Summer in Maine means yard work, Modern Philosophers.
If I want to keep The House on the Hill looking top notch, I have to get my hands dirty working on the Great Lawn and the Side Gardens.
You all know how difficult it is to mow the grounds, and this Summer, I’ve had the additional issue of the Bamboo Jungle.
On the side of the house not visible in the above photo, a might jungle of bamboo has sprung to life. I ripped it all up last month, but much of it was back last week, so I yanked it all up again. Grueling work that left me dripping with sweat, and saying things about bamboo that I simply cannot repeat on a family friendly blog.
Guess what I did this morning after running 4.25 miles and mowing the lawn? That’s right, Modern Philosophers, I was destroying more bamboo invaders. Luckily, though, there wasn’t much new stuff, but it was enough to work up a sweat.
As a result of all this yard work, I had quite the pile of bamboo stacked in front of the wishing well. It was blocked from view by a large bush and a tree, but I knew it was there and it was bothering me.
Today, it was finally time to put me out of my misery…
My neighbor Mark was kind enough to help me load the mess into the back of his truck, and we took at trip to the dump.
I’ve lived in Maine eleven years now, and had only been to the dump once. No, Modern Philosophers, it was not to dispose of a body. There are swamps for that…
To be honest, I didn’t even know how to get there.
There was definitely enough rubbish to fill the bed of the truck. I was smart about it, too, and trimmed a few branches off the bush in front of the house before we left.
As long as we were going on a dump run, I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of some other stuff.
That’s Mark, my wonderful neighbor. He helps clears my driveway of snow in the Winter with his snowblower. In the Summer, he helps me clear my garden of bamboo.
He was well rewarded for his kind gesture. Let’s just say there are some Bud Lights chilling out in his fridge on this hot Summer afternoon.
It didn’t look like much once we had unloaded the truck, but believe me, that is a lot of future compost there.
I had worked up such a sweat loading and unloading the truck that I had to take another shower when I returned to The House on the Hill.
Just for fun, here is a shot of the enormous pile of brush we found when we arrived at the dump. I wonder how much of that is bamboo!
Okay, fine. Here’s one last photo from the dump. Satisfied?
I know I am. It was a load off my shoulders (and my property) to get rid of that bamboo.
Hopefully, it’s at least another eleven years before I head to the dump again.
Ooo – I do not envy you and your monstrous task of ridding the estate of invasive bamboo. What a nightmarish job!!!!
I saw it as an opportunity to burn more calories. 🙂
Gardening is supposed to be great for doing that, and I am sure you could add at least an extra couple of hundred calories per hour because of the high difficulty level (removing bamboo).
After running and mowing the lawn, I was pretty pooped. It was great exercise, though. 🙂
I don’t know about Maine, but here in California, if you’ve got a grove of bamboo, you might as well get used to it. You’ll be seeing the dump a lot more than every 11 years. Sorry about that.
We shall see I guess…maybe the snow and frost will wipe it out…
I saw the headline dump run, and my mind just went elsewhere, Austin, and I imagined you having to finish the home-half of your Saturday run in a mad dash. What’s wrong with me?!
You’re not alone.
Phew. Thanks for the company, Eilis.
We’re not alone. The Aliens are watching over us.
The headline was written with that in mind. Every boy loves a little toilet humor. 🙂
Yeah, we never give that up, do we? Always No. 2 on our minds.
Even my favorite comic strip, Bloom County, has been making fart jokes all week!
You had better dig up the roots!
I am trying.
What a beautiful house you have!
I agree with you wholeheartedly on that one. It is one of the stars of this blog, you know. 🙂
One of, but not the only one… and certainly not the lead! 😊
In the civilized Mohawk Valley, the village picks up our yard waste. I wholeheartedly admire your effort and sweat. I sweat today merely because I worked overtime and my place of employment is not air conditioned. I may run tomorrow, being inspired, among other reasons, by your recent prowess. My yard, however, will probably remain in its disgraceful state. Rock on.
Sadly, the city makes us take yard waste to the dump. You’ll get to your yard eventually. 🙂
You had a productive day! Yard work can be so time consuming. I enjoy it, but it does take a chunk out of my down time.
Yes, and it really sapped me of my energy!