Working in the dirt

On Friday we will take delivery of a very large item so I am in the process of moving a very large Rhododendron.

I love this bush and would be very sad if it dies in the process, but I can at least try. Washington State's flower is very dear to me - green all year, purple flowers in April - this one is over 50 years old and deserves to keep on going.

They say Rhodies are one of the easiest things to move, but with only hand-power? (We cannot get machinery into this area.) I'm thinking of asking Baasha to help out. So far he knows how to pull light things but not heavy. We'll see how that goes. I also need to ask my mother in law to come over and help, since she wants to see it survive too. Eva??


In this photo (April 2009), Skinny Baasha was told "Go stand by the bush so I can get a picture!" and he was feeling put out about it. *grumble*


The Internet says to trim the bottom of the bush so you can reach the roots. Also, trimming makes moving it easier as the entire thing weighs less.


On Saturday I trimmed. My man was shocked when he saw it. It resembles a Bonsai.



On Sunday I cut the piles of branches into pieces small enough to fit into a garden sack for transport down the hill, up the hill, over the fence to our debris pile.



On Monday I took a saw to the lower branches that were too big for loppers, and tried to make reasonable firewood pieces out of them. (No worries, I've seen Rhodies with way more invasive trimming survive.)



This is the feeding tree - the tree I clip Baasha's bucket to twice per day (when it's not raining). It might have to go but we'll see.



I removed the geotiles around it and put them in a new spot by the gate that will be helpful this winter.



Then I started to process of leveling the area, which is sloped (nothing is flat here). Leveling a 10 square meter area is not easy by hand, and I hope my man can help. Yesterday was the first day of school so he was gone all day. When he got home he asked if I could feed his fish and I said "Please no, I cannot do that hill again today!"



In the photos it looks relatively flat but that is an illusion - it is gonna take a lot more digging to get it flat. We will be ordering lots more geotiles for this area next week. For this spot I'd like to get the flexible, larger ones.

As the hours went by I realized how I would never cut it in a construction job. I kept moving slower and slower. Then it would rain and I'd run into the stall with Baasha and wait it out.

Then the cat came in, meowing loudly "Rain! Rain!" and then she explored the stall as if for the first time. (I just realized how clearly her tail is telling us how she feels at this moment.)



Mercer probably feels better about Baasha when she's up high.



Baasha was trying to sleep, but then when he thought the cat didn't see him, he'd stretch out and try to sniff her. Mercer saw and opened her mouth to hiss at him.



She's not ready to let him come close, but she is getting more comfortable in general around him, because he moves slowly. Here she is saying MEOW loudly but neither horse nor human could interpret that.


Much to do before Friday.