Jimmy Hoffa, I Presume?

After several fits and starts, DBS and I are out in The Wilderness attempting a group tame. So far it bodes well; even though we got a late start today we actually carved a pretty deep swath through the brush. DBS feels that if we keep doing this morning and evening (mid-day is too hot to contemplate around here!) we'll have the back yard knocked out in a couple of days. Woo-hoo!! Then we'll probably tackle the front yard and duck runs, although it's a toss-up as to which of those will come first. We need both done yesterday.

If if weren't for the fact that we're teetering on the verge of financial disaster this would be primo time for me. Finally, finally I'm getting a handle on some projects that I've wanted to do for well-nigh twelve years. I kid you not, I have garden seeds that old. I won't swear they're still viable, but I've had them for that long. It just seemed that between financial disasters past, children, college, and goodness-remembers-what-else, the back yard garden has always been put on the back burner.

Call me old-fashioned or perhaps just Moulard-stubborn, but I do home-maintenance so much better as half of a pair rather than just by myself. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to do anything if it's just me as the only responsible adult. Perhaps it's because I see this house and this yard and this home so much in terms of partnership that I just can't function adequately otherwise. If DBS is out there I'll hula-hoe and rake and dig and plant fence-posts until I drop; if he's not available I find myself staring absent-mindedly at court shows. Of course, it didn't help that the last two days were running 110 degree temperature; nobody in their right mind goes out into that sort of heat, especially if they aren't used to it (and I'm not anymore.) But today it was only 100 degrees, and it felt wonderful, and we waited until early evening before we really exerted ourselves (are you kidding? Do I look like I want an ambulance ride for heat exhaustion??) And according to the forecast the temps are going to stay low for the next several days, so yi-ha! and pass the hula hoe.

We've got enough brush to make a good-sized compost pile but unfortunately there's too much other matter in there that won't make good compost, so it's all going into the landfills this time. The plan is for the weeding to be accomplished every week from now on so that we won't have such a lovely time (not) next year. I came across my Bountiful Gardens catalog, however, and they sell some really interesting-looking stuff that will make my proto-compost pile happy in the long run. Rye (well, rye not?) and hull-less oats, and naked barley will do very well for the duck meadow along with compatible greens; alfalfa and clovers for non-duck areas. I'm not in a position to get these things right now, but hey, there's no law against early planning! Because of the price of food and gas these days we're planning a huge garden and lots of canning; because I have lots of room and Banshees I'm going to make a quasi-maze garden with separate nooks for each Banshee. Since I don't have to worry about a dog destroying anything anymore I don't have to limit myself to what areas I can reasonably fence in. Now all we have to do is get there from here, one little bitty step at a time. Tomorrow's little bitty step; get up and have at The Wilderness once again. Oh yes, and build at least a small duck run so I can get the TubDucks out of the tub.

I'm finding that financial hardship plus a few ducks manages to equal a lot of yardwork. Odd how things turn out sometimes!