Sunday, April 5, 2020

72 November 2019

Today I was disappointed to discover I neglected to get pictures and video of 72 last Summer. None? I have a tendency to avoid photographing ugly things and it was bad, so maybe that's it.

Today I found one video from November (!!) that shows the state of The Garden.

I'd already done much work, and mention it in the video that I regret not having a true "before" video, but, as of today it's unrecognizable, so I'm happy for what I have.

I was absolutely floored when I watched the video (at the end of this post) from November because today I let my animals out onto The Garden for 2 hours to help us with the grass. It's not a horse area, but I threw up one charged wire to back up the mesh street-side fence and so far so good.

The Garden is not finished yet, but it's very close. It's cleared enough now that Mag got up to a gallop and went on a bucking spree that scared some bicyclists that passed too close.

We call it The Garden because the previous owner had intended it to be one, even building a massive fence against the deer, which we had to remove (the remains of it are in the video). She put a couple apple trees in, a patch of raspberries (GONE!) and 2 Josta berry bushes (a cross between a currant and a gooseberry). She put in the "Herb Spiral/Snail" with a rose in its center, which Mag nibbled on today. I am working on it - I've added two mini roses, a patch of Gladiolas, Rosemary, Lavender, and Phlox.

J wanted it to be a real garden with vegetables, and maybe someday it will be. It is the only full-sun area we have. For now I plan to set my one precious zucchini plant on it.

I wish you could have seen the Herb Spiral before because it was hidden in blackberries. So badly that I didn't realize there was a "water feature" and stepped right into it, almost to the knee in black gooey swamp water. It was horrifying and hilarious and today I actually cleaned out the water feature and refilled it so it's a respectable looking mosquito maternity ward (ahem). The video shows it but you have to imagine it so covered in blackberries that I "fell in."; )

I want to show you the video I made this week so badly but I'm trying to do this chronologically.

In the video below I ponder the Drache Weide (mystery bush). It is completely gone now, and the Rhododendron is finally feeling the light and is truly majestic. (Although I only recently learned that Rhodies hate full sun, duh, they're Washington's state flower, of course they hate the sun.)


     

I'm amazed at this photo because I can see my hedge on the right, so I'm facing the street, and you can see the eye-level solid wall of blackberries. They are completely gone today! My horse stood here today and ate a dandelion.



5 comments:

AareneX said...

Great video! I can hardly wait to see your next one.

Don't throw away that mesh fencing, you can using it for something--maybe for deer fencing around your vegetable garden? Concrete posts are an unbelievable luxury. :-)

lytha said...

Thank you, I wish you were here. That mesh fencing is the last of all of it that I've been ripping out all over this property. It's just so warped and faded and stretched and dead. I admit you're right, it serves that purpose! Just yesterday I was hanging with Bellis and Mag on The Garden when suddenly FOUR young deer rushed under my hedge into The Garden, full speed. Not expecting to see any living thing on The Garden, they panicked and doubled back. I honest-to-God thought they were wild dogs for a moment, the way they stormed under our hedge. The donkey, too.

Do you know how often donkeys spook? I've seen it 3 times in 10 years. She did a true drop and spin and gallop, though only 5 strides *lol* The horse was on the other side of that big Rhodie and had no idea what was going on, and missed it. So, Donkey and me spook, horse is left snorting at 4 young deer bolting away from us across the street and across the pasture full tilt.

Concrete posts an unbelievable luxury - God's honest truth. They'll outlast our Tposts, I suppose. And they are absolutely straight, and lovely, and I'm thinking they deserve brand new horse-safe mesh fence (if I can find that here?).

More to come!

AareneX said...

And you can "trim" under/around the mesh fence with a weed burner, btw. That's how I spent my afternoon today.

HHmplace said...

Wish you had, but loved this!

HHmplace said...

What a pretty piece of property!