Yard

[lighter]

Oh.....they spend an entire day digging up 14 foot trees, mostly white oaks and red maples.  Some ornamental trees ...Red Buds, Dogwood and River Birch, but most are the hardwoods.

They used an excavator to dig holes and move trees...guessing rootballs 2' to 3' wide.  Big.

Early this morning we put a ham on, made baked beans, salad, cut oranges and served with crusty hot French bread mit butter.   The guys ate at noon...they started their day at 4:30am and will likely finish 4:30pm. 

We had no idea 7 men and one machine could move so fast, but they can.  Watering in began 10 trees in.

We have food to feed them for days, so will pack them up with samiches and burritos to go.

I'm really tired. Not gonna lie.

Lighter

[Twoapenny]

Sounds like it went well, Lighter, and the food sounds delicious   Is this storm damage they're sorting out or stuff you had planned anyway?  Glad it's going well, whatever the reason for it was!

[lighter]

Tupp: Not storm damage. They planted trees around the point, as per army Corps of engineers....we took some trees out.  We were required to put some trees back.  It's done, and feels like a flame under my arse was snuffed out.  Like magic.  Pain free and they left no mess!  Amazing!  Now, to keep them alive!

Will water them in again today.  We expect rain next week. 

Have to brine all these pork chops and plan a dinner with the girls.  The female impersonator, hosting our favorite karaoke, said she'd come. DD22 and she share interest in sewing, costumes, humor and singing.  Hoping for a singing dance party!

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Wow! That's a big planting project!

Those excavators (especially tracked ones) are great tools. We have the bobcat & frontloader/backhoe - but both are wheeled making them less able to deal with some of our steeper terrain. Wish I'd known you had ham on the menu... I have two spiral honey-baked hams I'm looking for a good home for. Seems the churches/food pantries have "rules" but I haven't put a whole lot of energy into that yet.

[lighter]

We do have some steep terrain, so the tree guy brought the next to largest size excavator before the one's using metal tracks.  Small, but nimble. Easier to maintain.

I'd eat those hams, but suggest making them available on a neighborhood site like Nextdoor.  There are people who'd really like to have them, I'm sure.

We're still in shock, bc sis and I finished making wells/watering in trees in 4 hours yesterday AND two rangers stopped by and chatted while we worked.  We just kept digging and watering, which was exhausting.  I was huffing and puffing like a train.....esp moving the huge hose up and down the inclines, whew boy!!!! It's done!

The rangers were super pleased, btw!  That was the cherry on top.
Lighter

[Hopalong]

What an amazing, large-scale project, Lighter. I groaned at the thought of hauling the huge hose uphill. Hope you got a great night's sleep and aren't too achy today.

And I hope watching the new trees grow will bring joy. You are very open to the joys of beauty and change. On a lake, yet. It must be so beautiful.

Kudos!

hugs
Hops

[lighter]

It is beautiful, Hops, and the weather was splendid for working outside, and viewing the the point.  In some places, there's just water and shoreline....feels good on the soul.

About that hose ......I found one tree without a well on the opposite end of where we finished.  Building the well meant building on a very steep incline.  Filling it mean dragging hose up steep incline and attaching at opposite end of house, then dragging again, and that laid me right down flat to catch my breath and contemplate.

Sister came to help and found out why I had lost my sense of humor, as I ended up dealing with attaching 3 heavy hoses and watering in the final portion.  Thank Goodness it was on a milder grade.

I'm not very achy.....handsa but stuff.  Sister stuck overnight at airport is super achy, poor thing!

Lighter

Lighter

Still feels like a miracle.

[lighter]

I had gutters looked at yesterday....they need attention, bad.  Guys said roof and more needs done.  Oh dear.

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

It's always something, isn't it?

[lighter]

Sure is, Amber.

[lighter]

Avoidance popping up while walking baby girl pug Saturday.  The cowgirl and yelly guy's wife somehow ended up on my path 3 times.....3.  I realize.... there's still a little dread in making chit chat small talk with them, as I have zero interest.

I suck at chit chat, at the best of times.  Having to wing it, while my mind blurts out  icky facts, I mostly ignore in my head, creates avoidance......and I'm working on dropping avoidance.

