So, while I haven't been doing anything ACTIVELY about it (keeping in mind my pledge to not overwhelm meself) I've been thinking about all this land and what to do with it.
Our first - conumdrum is what to do with the yard. Hubster wants a riding mower (more for the cool aspects, rather than to you know - mow the grass) but we really don't have a spare 1500 laying around to buy something that we'll use about 15 times a year. That's what - a hundred bucks a use? Especially considering that if my garden/land plans go well, we won't NEED to mow the lawn in about two years. I'm thinking that a lawn service would be cheaper, in both the long and short run.
Then there is the fact that a lawn service would jsut mow down EVERYTHING, and there are several plants springing up in various places that I would like to hold onto. I lightly read about transplanting bushes and trees yesterday, just to be sure that my idea of rearranging the bushes we arleady have in more - appropiate locations would work. I'm guessing that I could do roughly the same thing with the plants that I want to keep. Of course, we COULD however, afford a cheap (maybe used?) walking mower - heck, even a self propelled one - but I really don't want to walk & mow that much grass (what a workout though!) and I know there is no way in sam's sunny hell C is going to do it.
Hmm.... let's see if I can convince him to just get somebody to come by and mow the lawn rather than investing in a riding mower. Man, I wonder if you can rent stuff like that - but then, it's not like you can just ride a riding mower from the store to your house. *sighs* This fellow did come around right after we moved in offering his lawn services. What makes more sense? Buying a walking mower, or hiring someone to mow for us? Depends on their rates, I suppose.
Edited: Or, we could get one of THESE badboys. He loves knives, this should jsut rock his world.
I've also been thinking about plants - I want most of the plants to be - not maintence-free, but - natural. I'm very invested in doing permaculture on most of the land - largely because it cuts down on maintence, and largely because I've always wanted to live in a forest, and largely because I love for things of beauty to also be functional. Anyhow, being the outlandishly cheap git that I am, I have been trying to keep an eye out for native plants that are growing in - well, free areas. Like ya know, on the sides of roads, in abandoned lots and the like. I want natives because well - they're native. They know how to handle the weather, the rain, the bugs - all that jazz. I also figured that if I see them is those sort of areas, they are most likely purty dang - toughh - to be able to survive, so I won't be able to kill them off. The first one that I saw - and fell in love with - is the Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) which is not only one of the prettiest, most tropical looking trees I have ever seen, also not a native, and also very bloody invasive. dammit! Why must the plants I like be invasive non-natives? I love honeysuckle as well, and simply refuse to pull it down - non-nativity be dammed. Anyhow! I'm still rather guiltily thinking about getting just ONE for the deck. Gah!! So pppuuuurrrttttyyy!!
It's - funny - how few plants I 'know'. For example - the trees that Mr. W said were tuliptrees are NOT the tuliptrees that most websites show. No where near, in fact, which means it's gonna be fun going through my book and figuring out what the hell it actually is, and whether we really want to go through the effort of transplanting it, or if we can just take it out before building the deck. Poison Ivy? No clue. I saw something on the property that looked like mint - but plucked a leaf and no smell, so no clue. There are several plants that I 'recognize' but have no bloody idea what they are. It'll be fun going out there with my wildflower/native plants of Tn ID book and figuring out what is what. And of course - you've gotta catch them in flower to be really certain of what it is (at least, that's my take on it) and so it's gotta grow, and thus cannot be mowed. Blah! I wish we had a fence, so that the neighbors couldn't see - cuz it really doesn't bother me.
One of the bushes out front is in flower with these big fluffy bluish purple flowers - Hygredrea (or something along those lines) I think it is. Rather - ugly bush - in my mind, the flowers look so - fake - but eh. It's there & blooming.
Hah! Found it - it's this, I think.... but blue. That means that soil is acidic - which is cool to know - most likely from all the pine needles that have been dropping on the front lawn for - eons.
Huh - that picture is purtier than my bush. I'll definitely have to take a picture this evening - I also need to take a picture of the wildstrawberry that covers all the shady bits of the yard for a friend of mine. Hmmm... it says you can make tea out of it - Hydrangea macrophylla - I suppose anything you can make tea out of isn't ALL bad. Still funny looking.
bummer!! It's raining, and I'm not at home to dance in it. *pouts* Well, at least the everything gets some water - things have been looking purty parched lately.
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