Whose Planet Is It Anyway?

Monday, April 26, 2010

Displacing a bit of aggression

One of the tasks on my spring cleaning list was to cut back some ridiculously overgrown rosebushes behind my deck, which had sprawled out over the concrete walkway. Because I am seriously phobic about power tools, I used a small pair of hand shears to do the whole job. It took a long time, but at least it was a more productive way of dealing with feelings of frustration than getting into useless arguments with trollish types on the Internet. Here's what the bushes look like now; I didn't try to cut them evenly across the top because they grow so fast that they wouldn't stay like that anyway.

rosebushes

The reason they needed so much pruning was because they grew to about twice the size that the catalog said they would, and I suspect that's not even their full growth. That will teach me to do independent research in the future, rather than impulsively ordering plants because they have pretty catalog pictures. They do look good when they're in bloom, though, so I suppose I can't complain too much about the extra maintenance.

I have been enjoying the spring weather. This past winter was so dark and dreary that it just seemed to go on forever. As I commented
on Clay's blog in March, on a gloomy, cold, damp afternoon while I was on the highway in southeastern Ohio going toward Wheeling, West Virginia, I noticed a car with the license plate "BE SUNNY," as if the owner might be praying for a reprieve from winter's curse, but without having that prayer answered. Today is another cloudy and chilly day; but at least the winter is finally over, so, as with the roses, I can't complain too much.

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8 Comments:

  • We had the coldest winter here for 30 years; it's only in the last fortnight that Spring's started.

    And suddenly the weather's flipped to Summer.

    The birds are franticly making up for lost time with furious nest building and exuberant songs.

    I have 140 yards of hedging - I managed 3 yards with shears, before giving in and hitting the Tool Shop. It still took the whole day to finish the job.

    By Blogger Socrates, at 10:33 AM  

  • In Switzerland it was a sunny day!

    By Blogger Ole Ferme l'Oeil, at 11:05 AM  

  • It has turned to spring recently, but it's still so cold in the mornings that I have to go out with a coat. Today, I tooked really mismatched out with my coat on top of a miniskirt and flip-flops! XD

    By Blogger TheWiredOne, at 5:34 PM  

  • Oh boy. My mom and uncle have also been working very hard on my brother's house, in the freezing cold with a whiff of old skunk. Boy, did the house stink after the poor skunk was attacked by a raccoon, in such an inconvenient spot. There are so many weeds in the yard that it would cost $5000 to mitigate them, so my uncle is trying to take care of that. Yet the yard is beautiful, and occasionally possums and deer visit.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 9:28 PM  

  • Good to have you back, ABFH.

    For the most part, it's been beautiful here. (I live in northern New England. Not something you hear very often this time of year here.:)

    By Anonymous Adrianna, at 9:35 AM  

  • I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I read your comment about the rose bushes growing twice the size the catalog said they would...kinda reminds me of my two autistic kids: they've done double what the "catalog" said they would and I suspect they'll keep doing more of the things the "catalog" said they never would.

    By Anonymous mariposaamarilla, at 8:44 AM  

  • @mariposaamarilla: Great analogy, and thanks for sharing it!

    By Blogger abfh, at 3:22 PM  

  • I too suffer the mis-fortunes of outrageously inaccurate catalogue plant descriptions - although I must admit it might also be something to do with the Californian climate - everything grows like a weed around here.

    By Blogger Maddy, at 7:28 PM  

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