Just writing that out, feels very calming.  I'm reminded to pull my energy back, tight to my body, and not let others disturb my chill.

I can skip the avoidance and worry.....go straight to handling it, sans upset. Revelation.

[lighter]

The pug walk, shovel in hand, began so well.  First, a huge morel mushroom grew among my privacy Hemlocks...hmmm....should I remove their supports soon?  Should I leave them?  Oh, how nice the yellow wild flowers grow around them ...from the forest.  So happy. 

Then the beautiful yellow and black butterfly, slowly going from little purple weed flower to weed flower.  How nice.  I got pictures, then headed into the forest, remembering where the 3 foot hemlock grows.....just beyond the second path on the right. 

I forgot parts of the path are other people's dog poop runs.....and things were going to well, too.

The pug managed to get her face into or near a big sloppy plop of large dog poo, so that was the end of consistent serenity, but not entirely.

I found the Hemlock, admired it's healthy new growth and easily cut around the drip line with my shovel.  It has to have been treated and cut around with the others, but missed when digging them up. 

Ok.

Walking back ......
staying to the center of the path ...
to avoid the inconsiderate borrower's poo plops, of this generously loaned forest, and there's a big crap in the middle. 
I had a shovel. 
I used it, but I was not experiencing harmony while completing the task of turning it over, where it sat, to create a burial plot, center of trail.

I'm not bagging up other people's poop any more.  I'm in the mood to trail cam shoot and shame them without another complaint.  I'm done talking about it and cleaning it up.

And.... apparently I'm done allowing people to cross the creek on my property, bc I mindlessly yanked up the carefully placed and buried ,3 wide planks folks have been using since 50 trees fell and the planks were moved to my side.  And I just tossed them, while remembering 2 recent dog plops on my property, one center trail, the other just to the side.
Whoo boy......
::huge unhappy sigh::

I'm gonna breathe my way back to serenity, pack up dinner for neighbors, then work in my yard till I pick the lady wife up for the nursery trip, at 4.....after 2 hour PT appt for her hubby.  He won't be happy, but then we'll work on her Christmas packing, and he can let us know about it, then, bc we're going
TODAY.
::nodding::.

Maybe for an hour or  2......and I'll buy potato vines and she can meander to her chained heart's content.

Now......in serenity.....to the front porch planters, I go.

Lighter

[lighter]

Trip to nursery was a surprise, as elderly lady wife neighbor hunted down 2 very specific trees, and several Annuals.  Much to her delight, she found everything....one pink and white candy striped annual she hadn't seen before, and the last pink dogwood.  I lucked out and found the last three black creeping potato vines as we walked in.

This meant I could share her excited hunt and selections in the huge nursery.
   I could see the person she was 40 years ago..... particularly, later, as I held the ladder, and she mounted her kitchen counter to hand down a very large porcelain nativity.  I kept my yap shut....and performed the dh's part.

She has little decorative hangers for everything.  No regular ornament hangers evident. Storage boxes marked in exquisite detail.
"King with solid gold crown facing down," that sort of helpful practiced instruction.

Her ribs/back twinged, at a point, and I was up the ladder taking down greenery with over the tall hall stairwell, where she half stood atop a wall.  I was so nervous, but she was......so happy.  In her element.  Feeling normal again.

She tired after a super productive half and I pointed to the leftovers and locked myself out.

There's maybe 4 hours of wrapping, matching boxes, carefully filling, and walking them down narrow split level stairs to the basement.
So.
Many.
Well made nutcrackers. 
Heavier than you'd think. German, maybe?
Little bakers, drummers, cobblers, santas, clockmakers and those I'll discover on each packing trip, a fraction of what they didn't unpack.

I, knowing this likely is the last Christmas in that house, might have left it all up, then pulled out the rest, in November, just to see it all the way it was when healthy....one last time.

The dh was delightful, as he always is with me.  I'm glad he seemed fine to have her out and about, without him.

