What do I want to look at?

Sometimes I'm faced with the obvious. Ron and I, for instance, had accumulated a junk/brush pile on the side of the house. We're going to throw it out, sometime, but we need a dumpster, or a crew. We'd do something, we just didn't know what or when.

Mom and Dad are coming to visit in 6 weeks. See, that's what I'm talking about. Mom and Dad are going to be great for getting the place cleaned and organized. I want things to look nice for them, and it's the perfect motivation.

About the worst thing we had was the junk pile. I can finish the house stuff in less than a week (once I get the junk pile) so I'm not too worried about that. I'm also saving to buy an IKEA couch for the living room, I just have one wooden rocking chair (mine) and a plastic arm chair for visitors.

But the junk pile. I see it everytime I'm sitting at this computer. It had all kind of metal junk the other homeowner left in the yard, the burglar bars off the front window and front door (made me feel like a prisoner), old satelite dish from former owners, and a whole pile of brush. It was covered with weeds and vicious blackberry vines that never seemed to set fruit. I can forgive a lot if something is fragrant or delicious, but not if it just exists to maim me.

I had resolved days ago to start hacking away the blackberry vines, reach in, and start disposing of the junk. It isn't as bad as you'd think - this all happened over 2 years ago so I just had to break up the mostly rotted wood.

Well, it was messy and filthy but I did it. It was relatively dry and calm when I woke up (severe weather expected tonight), so I put on my long-sleeved flannel shirt and got to it. I used my rose pruning technique (I've got to weed and prune the roses tomorrow), glove on the left, lifting hand, and shears in the naked right hand. It worked very well. I had so much junk I filled a 95 gallon trash can. I had to stop when I ran out of "can". I got all the metal junk (metal scrapyard scavengers cruise by on heavy trash days, hoping for a haul like they'll get from me) freed so I can take it out on Monday, even the joke of a literally wired together half aluminum ladder, half couple of boards nailed together? I wouldn't trust anyone to that.

Once we're done clearing and tossing, we'll get Sparky, the electric mower, in there and scalp it. Cover the ground with the weed barrier edging and some black plastic until I did it up and amend it (a lot more fun than it sounds). I even found a bag, 2 cubic feet, of landscaper mix I can use.

As I was clearing, I considered the question: What do I want to look at? I have a banana tree that naturalized from part of a frozen stump I was given by a neighbor. I left it resting on the ground and it sprouted. It's cool, I like it, but I like the tropical theme. Some cannas would be nice, they're tropical and can be tall, perfect. I love coreopsis and the brightly colored cosmos, so I'll plant that. Some marigolds, maybe some tuberose, I love it.

I promised Ron I'll buy some weed barrier fabric so I can cover the ground as I clear it. God forbid everything resprouts! That would be ghastly. With clearance on the sides and 3 feet clearance on the back (2 feet against a fence isn't enough, I found that out with garden bed 1), I'll have at least 7 by 3 feet, if not more.

It'll be lovely.