I bumble around a lot. It’s a normal stragedy for a kinesthetic learner. Yesterday I spent an hour or so bumbling around the front yard around the lilac hedge with a saw designed to cut branches. The bumbling was effective. While I cannot get the stupid elm trees out of the hedge myself, I can control their top growth. It wasn’t even hard. In fact, I didn’t know it would be that easy. I got rid of the visible evidence of two elm trees yesterday before lunch. (Rocky Theme)
After that, I got a ball of string and tied up all the elm branches into semi-neat bumbles, I mean bundles, so that the trash can easily carry them away. I would like to recycle them, but it’s not an option at the moment. My little town is bumbling its way into modern times.
I have two more trees to contend with, but I might wait until fall when the leaves have, uh, fallen. I might not. It is fun to see a real change for the better in something.
In general, lilacs here are taking a kind of revenge, I think. The hedge is 10 feet tall (cut down to 5 feet two years ago). The backyard (dog yard) is a jungle of volunteer lilacs. In the yard are two huge lilacs (which will fall to my saw and pruning shears) and all around are little “weed” lilacs. “So, you missed lilacs when you were in California? HA! I’ll give you lilacs.”
I’ve seen people get a backhoe and drag out their entire lilac hedge, and all I think is, “good luck with that, you bumbling fools. You cannot win.”
Along with my new found aborist autonomy, I have had another retirement epiphany. Why did I buy a compact, economy car when I don’t commute? Yes, it’s nice that it has comfy leather seats and gets 37+ miles to the gallon, but what I need is a Jeep.
“Summer is the season of inferior sledding” - Inuit proverb 
I wish I had your bumbling energy. We are glad of every lilac tree we have. Perhaps you could get one of those horse boxes to attach to the car for the dogs, I am sure they would love it.
Your ahead of your time, girl! Thinking of mother earth 🙂 and yes a jeep would be awesome! I have to agree there. All the best with the lilac bushes. I’m allergic but I love them! who knew? pretty in blossom though.
I love them — blooming is iffy here as we often have a late killing frost like this year in May and cutting them back means they won’t bloom the next year, but I’m kind of over the blossoms at this point and would just like to get them to a manageable level ( ha ha ha ha )
Lol, manageable, sorry it makes me smile. Although you are working hard at it. Given time, you will win the battle, but unfortunately it does require effort and time both. You are Victor! You will triumph. .??? Yes indeed. Smiles, I couldn’t resist
🙂
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Our lilacs were chastened when an oak tree collapsed on them during a storm a few years ago, but surprisingly, they have come back. They are now maybe 20 feet tall. I didn’t believe they COULD get that tall.
Our nemesis are the strangling wild twining plants, the blackberry brambles — we have never gotten a blackberry; the birds get all of them — and the forsythia. They have become giant hedges, probably about 10 feet tall and totally entwined with the formidable bindweed that apparently grows everywhere. It tried to wind around us in our sleep and tie us to our bedposts when I lived in New York and it has followed me here. Hate the stuff. And then, there’s the Virginia Creeper and IT is everywhere the bindweed and blackberry brambles are not.
Worry about lilacs? Hah. Try bindweed. That stuff is lethal.
Lilacs don’t grow here–we don’t get cold enough for them to winter over. What grows everywhere and has taken over my yards is wisteria. I loved it when we first moved here. Now, if I don’t watch where I am walking, I could trip and break my neck (which I cannot afford to do) over those darn runners. I pull those things off with my bare hands. (Rocky theme). But darned if they don’t grow back even stronger! A losing battle, Martha. A total losing battle.
I tried growing wisteria in CA but it was so dry and hot that it didn’t do well.
We just had a hellacious storm that flooded my garage. through the floor. I got the roof repaired over the weekend for $3k It is definitely a losing battle. Meanwhile Dusty is a basket case because of the thunder.
Yikes, Martha! That is a lot of cashola, but glad you got it repaired. Damn. Flooded. Can’t win. Poor Dusty. My Daisy was like that. The cats? No.
Can’t win big anyway…