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"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Duck photo source: Lisa's Chaos
I hope you enjoy your visit. If you're looking for something specific, check out the links to posts by category in my sidebar and down a ways. They'll assist with tracking down different types of posts found on each of my three blogs. You might also enjoy checking out the other sites: Sacred Ruminations, Blog Rolls, Bling & Blurbs, and Happily Retired Gal.

I hope you'll look around & leave comments
then visit me at my new blog ...

Giraffe Journal

and/or website ... Labyrinth Journal
both self-hosted at WordPress
where I publish as myself
rather than under a
pseudonym.

I've not had much time for posting or blog visits, but if you're interested I hope you'll find time to check out my new blog, Giraffe Journal or my Labyrinth Journal website ... both self hosted at WordPress.

Thanks for your visit and have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Monday, December 10, 2007

Yard Reclamation Project -- Part 4 or Coming to my Senses and Gratefully Accepting Help

This continues the saga of the Spring and Summer of 2006 when I decided to make some changes. If you missed earlier installments (and want to catch up) you can look here for Part 3, here for Part 2 and here for Part 1.

After 27 years,
the individual Tam Junipers
on the parkway
had grown together to look like this,
and the Korean grass clippings from years of edging
had taken root underneath
and strugged for
dominance.




I might be trying to dig this up even now
had I not allowed these men
to help.



Watching these guys work made me grateful
for the good sense to allow myself
some rest and assistance.


As I shared in a previous post, it took three workers more than 4 hours (using power tools) to make the lawn area level. Even better, they hauled away the debris so I didn't have make multiple trips dragging heavy trash cans filled to capacity the 120 feet from my front yard to the alley behind my house :)

The "parkway" task took 4 workers almost 5 hours to accomplish!
Next comes some additional ROOT removal
followed by the replanting that
I did myself :)

Reminder: You've got 5 more days to figure out the Christmas Carol Quiz answers and email them to me. As previously announced: Peajay, Joy and John were the first 3 Bloggers to get all 10 correct and have the Small Reflections Christmas Carol Quiz Award to post on their Blogs. Who's going to be next?

Happy 7th night of Hannukah
to all those who celebrate
this holiday.

12 comments:

Karen said...

There are times when nothing beats brute force...

storyteller said...

Karen -- Amen to that! We all get by with a bit of help ... and THIS was long overdue ... trust me :)
Hugs and blessings,

Beverly Keaton Smith said...

oh my gosh, this is interesting...as I have been working in my yard all day and have a large area that is overgrown, taken over with ivy, and just a big huge mess. When I look at it, I get so overwhelmed...yet in my mind I see a healhty, flourishing garden of some kind in this area. Perhaps I will follow your lead and hire out this huge job? I just can't do it all myself anymore! Thanks for posting...lovely before and after photos! Beverly

storyteller said...

Beverly - I don't know if you've seen parts 1-3 of this series, but until THIS step ... I did all the work by myself little by little ... enjoying the process. I'm relieved I cut myself some slack at this stage or I might still be trying to clean up this mess 18 months after I started. I'm glad I did the remainder of the work myself as well. Gardening has been a meditative act for quite a while now. I took the pictures as I worked to send email updates to friends and family so they’d know what I was up to. In addition, I used these photos on last year’s holiday cards (which reminds me I need to get busy creating THIS year’s cards soon) and on the "no-nametag" for the Taos Writers Spa … so they’ve gotten good use.
Good luck with YOUR yard project. Like me, you might find parts you enjoy doing yourself ... and hire out the heaviest work.
Hugs and blessings,

Momisodes said...

So glad you had help. Looks like it was quite an undertaking. We finally hired help when needing to remove an entire front yard full of rocks a previous homeowner left.....wish we would have hired help sooner.

Andi said...

I am sure it looks beautiful. :-)

Mary P Jones (MPJ) said...

Wow! That is quite a project! It is so wonderful to have help when we need it.

storyteller said...

Sandy - Hiring the help gave me the "breather" I needed and set me up for ultimate success ... replanting for easy maintenance. I have these guys come twice a month to "edge" the lawn to keep the Korean grass from getting out of control again, but I maintain the rest myself.

Butterfly - I'm happy with the way it turned out and will post more pix to let you see. Of course, it changes all the time and I like it that way.

MP J - Yes, it was a major undertaking, but well worth the effort (and the money to pay for this assistance along the way).

Thanks to all for stopping by. There are more pictures to follow ... I'm just not sure when :)
Hugs and blessings,

Joy Des Jardins said...

I have learned the same lesson Virginia. Sometimes we just need help to get these things done...I've done it more than ever since my husband passed away two years ago. There are things regarding my house that have finally gotten taken care of after all these years. I don't necessarily want to spend the extra money, but it feels good to get them done.

storyteller said...

Joy -- you're so right! I've got a growing list of indoor and outdoor repairs for a handyman and guess I'll make getting them done a priority after the first of the year because I'm worth it!
Hugs and blessings,

Mary Ann said...

Thanks for the reminder to ask for help. Sometimes it's just a matter of saying "when"... :)

storyteller said...

Moanna - you can say THAT again. I shared a story at Sacred Ruminations in early November (entitled something like allowing myself to receive) about learning the hard way to let folks help me during a difficult time in my life. It was a challenging lesson, but has served me well ever since.

Thanks for visiting here at Small Reflections. Happy Holidays to you and yours :)
Hugs and blessings,

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