Weed Killer

There's a little area by the driveway that's usually got someone's car parked in front of it. Which... is good because it looks like this:

If we wait any longer, we'll need a machete to reach the trash can. I've tried to just sit down and start pulling them but quickly became overwhelmed. That little circled area is all I tackled before it became too much. It's crazy over there! We needed some weed killer, stat. 

As Russ began to spray, I moved the trash cans to reveal a little surprise!

We tried to spray far enough away from the little nest and I've been keeping an eye on it for a couple days. I haven't seen the mommy bird and I'm getting a little worried. I hope we didn't scare her away from her nest or something. 

Russ was enjoying weed killing way too much.

Me: "Don't spray the weeds in the grass. They just get cut with the lawn and it doesn't matter. You'll kill the grass."

Russ: "I'm not killing grass, I'm head-shotting weeds." Spoken like a true gamer. 

We'll see how many brown spots appear in the grass in the next few days. 

"These better be dead by tomorrow." 

It's been about two days since he sprayed and the side of the driveway currently looks like this:

Yeah, it's getting there. If I had bought this house I'd rake up all those weeds and lay down some nice mulch right there to keep the trash area looking clean. Buuuut we're only renters so I'll stick with the bird nest and the dirt that's leftover after the weeds are dead. Either way it's an improvement!

Nice To Mulch You

I remember growing up occasionally I'd have to pull some weeds or do some hedge trimming after my Mom mowed the lawn. I'd watch my parents plant flowers, trim hedges, paint fences and porches and I'd think, "ICK. When I'm a grown up, I'm not going to waste my time doing yard stuff! BOR- RING!" 

And then I thought today as I was using my spare time to pull weeds, spread mulch, and plant things... I am now the boring adult that my younger self scoffed at. It sucks to grow up and get old and realize that you actually care what your house looks like. (Eleven year old Ashley is cringing inside as I write this.)

Oh well. 

Here's some pretty flower pots I planted a few weeks ago that have really gone beautifully. The white petunias were very scrawny but it looks like they're taking over now.

Our flower beds are sooooo weedy. I haven't bought any weed killer because I never think of it when I'm at the store so I've just been pulling some in my spare time here and there.

Before...

And after... still weedy- see my piles?

Fred Meyer had a sale this week that was 4 cu. ft. of mulch for $12! We bought eight bags and decided to go delicately light on the mulch because this is a rental and only surface appearances matter.

I also saved some of the newspaper for a weed guard after seeing this:

Source

I spread the mulch out on 3-4 sheets thick of newspaper (definitely need more than a week's worth!) and this is about how far I got for this evening. This was only one bag of mulch spread thinly. We got that flat of petunias for $9.99 at Fred Meyer on sale this week because they're normally $16.99 (I love that store!). 

And this little guy... I called him Mr. Sluggles, hitched a ride in the purple petunias from the Garden Center. 

He's kinda cute, huh? My brother thinks slugs are on par with spiders but I beg to differ... 

So yeah, it's coming along slowly, but I'm glad we're getting everything on sale and making this as inexpensive as possible. 

Speaking of spiders... I had a mini-heart attack when I looked over at the garage wall, and right next to the space that I'd been slipping by all evening to go from the yard to the garage, and saw THIS:

If I was a less dignified lady I would have torn off my clothes and incinerated them immediately. Let me make this clear: I HAD BRUSHED UP AGAINST THIS ALL NIGHT AND HAD NO CLUE!!! It was one of the grossest, revolting, disturbing, and DISGUSTING things I've seen in a long time and there was a possibility that some of these little hellions were on me or in my hair (no joke, I'm getting the creepy-crawlies while writing this) (another side note: when I typed "crawlies" I thought of these Crawleys. I know this has nothing to do with the post but Downton is awesome, is it not?).

Sybil's my favorite!

I like making the yard look pretty but there are some downsides:

-you're doing work

-there are bugs outside like spiders, centipedes, disgustingly-huge beetles that hide beneath weeds I'm pulling

-it sucks to sit on the ground near the bugs

-weeds are evil

-it's time consuming

And then there's this, which I find totally hilarious and true:

Source

Well said, Mr. Gaffigan. Well said. 

Mowed Over

One thing I have yet to tackle as a renter was yard maintenance. And... it was quite nice. I'd wake up some mornings to hear the landscapers outside mowing the apartment lawns and I'd feel all cozy in bed and smile knowing that I didn't have to do a thing. 

And then we rented a house. I knew this day would come and I was both dreading and looking forward to the Spring. We've been looking up lawn mowers and the pros and cons of each kind: gas mowers, electric mowers, and reel mowers. I originally wanted to get a reel mower because it would be cheap and the most eco-friendly choice. But, glancing at my lawn I knew that it would be a beast to tackle with a reel mower so we moved on. 

I didn't want to deal with gas, oil changes, or tune-ups that are required from gas mowers. 

