This is our neighbor’s idea of what our yard looks like or at least my idea of what they see. Today though we take control of the shrubbery. We will beat back the jungle. We will recapture our yard. As with all such projects, my first step was a trip to the hardware store. My chief purchase was a gigantic glyphosate jug, also known as Roundup. A week or so ago, I had sprayed the poison ivy with some weak ass generic herbicide, which had some effect, but not the total death-kill that I was looking for. Today, I brought out the big guns. I got a gallon jug of the juice that came with a battery powered spray applicator and a two-foot wand. I really like the new powered applicator, because now my hand does not get tired. It is amazing how much easier a job is when you have the right tools.

Getting rid of the poison ivy is only half the battle though. Think of it as merely an obstacle, preventing us from getting to the shrubbery that we really want to hack. No problem though, because at the beginning of this month we had purchased a Shrubber. Right after we bought it, I showed it to the plants in our yard. Threatening them with its electrically powered reciprocating blades. I thought that I had detected a shudder then, but the plants continued to grow. With all of the rain that we have had since then, the yard has become a jungle.

Anne and I hacked and hacked and hacked. We filled two huge barrels with yard waste, plus one leaf bag. There is still a lot more to do, but we made a good start.