Traffic Jam

Oh the places you'll go. Or not. Traffic came to a halt on the scenic byway late this afternoon. The sign said paint. I could have sworn I saw the paint go by weeks ago. There was brand new paint on the brand new road at the exact starting point of the Kingdom of Madison last time I looked. They were up to something.

The really big surprise for the day was the crew picking up trash this morning all the way up top. I didn't see them walk by earlier and they were not that far below when I passed them. Do they know I keep the last half mile picked up and skip it? I should have an honorary sign.

The traffic jam extended to the roadside vegetable garden. It didn't quite reach my driveway. It was a little early for rush hour.

The grasses in the front bed have freeze dried perfectly this year without getting squashed by a heavy snow. They are standing straight and tall and will last the winter, growing more tattered with each storm, until I cut them down in late March.

I wandered around a bit before dark. I still have one surviving cold hardy camellia growing back from the stump. Whatever. There is no reason to dig it up or put it out of my misery, but there really is no point in having an evergreen shrub that is going to be killed to the ground every few years and have to start over from scratch.

I have some plumbing repairs to attend to and then I think I will spend some more quality time in the basement patio this weekend. I'm going to add a few more wheelbarrow loads of gravel and check my grade. It is time to hide the remaining landscape fabric that separated the soil from the gravel back fill of the dry stack stone wall.

I also want to do a little touch up work on the top of the stone wall to give it a more uniform appearance.

The planting pocket gets dung. I will play with the bricks one more time. Then a decision is going to be made and they will be sunk into the gravel. Sunk, not cemented. I can change my mind anytime.

Next year I will be joining the beasts as they lounge on the basement patio catching the last rays of sunshine.