I was declaring war.
I stepped out onto the deck, sun glinting off my sun-glasses. With shovel in one hand, pick-axe in the other, and Macho-Macho Man playing in my head, I walked down toward the garage in the back and surveyed Jungle Junior. (Jungle Senior exists in the front yard and is in process of "slash and burn" techniques meant to kill English ivy, poison ivy, and other nefarious ground covers...)
Having neglected to take a picture of Jungle Junior (I-I-I apologize... Rosy, get my hat...), you just have to take my word... I probably killed a few native species, ruined a few ecosystems, and was punished by having to engage in... Dare I say? Will you think less of me? Neighbor talk!!!! Ugh...
Two weekends, two nephews, two broken shovels (I see a theme developing... I blame it on the "Noah" effect...), and having given away approximately thirty lilacs (Ooops! Never mind...), this is what I have to show for it:
I know it doesn't look like much... And really, it isn't supposed to. After all, I removed everything but that freakin' fire bush stump, seen here:
The six sarsaparilla trees? Gone (but let me tell you--I've never wanted a sarsaparilla soda more than at that moment...). The forty lilacs? Gone. The two maples? Gone. The ten-foot-high, fifteen-foot-wide fire bush (obviously not of the dwarf variety...)? Now a two feet by three stump which will be graced with morning glories until feeling returns to my fingers and the blisters disappear...
It is a good feeling, though. Henry and Devin helped by hunting down worms and placing them in a bucket (not to worry--they were placed back in the dirt before sun down...) in the hopes they would become butterflies (not expecting any doctorates there...)
The reason? This is where the vegetable garden will be placed, owing to the 8 hours of sunlight this area of the yard receives each day in the summer. It'll all be worth it when I'm eating my home-grown salad with corn on the cob fresh off the grill...
Well, to me it'll be worth it. To Rich, it just means we need to replace two shovels (those things are never as strong as I think they should be...) and buy some fencing to keep the evil rabbits (with big nasty teeth!) from partaking in the salad bonanza about to occupy this space...
After all... This. Is. War...
And war never looked as if it was gonna taste so good...
Now where did I put that Tylenol...? (Thirty-one never felt so old...)
4 comments:
lol thanks for giving me something to read... although I realize you didn't do it just for me...I like to think I had a hand in your new post...
at least henry and devin weren't eating the worms....=)
HELLO JASON! I AM WITH SYLVIA IN GLAD YOU WROTE SOMETHING ELSE FINALLY. THANKS SYLVIA FOR GETTING YOUR BROTHER INTO DOING THIS! :) SOMETHING I CAN RELATE TO AND I DO RELATE SINCE WHEN I WAS YOUNGER I COULD CLEAN OUT LIKE YOU DID AND KNOW YOU HAVE TO BE VERY SORE TODAY! I THINK IT LOOKS SO GOOD SINCE I KNOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE. YOU KNOW NOW THAT I AM OLDER AND FEEL SORE ALL THE TIME IT SEEMS I HAVE PILLS FOR THIS. IF YOU NEED ANY THING STRONGER THAN TYLENOL! :) OR YOU CAN JUST TAKE A COUPLE OF SHOTS OF JACK DANIELS. :) I PUSH THE PILLS ON TO YOUR DAD AFTER HE WORKS LIKE THIS ALSO. :) THE OLDER WE GET IT SEEMS LIKE WE GET ALOT MORE PILLS. :) I CAN'T TAKE THE SHOTS IF I DO THE PILLS BUT THE PILLS WORK BETTER AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE HANG OVER. :) (HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS WISDOM FOR GETTING RID OF THE SORE BODY?) :) IT DOES LOOK GOOD JASON AND RICH! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. I DO HOPE YOU BOTH FEEL VERY BLESSED WITH SOME GOOD FOOD AFTER ALL THE WORK. LOVE AND PRAYERS PS DOES THIS ALL CAPS HELP YOU ALL TO READ?? I JUST LOCK IT IN AND GO. :)
I think my neighbor thinks I'm pissed at her...and I'm not telling her otherwise lest I hear another word about her needing a converter box before next February. You should try that.
lol thanks for giving me something to read... although I realize you didn't do it just for me...I like to think I had a hand in your new post...
at least henry and devin weren't eating the worms....=)
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