-storm!

The yard fought back -- hard. It sent thousands upon thousands of root sprouts --infiltrating from unseen places, deep within the earth. They were unstoppable! They laughed at mowers, scoffed at axes, and yawned at pick attacks. We were beaten back at every attempt to (ahem) "gain ground".

The roots are winning

An emergency consult with the General (our landscaping guy) resulted in the extreme strategy of Scorched Earth. The landscaping version of the atomic bomb,  Roundup Pro Concentrate, was employed. DH was the one chosen to administer the attack. That's right.  He committed herbicide. (gasp!)

All is now eerily quiet on the back yard front. We can claim victory in the Root War, but only at a price. Our lawn valiantly sacrificed itself for the greater good. As it lay dying, we thought we heard it say... "it's all right, don't mourn me. You'll be putting in a new sprinkler system in the spring, and cutting out new beds, and I will be all torn up anyway. I'm going to a better place, really.....cough, cough...sputter...."

Us 1 Them 0

[moment of silence out of respect for the lawn]   (wiping a tear)

Poor backyard

A new enemy has presented itself. An attack from the dilapidated 21 year old fence has hit us where it hurts -- the checkbook! As we contemplate replacing it, we will have to weigh the severe reduction of resources (moola) against the scary economic times. We are deciding whether to delay this attack, or just jump in with both barrels blazing! In the meantime, we will continue the attack with small battles -- removing dead shrubs, sculpting and cleaning out beds and trimming back the remaining greenery. The Battle for the Backyard continues.....

We, here, all dream of a day of peace, tranquility and happy sighs as we enter the beauty of what will be a finished, landscaped backyard. We have a blueprint. We know what we are working for.... and the promise of an arbor entry into the backyard will help us keep fighting....

Arbor Dreams 2

Pray for the weekend warriors of Nob Hill....

:-)

3 comments:

Heidi said...

My GOD our lives run together in some parallel universe. I swear! We've been getting quotes for fences and I want to add an arbor entry as well. Love the one you pictured. But we also just decided that we need to hold off on the fence due to insecure economic times. Also, our backyard is a place that needs some attention but until we can put in a sprinkler system we simply aren't going to do much with it at the moment. There never is enough money or time, is there?

Elena said...

Ugghhhh....the dreaded yard project! SOOO much work! Good luck to you and I hope the grass grows back next spring. And I like your new profile pic. It's fun to see a face behind the name.

John Heeder said...

That was some job all right. Trying to dig up the roots quickly became a joke. Root after root came out, and soon I had a small pile of them, and I had barely scratched the surface. So by the time the poison plan was suggested, I was ready to give it a try.

Let’s just say this: I’m now a fan of Round-up. The roots are dead, and I’m not out there breaking my back!