I soaked some tiny Peony roots in rainwater yesterday.  I'm hoping to find a sunny enough place out front for eventual cutting garden. I drive by 2 full pink Peony plants, one street over as inspiration, but see 2 unhappy specimens on either side of my yard, meaning not enough sun.  I'm considering taking down the tree at the curb, to get more light, but it won't ever be sunny.  I guess I'll pot them and look for sunny places at the lake.

The hydrangea are popping up, and I see new growth I can pull up and start more plants with. I all 4 with cuttings from retired nurse's single spectacular bush.  I can't imagine a happier cutting garden than these pink, white and green pairings...would have been so nice.

The Linton Roses are coming up.  Some either green flowers....some purple and green.

I mysteriously have one purple flowering Trillium in the center back yard, and an almost fist sized morel mushroom, by the Hemlocks, farthest from the house.

Thing's are beginning to feel normal again, if one looks past the downed tree areas and occasional smashed house. 

DD's functional doc's office is in the middle of the bombed out looking tourist retail shops.....that's still a disaster zone, but  we see a couple workers.  Hardly any rebuilding going on there.

Lighter

[lighter]

It's raining gently this morning.  I got trash and recycling out early, then pulled up 2 trash bags of English Ivy.  I thought about it for a while, then just started pulling....not deciding.  Just knowing and doing.

Cleaned up some borders on Saturday.  Decided on Hemlock and lavender Azalea branches, with buds, for porch arrangements.  So beautiful.

Sunday, I speckled boiled blue eggs where th brown acrylic paint.  The feeling they gave me was everything.

DD22 sat with me at the distressed German bar table and was happy to find the glue gun still warm.  I'd repaired a 3 story bark birdhouse I'd made....and a tiny one too, before putting up the building materials and readying porch for Easter.

DD22 looked up, noted the porch floral arrangements and said .....
"We're so extra" but it was aimed at me.

That sank in.

We both looked at the costume bunny ears, she was working on, and burst out laughing.  Then we looked at the gorgeous eggs, I set up 4 at a time, and laughed till our bellies burned. 

We are "extra" and it's ok.

Reminds me of all the times one of us begins singing, bc something was said.  The last time, we were on the floor, belting one out, DD22 singing harmony.  I changed some of the words to "we are so ADD" which lead to laughter, once DD noticed.  We can't help ourselves, and it's ok. 
Everything is green and growing right now.  Hemlocks have nee, light green tips.  The moss is moist and sending up sporophytes like crazy...... Moss was so crunchy.

The established transplant Hydrangeas are popping up, with many new growths, outside their planting areas. I might dig them up, and creat another plant.  Maybe in the fall. Just happy to see them doing so well.

I have 9 new green/lavender hydrangeas I picked up for 9.00 each at Home Depot.  They're gorgeous, and likely will end up in side yard.  I thought I'd plant them at lake, but would be difficult to keep them alive in summer heat if I'm not there all the time. Would have been so beautiful for bridal photo ops.

The retired nurse and I are getting along well.  I notice, the residual negative charge is absent, since my chat with Yelly Guy, and  neutrality agreement.  I'm Sweden. It's better.

Newer elderly neighbor walked her dog by, as I pulled up weeds this am.  Poor skittish little pup is named Clover.  It was awkward when I didn't ask her name, but I really didn't want to know, and ended the chat politely. 

The cowboys are at war again.  I know, bc she phoned to ask if she could park her rental car in front of my house, so "N"cowboy wouldn't mess with it, as he'd taken her car (in his name, but he can't drive) out of spite when he moved out "this time."   They have a toddler grandson at Easter, and she didn't mention him at all, or plans to celebrate, egg hunt, etc. So odd.

I went back to my happy Easter prep..... residual Halloween decorations are back under house.....dry enough, finally, to trust favorite monsters will be safe.  Truthfully, they've been on the porch, jump scaring me, since November, bc crawlspace flooded in hurricane.  The dehumidifier isn't draining properly, but has done well enough.....seems as dry as it was, which is a miracle, imo. It had been shin deep.

Much of the tree debris has been removed, not all, for sure.  Same with the soggy house goods, and sheetrock/carpet on the streets. All removed from our neighborhood, thanks to retired nurse's son carrying our piles away.

So glad for the rain.


Lighter