This week is going to be a hectic week, filled with long, full, fun hours at the County Fair and time spent slingin' shirts in the best friends booth.
This mornin' though has started the week off perfectly. To the East the sun was comin' up just behind a thick enough cloud of smoke from all the fires brewing here in the Northwest that it was showin' its splendar as a bright orange glowin' ball. To the West just out past the shore you could spy the last of the Super Moon of August. Mornings around here are still quiet yet they are on the brink of bringin' the chill of Autumn. This time next month the mornings will be a bit darker, the kids will be headed into school, traffic will double and the noises will just plain increase. Treasurin' the silence of the mornings now.
One of the things I love about my Monday mornin' routine is the little house on Caine Street. This house has been in the same family for multiple generations and it's truly a family I have grown to love dearly. I have the opportunity and have for several years now, of taking care of the landscape and workin' my magic all over it. Everythin' from waterin' the one pot on the front porch by the front door to the massive under takin' of prunin' the fruit trees that line the public sidewalk.
There was one thing that stuck out this mornin' as I watered the clematis and the rose by the gate. There is this great mound of creepy crawly ground cover that is just massive in size and it's just this beautiful lush green mass of leaves. As I looked and pondered how this stuff was so green without water - not only did it amaze - me but it was also tryin' to hide a huge hairy leg that was growin' at least 6 feet tall!
We are talkin' a spider leg from some scary movie tall,
a good mix between scifi and halloween tall.
Optimus Prime Tall.
How could I have missed this massive BLACKBERRY!!
Now I have at least three options runnin' through my head as what to do with this monster.
1. I could leave it as if I didn't see it. You know ... deny the fact I saw it and run really fast away from the house as if the big creature was chasing me and call the owner that lives in Australia and quit instantly! Never go back and let someone else deal with the issue and pretend to the rest of the world that I never saw it and that it didn't scare the crap out of me. (Reread this paragraph really fast, then stop and breathe really hard a few times and ask for water!)
2. I could tackle the beast to the ground only to clip the leg right at the soil level. Yes, this would buy me a little time until I really need to get back and deal with it. But would I? I could cover it nicely with the lush green ground cover and repeat the process as I seen new leaves sproutin' over the tops reachin' for the light. This could be a good option if I always wanted to keep it hidden and constantly be maintainin' its hidden place. Sounds like a lot of work for the long term but and easy way out right now.
3. Option 3 is a bit more challengin' and one that rings a little bit more like somethin' that I would do. EXCAVATE!! Start out with a shovel to really size up the issue and fully understand where the roots were going and how to get to the bottom of this spidery issue. Don't get me wrong I love me some good black berries and they have there place but this one ... well .. it is in the wrong place. If I need to I will call in reinforcements and truly dig up that sucker with an excavator.
The best and true clean up work is down when we can really get down and dirty with the problem at hand. Find out the root of problem and dig up everything that keeps the spidery problem growin'. The cleaner the clean-up job the better my odds of not dealin' with that issue again. In this case the blackberry again.
I find this is true with most things.
We had a great bbq with a friend an neighbor last night and the conversation turned to metaphors from the garden and how we if we took time to strengthen our own roots and we took up the space so well around the base of our plant structure we would not allow the weeds in. AKA crappy friends, crappy decisions, and so on. We would find that there would be no room for the weed seeds to set, grow or reseed.
If you have ever taken on a black berry before you can truly appreciate what I am talking about. These guys are massive in height and come from a central base. Canes come from the center each year and produce the most wonderful fruit, BUT their massive size also allows a crowd of 20 to party underneath with out even being bothered by a single weed.
Guess they know exactly what to do with their roots!
No comments:
Post a Comment