Weeding / Deciding On Tree Placement

 

Song:  Dark Night of the Soul

Artists:  Phillip Wesley

Later in the evening today...

I decided to pick another bag of weeds.

I am slowly making headway along the walkway.

On this day...

I took out the left tree...

which was dead.

I was thinking of removing the right tree...

but I think it is an Aspen...

but I am unsure.

If it is an Aspen...

I will keep it...

as it won't spread out horizontally...

but will just grow in a columnar shape...

and its fall colors will be beautiful.

I'll have to research it more.

There are several trees which resemble Aspens.

I may just wait for Autumn.

If it doesn't have Autumn colors...

out it comes.

A possible area to plant the Japanese Maple.

I first began removing the dead tree and parsing it up...

whereupon I put it on the shredding pile.

You can see the weeds...

of which I removed after removing the dead tree on the right.

I considered this particular spot for a possible placement 

for one of the Osakazuki Japanese Maples...

but if I do so...

I will have to remove these big rocks.

But...

a bigger concern will be the mature tree's width.

It will grow anywhere up to 25 feet tall...

and almost as wide.

So...

I must take that into consideration before picking the spot for it to grow.

The Japanese Maple which is supposed to arrive this week...

is but a one year sapling.

It was all there was left...

but I enjoy watching trees grow from season to season anyway.

I also have a three year old Japanese Maple coming at the end of October.

That one will be planted on the other side of the house.

I also got most of the tools I will need to plant the Japanese Maple, today.

I plan to dig and prepare the tree hole tomorrow.

I also got a 100 foot hose so I may water it...

and the flowers I will get for the walkway...

on a semi regular basis

(when there are no summer rains).

I got the weeds on the front half of the walkway.

It took me a while...

 as many were wedged between the rocks.

My two top spots to plant the Japanese Maple is to the right of this picture...

in the upraised soil...

or to the left of the walkway.

Once it grows...

the branches will greet me as I drive towards the garage if I use the lower driveway...

and will do the same if I use the upper driveway.

It will provide shade to the juncture of the upper and lower driveways...

and will form a half arch under which I will drive...

as well as providing shade for the walkway.

But...

most of all...

its Autumn colors will be a spectacular crimson.

There are still many more weeds to pull...

but...

little by little...

it will be done.

There is no rush...

as I enjoy the whole weeding process.

I love seeing progress...

whether it is through the pulling of weeds...

or through the sight of my trees growing from season to season.

I can hardly wait to plant my flowers as well.

I have picked two particular wildflowers for the walkway...

as they are not only beautiful and perineal...

but their blooming season is almost half a year long.

Although...

I will wait for Spring before I plant the wildflowers...

as I don't wish to risk a winter kill of them...

as their root systems won't be developed enough

( I was going to do an Autumn planting...

but I have since learned a Spring planting will be better for these particular flowers).

After completing the walkway...

I will work on the upper driveway...

and then the space between the bedrooms on the second floor.

These are the garden gloves I had bought.

They are much more comfortable to use...

as the chainsaw gloves had a lot of protective padding...

which made gripping the weeds rather difficult.

After resting a bit...

I then went up to the third deck to take this photo of the sun setting.

I just love working around my home...

steadily improving my surroundings.

Just through planting...

it brings hope of a more beautiful future.

I can envision the mature Japanese Maples...

and it is a wonderful sight.

----------

It is funny...

when we were young children...

if my sisters or I had misbehaved...

one of the punishments for us was to pick so many buckets of weeds

out of my mother's garden.

Now...

I actually enjoy weeding.

Not only is it a time for me to get a measured amount of sunlight...

but there is a certain amount of joy to be had seeing things neat and tidy.

Just being out there in the fresh air is so peaceful.

And...

as an added bonus...

I generally utilize the Asian squat when I pull weeds.

This will help keep my legs supple...

as it takes me about half an hour to fill one bag.

Just concentrating on a singular purpose...

all the while being in the fresh air and sunlight...

is a form of moving meditation.

I always look forward to weeding...

as I can accomplish many therapeutic things at the same time.

I always feel better after having pulled a bag of weeds.

Who would have thought?

------------

There have not been any summer rains lately...

but I must be sure there will be sunny days for many days on end

before I install the carpets on the second deck.

The deck is just so large that it will take me many days worth of work

to cover it completely.

------------

Having a home surrounded with serenity is so important.

My taking of Bandi out for a short forest walk for her bathroom usage...

while sometimes seemingly inconvenient at the time...

is always enjoyable once I am out there...

as the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest are so welcoming...

and the feeling of the mountain breeze on my face is deeply soothing.

My high altitude mountain chalet is the perfect refuge from a crazy world...

and even from summer heat...

as it never gets hot here.

The breeze is always so refreshing...

and it is here that I may remove myself from all problems...

and where I may feel so grateful for all that I have.

The views I am constantly treated to from my home always calms my mind.