Saturday, June 25, 2011

What Do Ya Think About That


Today has been spent outside working on the yard.




Since my father died almost 4 years ago, we've been helping to take care of 3 houses and 3 yards.  The task has been split mostly between my sister "M" and her family and us, and let's just say that when you are taking care of that much land, things tend to get neglected somewhere.  Last summer my sister did all of the mowing at the other properties, including the farm which has 20 acres, and she is the most weary of all of us when it comes to doing weekly lawn maintenance.




This summer, we've been way behind on getting flowers planted and our front porch and back patio ready to go for the season.  We've had bigger fish to fry with getting my parent's house on the market and trying to tackle the grape vine that had taken over one section of our yard.




Grapevine is some very nasty stuff my friends, and we really needed to tackle removing it because it was killing everything in its path, including the trees!  So we yanked and pulled and ripped it from the poor little trees that were barely hanging on with their branches reaching straight up in an effort to escape the clasp of the vines.  You could almost hear them breath a sigh of relief as we removed the suffocating vines from their branches.  Once the vines were gone we could set about over seeding that part of the yard...just in time for the drought, our timing is always impeccable when it comes to this sort of thing!




This weekend we should be at the farm mowing and also tending to the yard up at my parent's house, but the big tractor is broke 'd broke, so that meant we could focus on our yard and our house for the entire weekend!  The mower part will arrive on Monday from a dealership about 2 hours north of us.  We were going to drive up to pick it up, but with the price of gas, the $12 shipping fee sounded just fine to us, so we'll have to wait until Monday to get the mower deck fixed.




This morning, Mr. Tide and I lingered in bed for about a half hour, and then reality set in and we got going on everything that needed to be done around here.

When we go about doing yard work, I have my priorities and he has his, and most of the time they mesh up pretty well.  Today's chores included weeding, watering, potting, digging, and beautifying the porch and patio.  By now, we usually have all of my favorite garden items out and about, but this year they have been tucked in the dark recesses of the garage waiting patiently.




While we were out weeding, a few of our neighbors came walking down the road.  We live on a private lane with only 5 houses, so these neighbors live just up the road a bit, though we really all consider ourselves part of the same neighborhood...without the actual "hood" part!





As they were coming down the road Mr. Tide decided he needed something from the garage aka the he%# hole!  I looked at him and said, "really?!, did you HAVE to open the door right then?!"  He knows the rules...the door stays closed, because what people can't see, can't hurt them! ;-)




Our garage is our dirty little secret, the kind that only your closest friends can know about.  When we moved here, we left behind a 5 bedroom home with an oversized 2 car garage that had attic space over the entire garage.  We even installed a door in our bedroom for easy access to our attic, so our garage was always neat and clean (relatively speaking) and we parked both our cars in there.




Ahh, those were the days my friends, when scorching heat, rain, sleet, and snow didn't phase us, because we rested comfortably in the knowledge that our cars were safe and comfy in their little garage.

This house on the other hand has NO attic and 3 bedrooms, are you getting the picture?  Sure we got rid of a lot of stuff when we moved, but not quite enough, so our garage has become the black hole where everything that doesn't fit inside ends up being smashed, jammed, and dumped into it!




Now don't get me wrong, I'm not OCD and need my paint cans to all face the same way or anything like that, and our recent cleaning spree did put a bit of a dent into the mess that is the garage, but we are talking major undertaking, so a dent "ain't" gonna cut it if you know what I mean!

So why worry about a few neighbors seeing our "dirty" laundry so to speak?!  Well these weren't just any neighbors.  Oh they are really nice people, and I'm guessing they could really care less, but they just happen to be the people in the neighborhood that have gorgeous homes and immaculate yards...and I'm betting garage floors that you can eat off of...yikes!  One of them even owns a local nursery, so maybe their lawn implements are all neatly lined up and color coded...I don't know, but I do know that that garage door of ours came down in a mighty big hurry...get my drift?!




