Friday, May 22, 2020

Rolling along.......the battle of the weeds

Hello friends!
Short post today (well maybe..........).  I seem to have been really busy, even though we're staying home for the most part.  I really want to respect the social distancing at this time, and I may continue to do so for quite awhile.

This is what I've been doing.

Creating and making.
 (more on this in my next post) 

Illustration by Mary Engelbreit.




Digging up my Iris bulbs, separating and planting about 60 singles all over our yard!
This bed was so PACKED with Irises that it was like cement! 

Digging a new flower bed below our rock wall (for Iris bulbs).

Transplanting single bulbs and pruning down the leaves.


Buckets and buckets of Iris to plant... I still have many left and nowhere to put them.

The "newbies" even sent up new flowers! I was surprised.
Chopping up the white garden  hutch (darn... I left it out for two winters and it was just falling apart, so decided to take it to the dump).

BEFORE... falling apart and rotting wood. 


AFTER.......


Bye Bye hutch... sniff sniff..... a new one will be coming soon (hopefully).

Cleared out entire back yard "patio" area to ready it for new gravel.
Moving all our yard stuff, tables, chairs, planters, and junk tools to behind the house and on the back lawn (which needs mowing by the way).



Cleaning up weeds in our back "dirt" area (soon to "maybe"? be gravel?)...... it's the dirt area we tried to reseed twice last year, and the weeds took over again, so we are giving up on it! No lawn there... just gravel.


A right fine mess........ will we ever win the battle of the weeds?
Planting two new blackberry bushes..... thinning and transplanting my raspberries (they've LOVED the heavy rains).... and weeding flower beds. Note: the yellow Iris I bought last year is doing great!



(And yes, I do want blackberries! Where we lived in Washougal, WA (in the wet climate), blackberries grew wild everywhere. I loved having them! I made jam and pies galore. I really miss them here as there are none to be found. I'll keep them pruned to a reasonable size (hopefully).

Going to the gravel pit and ordering rock! Whoo Hoo! And having it delivered.







And this is what we WILL be doing - as soon as the rain quits!

Shoveling all of THIS stuff, by hand, into a wheelbarrow, and hauling it to our back yard - after we lay down the HEAVY tarps! Not looking foward to it.
We're hoping the gravel laying will start on Friday, the 22nd... we've been waiting a week for the rains to quit. We've had unseasonably high amounts of rain and "gully washer" type rains. 

We also need to get a new gutter by our back garage door, as when it rains so hard, our garage gets flooded! ...... which means more work, and more digging and cleanup around the back cement slab outside our garage. There is nowhere for water to drain that pours off of our roof. That's another story...........so we need to dig trenches before laying the gravel... maybe put in some drain pipe.... etc. etc. etc. 

With all the digging I've done, my neck has been killing me.. so hubby will have to do most of the gravel shoveling and hauling. I'll at least be there to supervise...... :-)

More to come on my crafty adventures! I've loved holing up in my craftroom (when I could)........... bye for now.

~Marilyn~




9 comments:

  1. Wow! You have been so busy and that looks like really hard work! It will all look so nice when you have finished - love how you have spread out the iris. I have been weeding a bit each day when the weather permits but my weeds are still winning! I will keep at it tho!
    Good luck to your husband who has to move all of that heavy gravel. Be careful!
    Thanks for posting!

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    1. Ellen D. - thank you for the comment. I'm not sure where you're from but your area must be similar to where I live... lots of weeds are THRIVING right now as is not hot enough yet to kill them! I think we're finally getting a handle on it though. Marilyn

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  2. Wow girl you have a lot going on. My back was hurting for you. This is going to look great when you get it all done. Sorry about the hutch. It was a cutie. Happy Memorial weekend. Glad you are safe and well.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. Kris.. yes that hutch was cute but I should have taken it inside during the winter, but had NOWHERE to put it! We now have a different bench outside (more modern looking - was my husband's reloading bench (for hunting) that my brother in law made him)... but we're going to stain it and hope it will weather better. It really is handy to have it right outside by our work area! some day if I ever get a SHE shed, I may get to have another cute garden hutch!

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  3. Your irises are amazing! I sure wish I lived closer, I would take those leftover irises in a heartbeat! They are such a beautiful plant, and I love that they multiply! Your yard is going to look amazing after you get the gravel hauled in, and you won't have to fight with so many weeds! The back pain is just miserable, so much work to do in the spring. We've been having an unseasonable amount of rain here as well. I'm hoping we get that sunshine in the forecast next week! I can't wait to see what you've been busy creating in your craft room, totally amazing stuff I'm sure! Many blessings to you, and Happy Memorial Day to you :)

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    1. Thank you Marilyn for the blessings.... I need them right now with all this work ahead! fortunately, though my back will kill me the day I do the work, after a good night's sleep on my very firm bed, taking some Advil and using ice, it's pretty good the next day. I'm SO thankful! We're now starting a hot weather streak.... 80 yesterday, 85 today and tomorrow and then 92 on Friday and probably Saturday. Then it'll cool down again. Our yard is starting to look pretty good and it's only May 27th! Lots to come as far as some annuals to add some color. YES! I wish we lived closer and I would give you all my remaining Irises! Wish Wish........ have a good week! Marilyn

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  4. Oh, Marilyn, next spring your garden will be a beautiful mass of iris. Nothing prettier in this world. You are quite ambitious. I wish I could get some of that. In years past when we took a vacation in OR we always stopped along the country roads and picked blackberries and then had them on our cereal the next morning. So good..Stay well and enjoy the holiday..xxoJudy

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    1. Judy... yes.. getting the wild blackberries is so awesome. I grew up on the outskirts of Portland, OR and there were wild ones everywhere! I loved it. I just noticed today that one of my blackberry plants has a flower on it! So I may actually get one or two blackberries! I'm so excited as I've missed eating those yummy things. there is one spot north of Madras on the Deschutes River that has lots of bushes, but it's snake country there and my hubby doesn't want me to go pick them or even be around them.. so I'll try having some in my own yard. Marilyn

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