Thanksgiving

So far during my days off for Thanksgiving I have not accoplished any of my painting goals. Yesterday I went over to Bobbie's house to help her leash break her puppies and then she gave me 5 hollies (some with berries) to start working on the foundation planting on the front of my house. So, I FINALLY got everything planted and now I have things to plant once again. I currently have the 3 large hollies set out front where I will plant them. We both think I need one more BIG holly to use as a corner plant. I would then like to put some firehouse nandinas in front of the hollies and maybe edge the whole thing with mondo grass.

This afternoon I went to Thanksgiving dinner at Bobbie's and when I got home I had initially thought I might try to get started planting the hollies, but instead decided to work some more on pulling crab grass. I had started pulling crab grass yesterday. My yard is over run with some sort of I'm guessing it is a weed that almost looks like a very green, slightly larger leafed version of the ajuga I have out front. I have assumed they were weeds and have been pulling them up. I do have some ENORMOUS crabgrasses on the side of the house that I keep meaning to attack, but have not gotten to yet.

After working on the weeds for a while I decided that instead of digging in the hollies, I would try to dig out the roots of the catalpa saplings I had hacked down along the back of the house. There were TONS of roots and some more sapling stumps I found as I was digging out roots. I got most of the surface stubs gone except for a few under some bags and two really big ones on the edge of the house that are near the water heater. I certainly didn't get all the roots, but in most of the area now there is at least nothing above the surface and probably nothing for at least 3 inches down. I need to go get some pine needles before the area becomes overrun with weeds. I think pine needles will be on my shopping list at Home Depot tomorrow.

With the arrival of the hollies, I have pretty much given up painting this weekend. I think tomorrow I will try to work on planting the hollies and try to get some pine needles spread.

Tomorrow is the delayed trash pick up, so this afternoon and evening I had to tackle the task of getting the 40+ bags of leaves in the back and side yards up to the trash collection area. Finally got them all moved, with mom helping me get them over the fences into the back yard. I can't wait for the trash to come tomorrow so I can have my back yard back, leaf and trash bag free!