So our only alternative was an electric mower. It's more eco-friendly than gas as it has no emissions and it doesn't require any maintenance. Annually the electric mower will cost only $3-5 a year and gas would cost that per gallon. My kind of mower! We went to Home Depot expecting to find the electric mower options that we'd seen online. 

It was also the same price as the cheapest gas mower. 

$159 Source

But, they only had two electric mowers in the store. And this Black & Decker was the cheaper of the two. Our time was running out as fast as the grass was growing so we decided to get it. It also had pretty good reviews on their website so we figured we'd go ahead. The salesman even took off $20 so we could buy a 50 ft power cord for the mower which made the cord only $9.97. $200 still stung though... stupid boring adult purchases! 

$199 Source

Isn't it bizarre looking too?! I mean, my Little Tikes bubble lawn mower I played with as a child looked more like a lawn mower than this thing. 

So, after I figured out how to plug it in... 

Thanks for the blurriest drawing ever!

And I was in business! Unfortunately... I really underestimated the cord length by a lot... and only cut to that dotted line! 

After a quick run to Lowe's for another hundred feet of cord and I was back out there. Wow, was that grass long. I had it on the highest setting and it was very laborious to push the mower through the grass. Oh yeah, and mowing sucks. The electric mower did cut the grass but it struggled through the high grass a bit more than a gas mower would have. But, I also don't plan on letting it get that long!

The side yard was probably the worst part... weird weeds and really thick grass. I'm happy with the lawn mower for the most part:

Pros: 

-no gas

-no other maintenance

-easy start up, simply pulling a lever and holding it

-really, really quiet

-has a bagging and a mulching feature

-lightweight 

-adjusting the blade height is as simple as moving a lever next to the wheel and lifting the machine up

-handle folds for easier storage

Cons:

-you're still mowing a lawn

-I hate cords. HATE cords. I hate them no matter what they're attached to and having a corded lawn mower was an interesting experience. It will require a little more lawn mowing strategy. Just start at a place closest to you.

-not as much power as a gas mower

-holding down the lever can be kind of annoying

Also, hidden obstacles like a random weird pipe stuck in the grass. I had seen it before mowing but, of course, forgot about it and nearly sprained my ankle. Fun times. 

Our yard also has a few little blooms here and there...

Our front tree is blooming now with gorgeous Spring flowers. 

Three strands of old Christmas lights and one Christmas bow! I almost didn't get the lights down because they were so wedged up on the branches!

I still need to mow again in a few days and hopefully then the yard will be tamed!

Yardage

Today is pretty darn lovely so I spent some time outside. I took a mile and a half walk around our neighborhood (and re-irritated my blister that caused me to stop walking two times before), swept the carport deck and front walkway plus stairs, and took some pictures around our little property because I don't think I had any before.

It's hard to believe that just a couple of days ago the outside looked like this:

I brought some snow in for the kitties to inspect which they found quite tasty. 

But, the snow melted by the afternoon and now it's feeling a little more like Spring around here (though, I'm told that Winter isn't over until July 1st... ahh...).

Here's our carport deck and stairs that really needs to be washed and repainted. It's definitely looking pretty scraggly and terrible. 

These three boards of the landing were just replaced yesterday. They now bring a patchwork quilt quality to our already shabby, sad stairs. But, at least they're now structurally sound!

Mildewy, old, paint-peeling, and dirty floor. I really would have loved to have made this a cute little sitting area but I have one problem.

This is my problem. Apparently a big snow from a Winter or two back forced the owners to break the little plastic-y skylights on the patio awning to keep them from breaking and snow falling on someone's head. Unfortunately, they broke them in a very ugly fashion rather than making it straight and nice. I will remedy this by breaking them all the way... But it makes it rather hard to make a nice sitting area when there will be rain leaking in.

Then to the side we have our only completely covered part of the patio that mom has set two wicker chairs under. 

Here is the view from the driveway of the side of the garage. I'd love to do something here, even if it's just throwing out all those weeds and leaving it bare dirt. It would still be an improvement. 

It seems we are growing jars of trout bait. How lovely. I thought it was a jar of yellow paint. I was very mistaken.

This is the walkway up to the front door that I swept off today and it looks so much better! 

Then there's this hideous tree that, from the street past the fence, looks like we have a huge pile of sticks big enough to burn someone at the stake, hanging out by our walkway.

And, it attracts bees! Wonderful. It is our first line of defense against door-to-door sales people. 

Pretty boring and weed-covered. I want to do something to make it look a little better without spending much money because we're just renters. 

For some perspective, this is my weird window in our bedroom. Strange, right?

And here's our lawn that needs mowed...

This looks to be blooming soon though I have no idea what it is. Looks kinda ugly at the moment.

This bush/tree thingy has some pink buds all over it that are beginning to open. It will probably attract a lot of bees too...

And weeds! Our yard has a few of those coming in quite nicely. 

And finally, the East side of our house that no one sees besides our cul-de-sac neighbors and their roaming, outdoor cats. So exciting, right?!