Saturday, May 12, 2007

Boston Ivy falling down..falling down..

Sung to the tune, "London Bridge is falling down". I'm pretty sure the squirrels did this. They're always scrambling around in the ivy that covers one side of my house and up until a couple of weeks ago it used to cover part of the back.

Since the back of the house has all the charm of an apartment building, I kind of like the ivy softening the facade. But how am I going to get it back up there? I gave up climbing 20 foot extension ladders a couple of years ago. And what would I attach it to anyway? Not to mention that a Virginia Creeper has insinuated itself (those birds again!) into the same bed and threatens to take over. Invasive plants love my yard.

Well, as Scarlett said, I'll think about that another day. Meanwhile, this morning I was about to finish mowing my back yard when the self-propel feature on the mower suddenly quit self-propelling. Have you ever tried to push one of those self-propel mowers? It's now in the repair shop for the next two weeks which doesn't bode well for the length of the grass. However it might give me a chance to recuperate from the "cold" I've had for awhile which has turned into an upper respiratory infection. Maybe breathing in all that pollen and dust wasn't such a good idea! No wonder I feel like falling down.....

11 comments:

Carol Michel said...

LostRoses... do you want to borrow my spare mower? You could if you lived closer!

And that Boston Ivy does look like it needs some "attention", but as you say, another day. I've got several projects waiting for "another day".

You are right to blame it on the squirrels. They probably messed up the lawn mower, too, while you were sick.

Hope you are feeling better!

Annie in Austin said...

I like Carol's idea, LostRoses - blame everything on the squirrels!

My head feels like a bowling ball this morning, because I didn't take the advice I give everyone else: take off all your clothes, leave them in the laundry room and get in the shower after you mow, washing all the leaf mould and pollen out of your hair. Doing this has kept me from needing antibiotics for 'allergy induced bronchitis' in the last few years.

But did I do it yesterday? Duh! Hope you're feeling upright and bouncy soon.

Also - the overview looks lovely! all the blue looks so elegant.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Mary said...

Kind of like steering a car when the power steering failed...?

I blame everything on the squirrels and rabbits. Your yard is lovely, Lost Roses. Those invasive plants show up everywhere, don't they?

We all have long lists of things to do right now. I hope that mower is fixed soon... And that cold gives up. I tend to have respiratory problems this time of year, too.

LostRoses said...

Well thanks, Carol, I knew I could count on you! My spare mower resides at my son's house now, making it not so handy. I think "another day" for the ivy means me heading out there with the loppers. I ought to lop a few squirrels while I'm at it.

Oh, Annie, I'm sorry you're feeling rotten. Darned pollen. Your advice is right on, though, sorry you didn't follow it!

And I might have overdone it on the blue but I like looking at it. When I couldn't match the blue pots I already had, I resorted to dabbing blue paint on some other pots with a sponge. To my surprise it worked pretty well!

Mary, exactly like trying to steer a car when the power steering goes out! And as for pests in the garden, for me, it's squirrels and raccoons. If one didn't do some rotten thing in the garden, the other one did. Well, we persevere anyway.

Diana LaMarre said...

Hi Lostroses,
I don't think the blue is overdone at all. It looks great.

Are those dwarf Alberta Spruce in the containers? If so, do you leave them outside in the containers all winter?

LostRoses said...

Hi Zoey, I'm glad you like the blue too. Yes, those are dwarf Alberta spruce and the idea is to winter them over. That is, if I remember to water them occasionally! I got the idea from "Gardening on a Shoestring" written by one of our local garden gurus. If it doesn't work, I know where to find him!

Did you do a new picture in your reply posts? I like it!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Oh nooooooooo, what a pity about that ivy, it looked so beautiful against the wall of your house. Those darn squirrels were at it again, I see. And they wrecked your lawnmower and gave you a nasty upper respiratory infection too. Nasty beasties! ;-)

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I've had a crummy cold too, hope you're feeling better. I HATE spring colds. I think your backyard is just lovely.

LostRoses said...

Yolanda, those squirrels have a lot to answer for, don't they? And they think they're so cute, too. I watched one rolling around in the dirt the other day like a cat in the sun.

Lynne, this darn thing is hanging on but I am feeling marginally better. Just got back from a conference in California and I was not a popular person on the airplane as I was coughing away. I wanted to say "I'm not contagious" but decide that wouldn't help anything!

Diana LaMarre said...

Lostroses,
I hope you are O.K. and back to posting soon!

Annie in Austin said...

May 24, 2007
Hey kiddo - just want to say hi and like Zoey, hope you're okay but just busy.

Annie