Yard

[lighter]

The Cowboy neighbors invited us for Oktoberfest last night. My sister and I ran over for an hour for brats, homemade sourkraut and potato salad.  Was all very yummy on their big smoker/ grill.

I enjoyed chatting up the wives and one single gal....she just sold her late mum's house to the Cowboy's grown son, who was very chatty and happy at dinner.  Usually he's very sour, but not last night.

Yes, the Yelly Guy was there with his lovely wife.  I walked by him and said hello to all the boys without looking his way, then headed for the kitchen to help out with food.

I'm not gonna peck out details with this one finger, but YG was weird, more than once and generally tried to talk to me, speaking as though I'm a skittish bird, low and slow, once about my truck tires.  Once to offer me a beer.  I say no to everything about him and didn't say goodnight when we left.  He texted ,"goodnight" and I ignored him.  Really icky. 

My sister said he came into my yard when I came home after running around all afternoon.  I didn't see him, but sis said he apologized for being drunk.  He said they'd all been drinking for hours, which I could plainly see for myself. 

Sis just left the yard and didn't make him feel better.

As I dug out Halloween decorations from under the house I resented thinking about how loud I'd shout for him to leave if he poked his head into the crawl space.  I like my crawlspace, btw.  He's not gonna ruin it for me. I was happy my mind didn't run to worry about  physically encountering his 6 foot something frame in such a small space.  I think I'd win, btw.

[lighter]

The super thick,super healthy miss in the backyard has a fungus circular patterned problem I've been defeated by.  I have to give up the moss there and now also in the front yard as retired nurse has decided she prefers the color of weeds and grass to moss and will no longer use Preen on her adjoining little plot.

I've seen Yelly guy chatting her up, doing favors for her and crossing through her yard to access the trails so MY intuition tells me she's upset with me over his winging about things he tells her I've said and done.  I go back and forth over saying nothing to her and doing what I need in the yard ( she won't be happy with btw) OR having an honest chat and discussing her real problem with me before I salt the earth and build a wall.

On a happier note,vmy sister and I spent a couple hours at the cowboy's house catching up, talking about real estate, the island ( Cowboy wants to go and has mad skills, woluld be welcome) so I know Yelly guy hasn't soured them on me.  In fact, I don't see him over there with his wife any longer and wonder if they had a falling out.  I know cowgirl and yelly guy's wife were very close so cowcouple would choose her over yelly guy if there were problems there.  That automatically means I'll be ok with them.....I think.

I was chatting to my other next door neighbor and the nurse kept cutting her off when she asked me questions so it's not in my mind.  I just went back to pulling weeds on the border of our yards.....and steaming about whether or not our shared side yard with amazing miss has can remain moss or not.   It's SO gorgeous but no one uses it, particularly me.  I can simply explain end the natural ground cover around my Hemlocks.  The little strip of moss next to her house can go back to weeds and dirt and I'll still have 2 perfectly mossed side yards and many tree circles to enjoy and care for. 

I realize I need a bit of space and time to find my chill before making decisions. 

Letting go of so much moss is easier than I thought it would be.  It helped heal me and now I can let it go.

Lighter

[Hopalong]

I'm sorry, Lighter.
It's painful to feel you're being gossiped about.

I hope enough mellow neighborly bonds remain to keep you at peace.

I guess the old "good fences make good neighbors" might stand for psychological boundaries too. I am close to two neighbors but really went through it at one time with the gardening one, the British woman. We had a falling out but over time I could tell she regretted it and both forgiveness and genuinely wanting each other to be well, came through for us both. She's prickly but good at heart, and most of her intense stuff was just her insecurity.

We still socialize some and since she has a partner now, she's much mellower. We help each other and sometimes just have a glass of wine and a yak. She likes to have parties and often includes me. I don't always go but appreciate the invites.

Hope moss heals and hearts heal.....

hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

PS  Speaking of yards, a friend of mine and her hubby brought me 2 free trees today -- a red maple and a pecan. Soon after my lawn guy showed up with his crew and planted them, along with a dogwood I had them move. A little triad of great trees I'll likely never see at their full growth, but it made me so happy.

I have a big unbroken expanse of back yard I haven't been able to do a lot to, but that has always felt a little empty. This little "grove" near the center will make this ground better and more beautiful for decades to come.

I also decide not to grow veggies this year. I'm going to keep the focus on my house and my health/reconditioning, so am just covering the beds with biodegradable paper stuff (cool insulating brown paper that came all winter with grocery deliveries) to let that rot in, let the soil rest and improve, and next spring if I'm up to it, I'll try again. Felt great relief, since my gardening ambitions had been exceeding my abilities or motivation. It's a year off, that's all, and hopefully not more.

[lighter]

Ahhhh, lovely to watch newly planted trees grow, Hops.  And good for you taking a gardening break to focus on yourself.  It's hard work. 

I'm meeting with my moss friend today.....and researching salting the earth which feels a little wrong, but also SO right.

Lighter

[lighter]

My sister and I will be making lovely little moss table arrangements for my friend's late H memorial service...... similar to the ones we made for my father's service.

Lighter

It's tying in with saying goodbye to areas of moss we've cared for and cultivated with love.

Google moss table arrangements if you want a feel good moment..... they're very special, imo.

[lighter]

My sister got the Preen down just before the rain, so..... that's the moss cared for till decisions are made regarding expanding natural areas.

Lighter

[Meh]

I've been watching garden videos almost non-stop for the past 3-4 days. A time waster for sure but what else am I going to do. Mostly I like to watch people do their container gardening combos with things like petunia and coleus or whatever.

