Yard Work

This past weekend Mr. Cowboy and I decided that we were going to pull weeds and fix our landscaping. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Mr. Cowboy had landscaped our entire house. All by himself. And he did a fantastic job. This was the first time he asked me to help. I got to pull weeds while he put down the mulch. I had pulled the weeds in the beds and realized there were more weeds in the rocks. Here in the south we put rocks in between the house and the flower beds. This is to keep termites away from the house. The dirt will hold moisture and we don't want that near our house. So, we put rocks down. Our rocks were really messed up. They had dirt and mulch and weeds in them. So, I had a brilliant idea that we would hose the rocks off in the wheel barrel. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I even got the kids to help me. It was quite the chore. It was taking forever. While we washed, Mr. Cowboy was getting the dirt ready for mulch. He gets all technical. I am not that big a perfectionist. I will try and then after a little while I get fed up and then quickly finish the job. But not Mr. Cowboy. It's perfect the entire way. He dug up little trenches so the dirt and mulch would run off into the trench and not the sidewalk. And guess what the Cowpokes and I were doing?Yep, you guessed it, still washing those rocks. I was having to wash them one by one. I was getting a little fed up. So, I got the brilliant idea to dump them on the driveway. That way the dirt could just run off the rocks and into the grass. But oh, how I was so wrong. The dirt was more like clumps of clay and the water didn't just wash the dirt away. Mr. Cowboy was still moving dirt around. I was still washing rocks. I was about to quit when Mr. Cowboy came over. He was much better at it than I was. But I had already been washing rocks for two hours. At that moment I declared that I quit and that Cowpokette needed a bath and dinner. About two more hours later Mr. Cowboy had all the rocks washed. Didn't I tell ya he was great at finishing things. Just look how great those rocks look now. He did a fantastic job. Now all we need are some plants and we will be in business. I do have one plant that I am not too sure about. My Hydrangea bush. This summer the leaves turned dark brown. They looked like they were burnt. It didn't look like a bug did it. Mr. Cowboy thought that maybe it was because of the heat. But the bush is in partial shade. It used to be really bushy and now it is sparse. There is new growth, but I am no too sure what to do with it. There has never been a single flower on the plant. I do not know what to do with it. Then after all my planting and pulling and rock washing, Big Cowpoke and I found this.He was up in our screen on our back door. Mr. Cowboy says he is a garder snake. But I do not know about that. Mr. Cowboy grabbed some BBQ tongs and grabbed the snake. We then relocated him to a "treasure" pile of metal in the backyard. There are a lot of mice and one rat back there. I see them when I feed Joe. I need to get rid of those rats. They creep me out. I will have to take pictures of the five mice I saw and the large brown rat that eat with my goat, Joe. The mice and rat are not afraid to come out while I stand there and watch either. I think it's time for some traps!! Poor Joe looks at the mice and rat while he eats and acts all disturbed. I think I would be stomping my feet around and trying to get those nasty creatures away from me and my food. So, when I go to the store, I will have to get some rat and mice traps. Too much wildlife here for me!