RDO* Recap

These are my neighbors' trees. See how they are trying to get into my pool? They are really bugging me because they like to leave little gifts.

I have to stand on the pool house to trim the non-mulberry tree.

I don't think that any of the trees were planted on purpose but they sure are hardy and most years the electric company has to come out to trim them because they grow into the electrical lines. I'm thinking the owners should be responsible for their trees, but what do I know, right?

MULBERRIES!

They stain the rocks and concrete...and are a pain to clean up after...

I was going to trim the branches hanging over onto my property before the berries started dropping but the berries beat me! ;.( Me and the girls collected several handfuls tonight and fed them to the chickens so it hasn't been a total waste. I am curious to see how the berries affect the eggs...stay tuned.

I really, really want to get the neighbors' trees out of my yard for good (I have other things I'd rather do with my free time) so that I can plant some trees of my own in my own yard. I am in love with the look of espaliered fruit trees. And I so want to try to get my hands on a 6-in-1 espaliered apple tree to grow flat against my fence.  I am thinking of trying to espalier a tree or two on my own, but I'd really like to get a more mature apple tree so we can enjoy the fruit sooner. And how cool would it be to be able to run to the fence line as a kid and select an apple from 6 different varieties on a single tree?

But my immediate goals are to finish up the big clean up chores around the yard that involve a chainsaw or sump pump or a flamethrower, then I can see about planting that dwarf orchard (say that 3x fast). I can totally picture a dwarf orchard in my back drive area next to the gate (hippie entrance). With purple clematis growing up the fence...

So, anyway, back to the title of my post... my RDO didn't go exactly as I planned but I still got a lot accomplished. So what did I do, you ask?

Let's see, I:

• moved the bags of soil that my sweet husband brought home to me (thank you, baby!) close to the garden and weeded the garden.
• deadheaded roses and trimmed the tulips down to the ground
• moved mulch from the tulip border area to the back beds (letting the lawn grow back in again (I know, I am fickle about my front lawn but I am serious about not messing with that border any more this time!)
• watered my potted plants and seeds and garden bed
• attacked the jungle that is the dog yard/patio (I had totally forgotten about my asparagus bed and now it's too late to harvest!)
• began trimming neighbors random plants/vines growing through the alley fencing.
• took my daughters on a quick grocery trip.
• took my girls on another quick trip to the mall for bras/bathing suit for my big girl who thinks she's a teenager already (so does everyone else! The cashier thought she was 13! Don't worry, I am always there to remind her of her real age!)

And I enjoyed some brownie bites that Emi made for her daddy (who shared them with us). My favorite way to enjoy a bite is like this:

Nutella, I love you!

I hope you had a fabulous Friday friends! And for those of you local, did you get out to the Norman Music Festival? We are going to try to catch a few shows tomorrow...

*Regular Day Off