I've been making GREAT progress on my yard over the past 3 weekends. The worst part of it is done- the cleanup of the stuff that died out over the winter, and the danged weeds that think they're pretty enough to be showcased (they're not).

I've been doing something different this year and I hope my yard doesn't overdose on preen. I go over the areas that have already been weeded each time I garden and then pour another light dose of preen. So far, it's taking me about 10 minutes to re-weed those areas. Y'all have seen my yard by now- when I say areas, I mean BIG areas. The preen makes a HUGE difference.

Stuff is starting to grow back and the yard is not depressing to look at anymore. I tell you what, I have the MOST beautiful and relaxing yard until winter comes. Then it just depresses the heck out of me. I guess dead and brown would depress anyone.

Anyhoo...

I'm really hoping to FINISH the major stuff tomorrow- I don't care HOW long it takes. I was gardening for six hours straight last Sunday. I'm not talking namby-pamby gardening, I was hacking at things most of the time and filled my 48 gallon yard waste container with stuff that was no bigger than my hand. That's a lot of stuff. Trust me.

I still haven't used my prized rototiller yet. The area that I plan to till now has that nasty stinging nettle higher than my head. I need to wack that stuff down before I can get to where I want to go. I suspect I will have the same story to tell that I tell every year.

"I got smacked in the face with the nettle again".

You'd think I'd learn, but when I'm on a mission- I'm like a machine. I sometimes envision getting my garden to the point one day where I can have a cute little basket and a nice gardening hat and just pick the pretty flowers; weeds being a thing of the past. I have a feeling that if that day comes, I will have hired someone to do the 'dirty' work- and that's just not going to happen. There's something very therapeutic about wacking things.

Oops- did I say that out loud?

With every plant that comes back to life, my gratitude meter raises another few notches. Within a month, there will be no living with me because that's when EVERYTHING starts going to town in my garden and it different things bloom every few weeks until fall. That's a lot of joy, my friends.

I"ll take some pictures of "now" and upload them to my flickr account later on today. Every year I try to add something new (that also means removing something I didn't care for very much from the previous owners), and even though it'll probably look the same to y'all- it becomes more beautiful and more 'mine' every year. This is 'our' (me and my garden) third anniversary and it still takes my breath away.

No wonder I've become such a homebody. It's hard to leave a place that brings me such peace and joy.

If you haven't been with me long, here's the entry of when I first saw this place and had to rely on my faith that my gut wasn't steering me wrong.