Mr. Tide found all of this quite amusing, except for the dirty look I threw his way when he opened the door at a most inopportune time, according to moi!  He looked at me and said, "this is real life," and then asked, "are you not ready for real life?"...and I had to stop a moment and take that comment in to my heat seared brain.

I wondered if the Osprey and Eagles get freaked out when a neighbor bird flies over and sees that their nest is a complete mess?!  Or how about the spiders, do they talk about another spider's web if it's not perfectly symmetrical?  The truth is, we are all imperfect, whether it be a garage or whatever, but that's what makes us perfect!

Oh, and I love this quote!  "No one is perfect, that's why pencils have erasers!"

Below is my new anthem...and I'm betting this is how some of my neighbors would think about us if they could only see inside our garage!! ;-)



37 comments:

  1. Those are some really lovely photos and boy that is a lot of yard work. You must be pooped.

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  2. I worked in the yard today too after Leila went home. That sounds exactly like something my husband would do and he knows I don't want anyone to see our nasty pig stye garage.

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  3. Grapevine is indeed nasty stuff. Wow. That is a lot of land to take care of. We can barely keep up with These Nine Acres!

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  4. What beautiful flower pics! I've never seen quite that color on the yellow petunias. Just gorgeous. That's a lot of land to take care of you guys are dealing with.
    Brenda

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  5. Your outdoor areas look pretty. I'm with you on the messy garage, and we have lots of storage in our basement etc. It doesn't help having boys who use our (what the builder calls) two car garage in the suburbs as their barn for the rabbits.

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  6. I love all the flowers!! The pink verbena in the wrought iron hanger on your house is just beautiful! Those pink hydrangeas are very pretty too! I have a cement rabbit on my front porch too!

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  7. I'll show mine if you'll show yours! Our garage is a bone of contention here because it is AWFUL. I can't even begin to describe the state it's in - suffice to say that I lock the outside and inside garage doors if there is company coming, so that no one stumbles in, unaware.
    Yours can't possibly be as bad as our :)

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  8. I always feel so sorry for trees being choked out by grapevine. Poor things.

    Our garage is pretty neat. We have tried to lighten our load and our closets with each move.

    Don't know how you and your sister deal with caring for so much property. That would totally stress me out. Eeks.

    Di

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  9. I had to giggle when I read this. That is a cardinal rule around my house too. Do Not put the garage door up if anyone can see in it. I even tell my family when I go out there if I am not back in 10min. call 911. You are not alone in this one. After I quit reading I then took a good look at all your images, they are just gorgeous. You are such a skilled photographer, Kathysue

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  10. Your photos are gorgeousness! Love the Hydrangas! And the video is great! Thank you for sharing it.
    We have a neighbor who's garage has been outfitted with a black and white checked floor that his vintage corvette calls hom. Our garage would horrify him.

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  11. Our garages are a disaster! I can totally relate, and it's my husband's mess!

    Love all your flowers, especially the pots with the bunny!

    Have a great day!

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  12. My 80yo neighbor's two car garage has one car in it and is perfectly clean, contains no tools, I mean nothing is in that space not even a leaf. It is cleaner than most of my house!

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  13. I've just come inside from digging and pulling away a nasty vine which has completely overtaken one corner of my garden! I absolutely adore gardening and look forward to every opportunity to be outside. However this hard slog/physical type of gardening is not my idea of a relaxing time in the garden. Never mind - hopefully once I have tamed the jungle and given it a good mulch - it will be a little easier to look after. Love your front porch! ;)Sharyne

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  14. We don't have a garage, so we also don't have all these problems :-)!!

    Have a great day! Ingrid

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  15. Across the pond our garage looks pretty much the same - they are always a work in progress.

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  16. You'll be pulling little starts of that grapevine for awhile. Your containers are beautiful and I adore this post!

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  17. Hi Kat,
    Looks like you are having a very busy summer.
    I love your flower photos and your beautiful pots.
    We live in a very stuffy neighborhood, to say the least. According to the neighbors around here everything has to be picture perfect. That's why we are trying to sell our home! LOL!

    hugs
    Sissie

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  18. We should start a self-help group for folks with embarrassing garages (or basements or attics, or closets) Having a place to dump your mess is a defense mechanism, and we need this sort of thing to keep sane ... that's what I tell people, and they seem to buy it.

