What Kind of Bird Slept Here?

 

 

I can't tell if this bird nest is elongated by design or if it's just come to look that way after getting soaked in our last rainstorm. I wasn't able to see it until the rain and wind blew most of the leaves off this Raywood Ash. I'm happy to see that the local wildlife is able to use the trees I've planted all over the yard.

Progress, A Week and 2 Days

 
  I'm encouraged now that this job will get done. I also think I'll only need one more truckload of gravel. So, the cost to me (after a second truckload) will be $700. Not bad, when I think of how much I've paid over the past 8 years to control the weeds in this part of the yard. I figure I'll break even after two years. Then, I can begin thinking about graveling the rest of the yard. And if it's in this lifetime, I might consider hiring a couple of muscular teenage football players to do the hauling, while I stand around giving orders. LOL

One Week Into the Gravel Job

  Shot #1

  Shot #2

  Shot #3

And I'm too tired to write a description. Let's hope a picture says a thousand words.

The Split Trunk

 

So far, the Honey Locust looks good where we clamped the trunk together after it split in late spring. We've had to make one adjustment already, but it seems to be staying together. Assuming it might take a year or more to grow back together, we'll keep our eye on the split and readjust the clamps as necessary.

Roses in November

  The potted tea roses are still blooming. This is Double Delight, and it smells as good as it looks. Warm weather and lots of water keeps them blooming well into fall this year.

One Day Later, Real Progress

  The gravel pile is getting smaller....maybe 3/4 its original size, and our progress shows in how much of the yard is already covered.

  Still a long way to go, and the weeds are emerging ferociously. But a cold snap might keep them at bay until we get them all covered, so they can't see the sun and vice versa.

Progress, Two days later, and What's next

 

In spite of what the photo says, it's really 2008, and this is how much progress we made on Sunday and Monday. Fewer loads; too many football games to watch. Go Steelers!! If you look closely, you can see weeds already emerging in the foreground. Aaarrgh! We must get those covered with gravel very soon.

I'm already thinking about what's next. I'll be laying out newspaper mulch (yes, it works as well or better than commercial mulch around trees) and then I'll lay out my drip system.....this time I'll omit the individual drippers at the ends of the 1/4-inch hose that reaches out to each tree from the main hose.....those drippers clog in one season and have to be replaced. About the newspaper mulch: the black and white print is best; don't know how it works, but as the paper and ink disintegrate, they fertilize the tree (over a two-year period, I've discovered). I'm told that colored ink doesn't work as fertilizer, so I try to avoid newspaper with colored photos and such.

Progress, One Day Later

 
  Each load covers an area of about 4 feet by 4 feet. I'm surprised at how quickly the front-most area is being filled in. I'm spreading the gravel fairly thinly. I hope it keeps the weeds that have already emerged from seeing any sunlight.

  The gravel pile doesn't seem to be going down as quickly as the ground is being covered in the side yard. And that's a good thing.

Hard Labor at the Gravel Pit

  Ha! This isn't work for the faint of heart. But I bet when I'm finished spreading all the gravel over my whole side yard, my muscles will be more toned than they are today.

Finishing the yard

 
Here we go! Yesterday we had a truckload of pea gravel delivered and dumped on the pad in front of the garage. We gathered up some buckets, a shovel, and a yard cart.
So far, we've hauled six loads to the side yard that we plan to cover in pea gravel, so we won't ever have to deal with the spring and summer weeds again. No weed whacking, no digging, no spraying with Round Up......well, maybe if a few poke through the 3 inches of pea gravel, we'll have to spritz them with Round Up. But let's hope for the best.

I'll keep a running (daily) account of our progress.

More rain

 
 
 

In the middle of a rainstorm today, more than a dozen rainbows appeared over the valley. Good luck for all those who live beneath the colorful phenomenon.