Working Outside the (Cheese) Box
Fri., April 25, 03:34 PM
Last spring, when I could not see well enough to participate in many of my favorite activities, I went outdoors to work in the yard. This all began because I couldn’t smell any bramble blossoms.
Between our yard and the actual water of the salt marsh is a line of bramble bushes. Technically, I suppose, brambles are weeds, but they can be an effective barrier. They are wild roses which, in the spring, produce a brief period of fragrant blossoms.
I have mentioned that, for such a nothing house, the Cheesebox has a very nice yard. There is an unbelievable assortment of plants — okay, weeds — for such a small area. (Definition of a weed is a plant that’s growing in the wrong place.) Except for raking leaves and such, most of the yard work has always been done by someone other than me. For many years Husband mowed the lawn, in a manner that created a whole new problem. He figured that, if he let the bushes grow, there would be less grass to cut. That’s why the line of brambles is so thick.
Since Husband became incapacitated, Son has usually done the yard work. Son is not only compulsively neat, he also wants things to look nice. So he began cutting back the bushes and putting down grass seed. Maybe, one day, it will be a selling point. Now it has become my project too. This was a good week to get back to it.
After a hot-and-cold, wet-and-dry spring year before last, I wondered why I had not yet seen (or smelled) any blossoms. When I went look at them more closely (like I could really see, ha!), I couldn’t find any brambles. Instead, they seemed to be overgrown by vines. Extensive pruning would be necessary, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be doing it.
Some of these vines are insidious; they traveled up the utility pole and across the wires a couple of years ago. It seems a good idea to stop them before they get that bad again — or at least slow them down. I do recognize some of them. The only difference between these wild grapes and the vines at the House on Court Street is that these produce no fruit. There are some leaves that look a lot like mulberries — no fruit there either, of course. I didn’t recognize one branch till I cut it. Then I smelled honeysuckle. Maybe I can leave some of those for the sweet blossoms later; they attract hummingbirds.
I filled a lawn bag with vine cuttings and finally came to some bramble. The stuff in the bag wilts, and then I add more cuttings. I did that last year, until other things intervened. First it became too hot to work outdoors for long. Then Husband was in the hospital, not to mention my own surgeries. I did a little more in the fall, but then it got too cold. I am no longer very good with extremes in temperature.
Son was back last weekend, to check the grass he had planted — growing fine, thank you — and to clear some more unwanted growth. He cut back vines and other weeds so that the utility poles are probably safe for a few years. He completely cleaned an area the size of a small room; it was six or seven leaf bags full. Next time he comes to work on it, he’ll probably have more seed.
Anyhow, with this week of good weather (which will not last but was wonderful), I continued clearing. It’s amazing. I see this little bit of bramble leaf, and I decide to cut it back before it grows. I pull on the stem to look for the bottom and end up with several yards of vine, which I cut up into the leaf bag; then I pick up old leaves to fill the interstices. Tomorrow will bring some badly needed rain, and I don’t expect to get any more done till next week.
My other project for this week was to get out on the bike for a few minutes every day. It is, of course, easier when Husband is not at home, but I secured the cellar door and went out for a good twenty minutes today. I shall need a nap, ’cause I still am not good at this. But I also got on the scale this morning. I do believe the cargo is shifting…
