One Thing Leads to Another

As so often happens, I start one project and end up elsewhere in the yard.  Everything is interrelated.

Almost two weeks ago, when the temperatures were unseasonably warm, and the ground was not frozen, I, unexpectedly, began creating a path on a seldom visited slope.  Uncovering a huge rock took time and energy away from finishing creating the newest trail on our property.  The next day, I had hoped to get the rock out of the hole, but decided I better not overdo it--my back had been pain-free for about a month or so, and I did not want to aggravate the herniated disc which seems to have healed.  Instead, I decided to continue creating a terraced path.

I had completed almost half of it they day before.   I was able to make use of a few moderately sized rocks and move them to the pond's edge.  Farther along the slope, there was a bit of trash left from a previous owner who, apparently, used sections of the property as their own private dump.

I ended up spying a pot caught under a multiflora rose bush.  Being a seldom-accessible area in the yard, two or three multiflora rose bushes escaped my not so ever vigilant eyes.  I ended up removing them and adding them to one two of my brush piles.  I gathered the garbage and stopped before the path was completed.  It is over two-thirds complete.

Unfortunately, the weather turned, with two or three inches of snow, and temperatures well below freezing, this project is on hold.

Maybe that is a good thing--almost a week later, I am noticing symptoms of discomfort where my painful bulging disc is.  I am doing my stretches and taking it easy.  I need to get symptom-free again, and continue working on my streambed and waterfall come spring.

Not Always Vigilant

Last Saturday, I was out in the yard with pick in hand. The ground is not frozen--not sure it was ever frozen yet this winter--so I decided I'd better dig up the multiflora rose bushes that have begun to crop up in the meadow. Although I'd noticed some of them and planned to be "ever vigilant" when it comes to spotting and removing invasives that have begun to sprout, I am a bit of a procrastinator and didn't get to all of them...and perhaps, I didn't see them all. Now, I have several that might be two years old or so...I was shocked to see that they had gone to seed--rose hips--but, I never noticed them flowering.

Winter makes them easier to spot...but, I normally have to wait until spring to rip them out. Not this winter...I removed quite a few, burned the rose hips so I don't end up with more seedlings, and added the thorny branches to one of the brush piles.

I can't believe the one still had green leaves:

Multifloral Rose Removal

As I did with the Japanese honeysuckle, I decided to leave this multifloral rose bush in place to provide some shelter for the birds and other animals that have been using it. I cut it off at the base, and although I expect it to resprout, I'm hoping it will be shaded out. I will likely have to continue to cut out the new growth but, at least, there will be no rose hips to spread more of these monsters around--well, not from my yard anyway, though they are in the surrounding areas. :(

During my struggle with them this year, I found myself thinking about blogging about them. I found myself thinking about them as MF rose bushes--I had to laugh when I realized the double meaning. It is quite apropos.

My first year, even before I was blogging, I found myself waxing poetic about my battle with these monsters. With their sharp thorns and many whip-like branches, I felt like I was battling the Hydra. Although I was wearing a thick winter coat, there were times I got scratches (my battle scars) and even had some thorns embedded in my thumb and finger that I couldn't remove with tweezers. Dragging the sawn-off bushes to my brush pile the moster continued to attack me with its thorns, but I felt heroic knowing that I'd defeated the beasts. Later, when the ground had thawed, I was surprised that, with a pick, I was able to remove the massive roots. Luckily, my soil is rather loose.

This year, I had fewer scratches and less of a battle because I left the bush where I'd found it. I like to think the birds appreciate that I left their perches and refuge intact. The chickadees tend to chatter at me, scolding me, I think..or maybe they are thanking me for the black oil sunflower seeds I put out. :)

Dealing with Japanese Honeysuckle

This post is at least a week late. Last weekend I was able to get out in the yard and get some things done. I was sore for a couple of days afterward, but I guess that is a good thing. :-)

Japanese honeysuckle is an invasive bush that takes over woodlands and, because it leafs out much earlier than native trees and shrubs, it does not allow sunlight to get to the ephemeral wildflowers, eventually starving them. Although my first winter here, I did remove some and used them to create a brush pile, I don't want to cut them all out of the woodland because they provide some structure to the woodland. Being that there are not many native trees and shrubs in what I've deemed "the woods", I hate to totally remove them. Also, they have been providing some shelter to whatever wildlife uses the yard.

My first year here, I mostly removed the multifloral rose bushes (another invasive alien). My concern is that while trying to improve the biodiversity and restore native trees, shrubs, and forbs, I don't want to disturb what habitat is provided by the invasives. By girdling the honeysuckle bushes, I hope to leave the basic structure of the area intact while I add natives that provide berries for birds and mammals, flowers for butterflies and other insects, host plants for caterpillars, and shelter and nesting sites as well.

I was able to remove the roots of the multifloral roses (luckily the soil is loose enough that I was able to dig them out without much trouble using a pick) and ensure that they will not regrow. However, it is likely that the honeysuckle will send up shoots from the roots. I guess I'll deal with that later--either by breaking them off as they grow or cutting them out again next winter. At least they will not produce berries and further spread this invasive.