Summer Holiday Weekend Recap

Hello and happy Monday to you!  Did you melt this weekend?  My Lord it was hot.  And what do you do when you're us on a hot weekend?  Dig out a tree obviously.  

😑  

Remember the pic of the tree from last week after the landscapers hacked it up?

It went bye-bye.  We were going to attempt to save it to possibly see if my friend could plant it at her new home (even though it should be done when dormant.)  Well, after determining the roots attach to the Earth's core, we had to scrap that idea.  We tried to get out early enough but it wasn't.  We hacked off the top in sections using some really great pruning shears that made that job super easy then the Mr lobbed off the top so we could begin on the roots.  We bought a shovel called the Root Slayer and I will say it did an amazing job getting through most of it.  Neither of us are at our strongest right now so despite knowing we could've continued with chipping away at the monster roots with the blade at the end, the Mr started talking about mini chain saws.  We got a quote from a handyman service and they said $150/hr but likely $350 if landscapers had to get involved.  Well, between the two products, we'd be under $100 so I green lit it.  We called it a day after 90 minutes.  My God that was labor intensive just getting the soil moved around much less hacking at root systems.  "Japanese maple have shallow roots" my ass.   This is where we left it Friday:

The soreness set in quick on both of us after our cold showers.  We had vegan corn dogs and freggies for lunch for a summertime feel then became one with the couch because moving was painful.  I suggested a rare small DQ cone to get out of the house and I swear I felt better after.  The bebe chainsaw arrived but we charged it the rest of the night to be ready for Saturday.  We wrapped up watching a dog diving competition because doggies.

Saturday rolled around and we had a decent breakfast knowing what was ahead of us with the tree.  We got started around 10am and to say it was a total sh*t show would be an understatement.  We attacked that thing with every tool in the arsenal, literally.

The roots seemed to reach into the pits of Hell with Satan playing tug of war.  Actually that would consist of a back and forth but no matter what we cut, that trunk would NOT move!  We used the Root Slayer cutting shovel, the wonder bar and mallet, pruning shears to cut the smaller roots, hack saw, mini circular saw, jigsaw, folding saw and drill with varying bits.  

(Check out the two small chunks of "shallow roots" by the broken mallet)

With all of that dangerous arsenal I brought out a baggie of Blood Cease clotting powder in case God forbid we needed it.  We switched back and forth a few times but I made him put on my goober gardening hat and the neck fan since the sun was directly overhead but it worked.  That along with our cold water and a little bucket of ice water with a washcloth to sop off the sweat helped us not overheat.  

Just when we were both ready to throw in the towel, I suggested maybe getting a thick or long drill bit and try to drill into the places that had already been sliced or jabbed at.  That seemed to do the trick as far as being able to get deeper than he could before because no matter what we tried, we could not get clearance underneath from compacted dirt to see what we were dealing with.  I went in to start lunch and I heard him say it moved and he'd need my help to get the rest out but I had 2 minutes left on the food being ready.  I heard him hammering around out there while I was plating up and the next thing I knew:

Holy poopballs!  It was FINALLY out!  He said the drilling is what put it over the edge and finally gave him the leverage.  I really wish he would've waited for me but it's done.  After lunch, I moved the dirt back over in the blazing heat and we both took cold showers and fainted on the couch.  As the day wore on, we both got more and more sore until the tiniest movements were almost impossible.   Both of our hands were torn up from using everything, especially the Root Slayer because you need to get leverage with it and move it around in the dirt.  I had us put on a good skin barrier lotion to help them feel better since they were pretty numb.  Now you guys may be asking why the hell would we have chosen to do this labor intensive job over the hottest few days of the year so far?  Not by choice.  We're waiting to hear when they're coming to replace the bum siding under the window and we think the tree being that close is what made them do a crappy job to begin with.  So we'll see.

Around 6pm we headed to the nursery because I needed to amend that horrid soil if I was going to do anything with it next year minimum but also I had 3 dahlias that needed to go in the ground and the amount of clay was ridiculous.  We got a bag, grabbed dinner out to bring home and started firing up heating pads, massage guns and the like to take us into Sunday.

Sunday we both got up craving a big breakfast so we got that ticked off the list.  My hands were TOAST.  Many blisters, numb spots from friction and just plain stiff joints.  The strength workout I had planned for later would likely have to wait.  I saw milkweed on clearance and since people say it can be a crap shoot doing them from seeds, I got some to help the monarchs.  Anyone who pays attention to plants can tell you there has not only been a significant drop in bees and lightning bugs but an alarming drop in Monarch butterflies.  Milkweed is their preferred food and there is still time to plant them to help!  Please consider it especially as plants like that are getting marked down/on clearance.   I went out and put my two Cinderella native plants in the side bed which I've dubbed "Mom's Garden."  I will put all of my colorful flowers that she would've liked on that side.

Ahh when in the pot you think the ones you're planting will tower over the ones already there.

Nope.  Da zinnias are tall even if not as tall as in the other planter.  Then I was a pooped pup from just 30 minutes between watering in the back and planting in the front.  I was going to have to wait until the sun passed over the house to use The Claw to amend the soil with potting soil and compost.  So I strapped on my neck fan and sat in the AC until the overheat simmered down while the Mr had to do a wipe of the desktop and reinstall the operating system and it pooped the bed and he basically worked on it all afternoon.  Ahh, every day is a new adventure, is it not?  I did chat with my friend who wants to do some planters for privacy for apartment balcony and we bounced ideas off of each other.  I sent her articles and found plants she took pics of that she liked and told her what nurseries in her area had them.  She was super excited and said how much she loved the pics of my patio garden.  Imagine her getting inspired by me and the video I put together for her!  

(I hope this video works!)

I watched an episode or two of Gardener's World on Tubi because I'm apparently that person now.  I did up some 93/7 beef burgers and we had our leftover beans and chips with it for dinner.  That about put the fork in us for our weekend.

Make sure you swing back tomorrow for a fun filled post!

What did you get into this weekend? 
(D- How did Elmer do with the fireworks?)

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