With the high temperatures dropping back down into the normal range of the low mid 80s, it has been nice working outside. It has been a battle this summer trying to keep some sort of grass in the backyard. My friend up north said she has never seen it like this and has the same issues I have here. With all the rain/heat/humidity it was the perfect storm for weeds and grass to grow out of control. I spent Sunday pulling out the Plantain, almost filling a large 34 gallon trash bin full of it.
One big clump of crabgrass in one pull.
The puller I bought at Home Depot made the job a lot easier and I have a feeling it will be used a lot all over the yard in the future. It pulls them out much better by the long roots instead of by hand.
Remember these two pots of Marigolds? I moved them under the chair to keep them out of the heat, thinking they were dead last month. Friends told me they would come back, so I mashed all the dead stuff up and left it on the dirt.
I could see signs of a comeback last week.
And a lot of improvement yesterday.
Friday night while sitting on the patio enjoying the cooler temps, no bugs or mosquitoes, I thought "I need to check my AC since it has been working great overtime for the last month and clean the inside." I knew it would be looking bad because I could only remember when I did that when I moved in May 2021 and it was worse then than Friday.
Yes ... bad bad bad. I now have it in my "reminders" on my phone to check it in the fall after a summer of use, annually like I did up north. It cleaned up easily and I actually was able to put it back together with all the screw holes matched up. I flipped the power switch to 'on' and went inside to see if it would work.
I had hosed off all the dirt and cobwebs around those new looking wires and the old condenser. On the inside there was a compressor that looked fairly new. I wonder if they had this AC unit repaired before they listed the house for sale in 2021.
It is a wonder it worked as well as it did during the record setting heat the past month.
With the cooler temps and breezes now, all the hounds and dogs (even Walter) are spending more time outside. It has been nice enough to leave all the windows open 24/7 and the patio door open during the day. That was my tall wild backyard grass with a lot of clover before I mowed yesterday. Those deck ends I bought were supposed to change to their natural color after a few months and match the deck ... looks like I will have to buy some paint to do that.
Pretty amazing that Watson looks so good when last month late at night laying in the backyard, I thought he was going to die. He must have eaten something in the yard that made him that sick. He went outside on his own that night, laid down and stayed all night outside. I found him sleeping on the patio deck the next morning. A couple of days later he was back to his old self.
I called it broadleaf, my friend said it was Plantain. I am able to use my recycling bin for anything and can have it picked up if I set it out on normal trash days. The recycling is every other week. With all the weeds and some dirt I will hose it out and dry it before I use it for my recycling bin again. Yes, that is nothing but Plantain in the bin.
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Since I have a terrible designed flowerbed, with past owners doing their own thing, with hydrangeas that I can't get rid of and some poor looking rose bushes, I need suggestions on what to fill this open space with. Something that will look good with hydrangeas on each end.
The schedule rain never showed up this morning, although we got a little rain last night while I was sleeping. The list of items on the "to do" list continue to be checked off. I have a couple of major ones waiting for me.
It's a nice overcast day so far here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.
Though you say Hydrangeas are not a favorite, personally I would fill in that long flower with more of them. They are hardy, take little care and really put on a colorful show during their long blooming period. JMHO. Nice to see photos of the crew. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThat is an idea I had not thought about. You are right about easy care. In fact I cut them to the ground every fall and they always come back to that size. I don't like the brown dead look during the winter, like my neighbor's so I cut them back. My neighbor across the street trims his but it is still brown during the winter.
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