In my haste, I neglected to take a "before" picture, but you'll have to trust me when I ask you to imagine a thick, impenetrable wall of weeds filling the frame. I went through here, armed with a pruning saw and clippers, like a whirling dervish on crack. Think of "Taz" the Tasmanian devil from our childhood cartoons, armed with an imaginary Leatherman super-tool complete with gardening implements, and you're on the right track. I had burdock so high in here, with stems so thick, that I needed a saw to cut them down. Both Bobcat and Popina loved to play in here, (note the past tense) because it was like a jungle gym. Popina, being the high maintenance diva she is, would shoot out of here like a furry little rocket covered in burrs. She served as impetus for getting this area cleaned up once and for all.
Picture if you will, two large crates built out of 2x4's that served to transport the metal roof we had installed on the house in 2003. They were slowly rotting away here, again preventing us from running the mower through, or going rogue with the whipper-snipper in a feeble attempt at order. Years ago, when I suggested taking the crates apart, Eric chided me and said the wood was still good and that he needed it for some future project. I don't need to tell you that opportunity never materialized. I should have trusted my instinct and taken the crates apart while the wood was still good for something other than a bonfire.
This is now useable space, and allows us to store our recycling and garbage bins in an accessible, yet out-of-view area. It's not that my prissy, aesthetic sensibilities are coming to the forefront, but a bit of discretion (and organization) never hurts. There's enough crap hanging around that one less eyesore is welcome. I don't care if the out-buildings are ramshackle; the grounds can still be tidy. Some days I feel like I'm slamming my head against a rock, but every bit of improvement helps.
I was actually so excited when this area was cleaned up, I got up early the next morning and tip-toed outside in my bathrobe. It wasn't a mirage - it was really clean!
My motto has become "a place for everything, and everything in it's place". And if I can run the mower through or over it, all the better.
2 comments:
I sympathize with your piles of stuff that *might* be needed someday. I've got plenty of those around here. I also get ridiculously excited when a mess area gets cleaned up. Your new cleaned up area looks very nice. :)
I feel your pain. I am getting brutal now...it's bad enough with the house in a state of flux, and the outside too? Ugh. Time to get busy. It was such a mess, and it's hard to believe just how much we've worked outside, but we're still "not there" yet. This year I see light at the end of the tunnel, as long as the weather cooperates!
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