Yard Work/Sad News

Sunday was cooler than Saturday and rain was predicted so I headed out to work in the yard around noon when it had warmed up enough to be comfortable. The grass patch I laid last weekend did not appear to be sprouting yet despite the good rain we have had this past week. Maybe warmer weather this coming week will help. The grass is looking greener but there are still those bare spots and weed infested areas.
It is much more enjoyable to do yard work in the cooler weather and I took advantage of the temps today.My back windows were looking dirty from the inside and since I can't clean them from the inside, I got a ladder and did the outside cleaning. One of my pet peeves is dirty windows. I really enjoy looking out clean windows. Hopefully these will stay clean enough over the winter. Next the bird feeders got relocated and filled.
Having some frustrations to relieve, I next pruned my Dwarf Korean Lilac, Miss Kim. She has been growing so full and tall and she hides much of the gardens from my view out the bay window in the kitchen. I thinned out the older branches and did an allover trim. Miss Kim is now a much more petite version of her former self. I know that I probably should have pruned her right after the blooms died in the early summer, but I am willing to sacrifice blooms for a year.
After the fun with the pruners, I headed to the garden that runs on the east side of my backyard. I finished the clean up of Russian sage, columbine, day lilies, morning glory, lambs ear, weeds, the compost heap, bagged leaves and overgrown plants. I also moved some of the volunteer cariopteris to a more suitable location and can't wait to see the beautiful blue blooms next year. I also dug up and transplanted some Northern Bay Berry shoots. They will hopefully fill in between the arborvitae that are planted in a zigzag pattern across the back row of the back garden. I moved some of the dead morning glory vines to a location near the cyclone fence in hopes that they will seed and grow on the fence. The morning glories had found a new home in the compost heap but it is too hidden to enjoy. The fence will be a better location. I was really pleased to find that my many plastic bags of leaves have decomposed into a rich and loamy compost. It took at least two seasons but the compost will be good as a rich nutrient cover on some of my gardens.
I have a few more garden areas to clean out including the "Disappointment Garden" and then there will be the endless leaves to rake too. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for the next few weekends.
I learned some very sad news today. Tatum, the daughter of my coworker ,Curt, lost her battle with osteosarcoma, bone cancer, on Saturday. Tatum was ten years old. I know that work will be a sad place tomorrow. We have all been raising money and donating our vacation time to Curt so he could spend the last several weeks at home with Tatum.

Tatum