    I had customers come to buy roses yesterday. One needed to use the bathroom after a long car ride, and two wanted to wash their hands, and the bathroom for this is the one in our basement. The bathroom itself is super, well decorated and always clean. The path TO the bathroom is through the embarrassing garage ... what a humbling experience. I am almost to the point where I don't feel the need to apologize. Perhaps I'm just getting numb.

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  19. I haven't cleaned my spare bedroom closets because I don't have a priest and a Valium handy..I can relate.

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  20. I love this post! I also hiss at the hubs when he chooses to leave the embarrassing garage door open. We had a yard sale this weekend, and did manage to clear some of that stuff out, but it definitely won't be ready to be on full view anytime soon. Lovely flower pics! Thanks for sharing.

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  21. What wonderful photo's! My motto is .... when in doubt keep the garage door closed!
    All the best, Katie from
    www.westiejulep.blogspot.com

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  22. Love the photos!! I too feel overwhelmed by yard work...but just think one day...we'll be too old and feeble to even do yardwork! That thought always keeps me going...plus ...you're right! Things don't always have to be perfect:)

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  23. Okay Kat! Were you writing about MY life? I can feel your pain. We just get our garage cleaned up so pretty and within no time at all it all starts falling apart! If we don't know where to stick something it goes in the "---- hole"!
    I must say your porch and flowers more than make up for any mess you might have.

    We are having some last minute company for a cookout, and Bobby is frantically cleaning the grill. We used it this week and it almost set the porch on fire!
    Great post... I can soooo relate!
    xo Yvonne

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  24. Boy, you have your work cut out for you with all those yards to tend to. So good to be able to spend time in yours this weekend though. Your place is so pretty. Having no garden at all myself, I will live through your gorgeous photos! A-M xx

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  25. Oh PLEASE tell me about that first photo! Is it just a painting, or does someone somewhere actually HAVE a welcome sign like that? I think it is like totally awesome and now I want to MAKE one.

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  26. Your garage is perfect my dear! Just like my basement!! ;) Your photos are gorgeous, I love the little bunny! I hope you had moment to relax. :)

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  27. So funny, Kat...a little secret...sounds just like my garage LOL! No photos on my blog from there! Beautiful photos!

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  28. We spent Saturday tending to the yard work that was soooo overdue! I don't tend to care what my neighbors think...but if I could just shut that nagging voice off in my own head, I'd have so much more free time! Love those yellow pansies, don't think I've ever seen that color before!?

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  29. LOL! I love the new mantra! Mine is by Reba and goes like: Lets give them something to talk about! ha ha.

    Your hard work certainly paid off! Your flowers look quite happy and very pretty!

    Have a great new week, Kat!

    xxoo

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  30. Such a funny post. It looks like you're getting there. The floors in the pots look really pretty. It took some real strength to pull that grapevine out. As far as the garage in the hood, well I don't have a garage, but a closet that darn well better stay shut when anyone comes. That's where everything gets crammed when the company comes.

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  31. smiling..smiling...smiling....
    Everything looks beautiful!
    You have a great week!
    Smiles~
    Gypsea

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  32. One of my faveorite
    songs. At some point,
    we just have to do
    our thing and let the
    worries about what
    others think slide off
    our shoulders. I'd
    trade a big house to
    be on the water, packed
    garage and all!
    xx Suzanne

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  33. love it! your photographs are SO LOVELY~
    hope your summer is great...

    Karen

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  34. Even "I" do not have my paint cans all facing the same way... they are in by color and size though ..so what are you saying? lol
    and yes my spices are in alphabetical order!

    HOWEVER..the falling over piles of ironing in the bottom of my closet.
    Oy Vey!

    We each need a steam vent yes?
    xx
    z

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  35. Oh Kat I would be too distracted by all your pretty flowers to even notice a stuffed garage. But I hear ya, that's how one side of our basement is -- hidden by curtains! Love that song and video. xo ~Lili

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