Three old bushes are no more...

I had hacked away at two of the bushes a month ago, but today was perfect weather for stump removal. Bob hacked away at them with clippers, saw, ax, and pick. It took a couple of hours, but we have made room for the nadina to spread along the back fence. Bob took down a branch of the crepe myrtle, too, as it was rubbing against the house. When we stuck the little twigs in the ground years and years ago, it looked well spaced from the house, but that twig grew into five huge trees all clumped together.

About 2pm, we finally finished. As Bob chopped the branches and bagged the last bunch, I fixed lunch. I mixed leftover frozen rice with a can of soup, and cut up another avacado to add to Amber's hot salsa, and we made it stretch into another meal. It all tasted like spanish rice, but with fresh avacado and fresh salsa. Now we are all showered and cleaned up. Nice to get the "off" off.

Bob used to just hack the unwanted bushes level with the ground, and they still came up as tall as trees. Now that the root balls are gone, that should be the last of those three. We visited with our neighbor that lives behind us. She lives alone now. She and her husband were our age when we moved into this house 28 years ago, and we rarely see her out. But, she likes to get ahead of her dandylions. A Korean war bride, Fumiko showed us a framed poem someone had done with her husband, Bill in it. Bill was an old Navy guy, who worked for years as jailer. When he got altheimers years ago, Fumiko slowly started getting rid of the yard of junk. Now it is free of even trees and bushes. I think she was relieved to see us clean up our bushes a bit. The bushes make an almost solid hedge against the back fence. Her son used to live with her for five years to help with Bill. He still comes once a week and drives her to church.

The backyard is so nice and green. The rye seed went down and took hold between the other grasses, and it has never looked so pretty. And it has gotten a good hold, so our demolition stump removal did not harm it at all, either. The rye is discouraging stickers and dandylions from growing, too. Should make spring mowing easier. Bob mowed yesterday, but mostly to pick up leaves. It has taken us years to get the hang of it---yardwork. And there are still places out front needing weeding, and the windows need washed, but enough for today.