It's a Jungle Out There

Back in the old days when I actually worked from home, I would routinely do all kinds of yard work during the week. It was so convenient to just walk about at 10:00a on a Wednesday and decide to mow the yard.

I've been suffering from a severe case of "I don't care" so much about a well manicured lawn for the past couple of years. When we first moved in here ten years ago the lawn was kept mowed and the brush had been cleared out from the yard near the street. I'm a big proponent of privacy and I actually prefer my house not be visible from a street. We're slowly getting back to that point.

It's amazing what happens when you don't mow for a year or two. The first thing I've noticed is a far greater number of wildflowers than I've seen in previous years. Plus with all the sunflowers I've allowed to grow, we're going to have a spectacular display of yellows around October or so.

In the meantime I would like to get the mower out and at least mow a path around the house so we don't have to walk through tall grass. Plus it's impossible to see any snakes with the grass so high.

It should be obvious from these photos what a difference an abundance of rain can make in greening things up. This is the path to the garden from our back patio. The cedar chips have decomposed mostly and the grass needs to be cut from the path.



You make a right turn down at the tree and there's a slight incline up to the garden area which you really can't even see in this photo. It's a very small plot of two raised beds enclosed in a wire fence.



Green, green and MORE green. This is another view directly into the back yard from the patio. That whirligig on the left was a gift from me to txrad for one of his birthdays. It has two segments which are supposed to spin in opposite directions with some help from the wind. I don't see it spinning very often.



The west side of our yard which would be a left turn at the tree as you walk the path to the garden is a lot of... grass. I really like it when the tall grass gets those slightly purple seed heads which sway in the breeze. Collectively, they will look very purple and I think it's a lovely sight. The street lies on the other side of those trees and I love the fact it's not even visible. Once I get those conditions in place on the east side of the yard, I'll be content.

Our neighbor across the street keeps his yard looking like a golf course. I'm sure he is appalled at our "landscaping." I don't care. We're rustic hippies over here.



Ahhh, life at the kona ranch.