My landlord has a yard I pretty much just watch her pull weeds. There are California poppies and irises blooming. Fighting hummingbirds, deer turds, raccoon turds, baby rabbits, bees, one okay rose plant, another neglected unhappy rose plant that probably just needs to be moved and fertilized. Cedar trees that are too large and drop loads of mess on the side of the house. Lots of sedums, couple broken trees from frozen snow the last winter. Columbine, acanthus, day lilly, purple aster, lots of standard things, white daisies everywhere.

There are some Arbutus/Madrona trees or whatever people wanna call em on the property and I would be so inclined to trim off a few of the limbs that are growing in a downwards slant just to make the yard look uplifted and cheerful.

It's odd, the landlord cut out two huge shrubs that were healthy and she left in a tree that is sending out sucker roots underground, pretty sure it's some invasive thing. I looked it up a while back. She keeps the invasive thing that is going to send out runners that go feet out from the tree and send up shoots. She also has irises crowding her rose plant like hundreds of them which she should thin out and give to her next door neighbor who talked to me about how much she likes them. People are just weird in so many ways but who am I to judge.

It's nice but I'd prefer to actually have my own garden. Anyhow I sit and drink tea in the garden sometimes. No traffic noise, lots of birds.

I think I could be content if I had nothing to do but garden for the rest of my life.

[Hopalong]

Would you consider asking her if you can garden?
Could be healing.

[Meh]

Meh. I've already done some weeding for her but I'm also paying her. Also, I really need to move this rental is cold in the winters and isolated etc. It's kinda dirty and grungy in the lower section of a house. It was only ever meant to be temporary.

It's kind of like how having a rabbit foot keychain isn't the same as having a pet dog.

I washed off the porch with soap and water, cleaned out the recycle and garbage can bins with soap and water. Attempted to 'rake' the cedar tree debris with a dollar store dust pan because why would I have a rake. And washed the doormat with soap. I guess I just have nervous energy and since it's spring I wish things were nicer. She has like 3-4 giant cedar trees growing only 7 feet apart from the house and she never trims the lower limbs, they are growing over her deck so far that I have to hunch over to walk up the stairs and duck below the branches. The next door neighbors actually rake up all the debris and dispose of it on their side of the fence. Doesn't matter. At least I cleaned a little bit.

[Meh]

Moss centerpieces sound nice.

I made a weird moss sculpture that lasted about one year. Didn't perk up too well after winter. It wasn't really meant to be anything but it ended up looking like boobs because I put stones in the middle of it but really nobody saw it. There is a patch of wild moss in the woods in my neighborhood under one particular tree and I took a couple fistfulls of it, transported it, shaped it into round blobs. I have no idea what sort of moss it is because I didn't check it too closely. Anyhow, weird experiment I guess. It seems to grow on mycelium that grows on rotting wood.

[lighter]

I really love putting my hands into the moss and making beautiful things.  There's a wedding venue near me with a Japanese garden theme.  I never drive by it without thinking about making chandaleir and table arrangements for them...... the moss is so beautiful in arragements.

So perfectly simple and energized.

It sounds like you enjoy working with the moss too, Mouse.  You can always put the moss back if it stops looking unhealthy indoors.  Moss grows 4 seasons..... all the time.  Take a little, put it back, get another fistfull of healthy stuff.  Maybe find another rock you love and feels good in your hands to arrange in a container with the moss.

Have you looked for new places to live?

Lighter

[Meh]

yep gardening is fun, there are a few types of moss around, down the street there is a big patch of club moss under a tree and the moss itself looks like miniture trees or no maybe it's called Juniper Haircap moss not sure

nope haven't looked yet, I definitely have to start looking at rentals and see what is out there, it's aways a puzzle piece the commute and all that  but yeah I just need to get all of this done I will feel better if my life is in order

when I live in the city pretty much a person can commute to a lot of places w/o a car

i've been hoping I don't really have to go back in towards the city though I just don't know yet

I think with this Covid thing there has generally been an exodus from the city areas if people can do that

[lighter]

Don't forget to utilize your local message boards and ask about rental spaces coming available or something NOT available, but COULD be available if you state your need.

Check out the area and potential landlords.... roomates carefully.  I've heard a lot of really upsetting stories, Mouse.

About the moss..... take a bit of whatever it's growing on if you intend to pot some up and enjoy it. If it starts going South, put it back where you found it...just stomp it into place...moss likes being stepped on.  Sometimes I'll poke a thin stick or 3 through to pin in place if it's likely to get washed away.

I love the idea of you touching and spritzing moss in your living space, Mouse.  Moss is so happy when it's moist.... so green and perky: )

Lighter

[lighter]

I'm putting Preen down, ahead of schedule, today.

The retired nurse is putting down grass seed in an area that washes into my side yard, which is problematic. I'm done pulling weeds there and since she was mowing it..... it wasn't a big deal.  I guess maybe it's still not a big dea?  Not sure, but I'm bugged. 

I have hemlocks to treat for wooly adelgid and leaves to blow, so will turn toward those tasks instead of this feeling of irritation... then see where I'm at end of day.

it's going to rain, so it's a good time to get the Preen down.  Better ahead of schedule than behind.

The necrotic ring blight has really taken over my back yard and Ive remained limp.  I have leaves to blow out of the other side yard and will get to that...must sort out electric cords.  Not a big deal, just the beginning of tending leaves on the edge of a forest. 

Lighter