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Yardwork

So, June was the month of in-the-house projects, what with all the painting and the rearranging and the half-finished shower (which, according to all the experts I've consulted, needs a real plumber to finish). I made an executive decision that July would be the external projects month, so I can get used to living in my new space without going crazy about the mess.

Saturday was the first big yard project, tackled by my tenants, and it went pretty well so far: the japanese maple in the front yard has been trimmed back so it looks less like it has mange; the rhododendron bushes have been trimmed back on the front and side of the house so they're no longer taking over the space, most of the bushes along the fenceline in fron have been trimmed back to reasonable levels, and the electric hedge trimmers I obtained meant this all got done in about an hour and a half (including mowing the yard and spreading some anti-moss stuff to clear off the sidewalk and side-of-the-house pathway. There's still a ton of work to do, including getting started on moving the gigantic brushpile caused by all of this work, and doing any sort of work in the back yard, but the front of the house looks much, much better than it did on Friday.

Of course, what we discovered today when it warmed up was that there was a wasp's nest (or possibly a bee's nest) in the japanese maple and that trimming back everything really stirred them up. I spent most of the day looking through the glass and wondering if they'd be able to find a way into the house, which is terrifying for me, what with being horribly allergic to stings. At dusk, when things started to cool off again and the bees went back into sleep mode, my tenant attacked the nest with some horrible chemicals and it appears to have taken care of everything. I guess we'll see when it heats up again.

I've pulled rank and am now working the early shift, so it's off to bed early for me, at least for the summer.

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