I Might Be Wore Out

My dead hemlocks were big suckers. There was nothing petite about them. I think my cabin building and renting neighbor is most pleased with his haul. One full trailer load was taken out this morning. Another load will go out tomorrow. The clean up has begun. A pile of rubbish has formed.



Seven huge hemlocks and one giant black locust for my wood burning neighbor came down. The difference is subtle to say the least. The forest has been pushed back about twenty feet perhaps. Eighty percent of the trees that remain, mostly through the center section are dead hemlocks. There is an entire grove of them down this very steep slope and across the stream below. The slope is so steep it makes getting them out problematic Even the ones up towards the top had to be pulled out by chains attached to the machine.

At this point if someone wants to cut them down just to watch them fall that is fine by me. They're all going to come down anyway. I'm not so sure I want to deal with having them pulled out of there and up onto my future house pad though. It's too much of a mess. We'll see. At a certain point they won't be useable anymore. Too much decay will have set in. The dead hemlock window will be closing soon.



I need to get this whole area tidied up for guests in May. My pile of collectibles has slowly been shrinking. I keep at it. I need to find good homes for some of this stuff instead of sending it to the dump. I may have a taker for some items with my cabin building and renting neighbor. Eventually I will need a little shed for storing my collectibles.



Cleaning up wore me out. I went for a slow stroll instead of taking a nap. The newly planted Lycoris look unfazed by their exposure to snow and a low of 25 degrees. So far so good. It's supposed to get much colder come Monday with a slight chance of snow. I won't really worry if the tops die back. If I see a bloom next fall or foliage the following spring I will know they have adapted and survived. There's nothing else I can do. Mulch. I can give them a nice layer of wood chip mulch.



Remember the ridge top garden? I don't get over there much it seems and when I do I spend my time picking up sticks. The lack of heavy snow means I am not getting any assist in crushing all the dried dead stems of the perennials to the ground. It will make my trimming work a bit more labor intensive. I like to have a nice clean slate for the Bulbapaloozathon. Just thinking about it made me tired.

And if it doesn't get cold and stay cold, the time for trimming the dried dead sticks of the perennials before the bulbs start showing up and getting in the way is going to be here sooner than I want. Snowdrops are supposed to be poking up about now. They just are not supposed to be set to bloom so soon.



Daffodils already? There are always a couple of eager arrivals and I did see a few on my slow stroll. Let's hope it sticks to just a few.



I have been slowly reassembling the resident gardeners house from the discombobulation caused by the flooring work and slowly closing it down for the winter at the same time. The pump was shut off and all the water lines drained. Antifreeze was put in all the drain traps. Next I need to drain the dishwasher hoses since it is gravity challenged. Then there is the building contractor's tool closet I said I would clean and organize.



I might be a bit wore out. I'm ready for a blizzard and some long afternoon naps.