Sometimes You're The Windshield, Sometimes You're The Bug

Here is a great singer/songwriter to go with this post.

I came home to the farm this week and what did I find?  In preparation of re-doing the deck, my husband decided to 'trim the hedge', a job I have always done.  I planted these boxwoods more than twenty years ago and they were huge.  Imagine my shock at seeing this and it looks so much worse than this picture. 

My God, I told him.  Did you use a chainsaw?  No he said, the hedge trimmer, though our trimmer wouldn't cut through a twig larger than a 1/4inch and some of these are two inches in diameter.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  

You can see through them and I doubt they will ever grow back on the house side.  He said they were all dead inside and I told him they always are; they grow from the outside.

In thirty years, I would have had a beautiful landscape of plants and gardens - that is if it were not for the husband's weed eater, herbicides and burning.  At the city house he is not to touch anything as I have hired a garden and lawn crew.  I still haven't figured out the watering system, but will, somehow.

The refrigerator is on the fritz too.  The new ones now are expensive and computerized.  The ice maker and filtered water system has gone out and I don't know who I'll find to fix it at the farm.  

My husband catches raccoons and opossums in a cage as they eat all the animals' feed.  I've asked him not to do it in the garage or patio as it makes such a mess when they try to get out.  He caught a skunk.  My patio still stinks whenever I walk out the door.

Me, I'm heading back to the city soon.  It is not fun keeping up two houses.

Bush Birds

This big guy is as big as a real turkey. Though he needs a good clipping you get the picture.

Here is a mother turkey and 2 little poults that I planted last summer in the ground. They seem happy there.

I just started trimming my bird bushes. They are so easy to grow and I can leave them out all winter. The bird in the back is sculpted from a Japanese boxwood. It is a different look. Most of the birds are made from Green Mountain Boxwood. The Green M. B. has smaller leaves and the plants are much denser. I would advise you to first experiment with the GMB. You can start with a 1 gal. bucket all the way up to 5 gal. Of course, the larger bushes will give you a specimen plant right away. First, look for a plant that has a single solid base or stem coming from the dirt. It can branch off into several (look at the second plant) just as long as the branches aren't all coming up from the dirt. This makes it look more like a foot. Then, visually divide your plant where you think the head and tail would be. This will take a few minutes of looking it over; holding it this way and that. Then get those shears out and play like you're Edward Scissorhands. I would like mine to be sloped more on their back as it makes them more birdlike. When spring and summer come around, just give them a 'haircut' and that's all they need. Hint~I planted quite a few smaller 1 and 2 gal. plants last year and will wait until they get bigger before I shape them. It's a good way to save money. The 1 gal. plants are about $6.99 and the 5 gal. are around $25.

Don't forget the upcoming giveaway! The instructions were posted a few posts back. I'll let you know exactly when, what and how in the coming days. The giveaway will be on my 100th post.