These hedges were planted over thirty years ago using materials that were cheap, since at the time we were living on my husband's teaching salary while I stayed home with two little kids and we'd just bought this house. We used fir seedlings we got from my forester brother-in-law for the front hedge. It is now quite a wall.
The holly hedge was started from seedlings we found in the yard. Birds eat berries and poop the seeds. Hollies grow. Tom would collect them and plant them along the wire fence we had put up to keep dogs out. Over time he began to prune them into a hedge. They grew too.
Yesterday it started to get hot around here after a long period of below normal temps. It got hot fast. We went from 65 to 75 to 90 in three days. Yesterday morning I was scheduled to help Tom with the neighbor's side of the holly hedge, so we got an early start and had the job done by 10:00, just as it started to heat up. Then I parked myself in front of the TV to watch that day's stage of the Tour de France that I had recorded earlier in the morning, after which we watched the World Cup semi-finals between Germany and Spain.Then I finally started a new book, one I had pre-ordered from Amazon, that had arrived a month ago. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is the third and final book in a trilogy by Swedish author Steig Larsson. Just the perfect thing for hot, lazy days, a can't-put-it-down thriller.
Lazy for me anyway. Tom is still working on those hedges!
Lazy for me anyway. Tom is still working on those hedges!
And the stand alone pillars of holly, of which we have several.
Yesterday evening we went to a Sounders soccer match, not at Quest Field, but at a much smaller venue, with a capacity of 4000. It was quite warm but we were in the shade of the covered bleachers and enjoyed watching our team win finally!I got up at 6:00 this morning so I could get in an aerobic walk before it got hot. Since then I have been a lady of leisure, spending time here.
With my book.It's up to 85 now and I'm moving indoors. Last November we had a new furnace/heat pump/AC installed, and the AC has just kicked in for the first time!
Busy times for you, Linda! Enjoy the book and while you're at it, why not have a tall glass of iced tea!
ReplyDeleteGood gracious! That is a HUGE hedge! They must all help to provide some barrier from the heat though... maybe? It looks like a lot of work to keep them pruned but they are truly magnificent.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of work to do every year, but your yard and gardens are beautiful. I was really interested to see that you're reading Stieg Larson, he's been recommended by a couple of people -- one being Yogi, so he's next on my list! Hope you have a great weekend! The warm weather is lovely isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Love that AC. Mine is one too. It is pure D hot out. I have the grands while school is out. We worked outside too--trimming one hedge I can manage and Bradley raking up the trimmings and putting them in the Gator and taking them to the Compost pile. Wait don't let the goats out--oops too late. Oh well they are just like pups and follow you around. I finally said--INSIDE!!! MB
ReplyDeleteThat is an immense hedge, but very good at doing what it's intended to do. I just got back from a day in the High Country, hot, hot, and HOT! I am waiting for the Hornet's Nest book to come out in paperback before I buy it, because (as you already know) you simply cannot put it down until it's finished. And since Larssen has died, there will be no more. Hugs to you, my dear friend down there in the South. (It's 88 degrees and another record here in Bellingham.)
ReplyDeletebusy you are and organized. good you can walk when it's cool.
ReplyDeleteWow...a beautiful jungle of bushes...what a nice place to spend some time reading. I love it.
ReplyDeleteWhat spectacular hedges you've grown and trimmed and pampered. They look well cared for and lush. This morning my husband and I transplanted two lilac bushes that were in the way of the meter reader. We got a letter from the electrical company telling us to move 'em or else. Glad to have the job done, finally. I must look for the Larsson books you mentioned. They sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteFor the past two days I've had my nose in CAUGHT by Harlan Coben -- couldn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteI've purchased the first two of the trilogy and am saving them for a rainy week. I'll buy the third to add to my stock-pile.
Those hedges are beautiful but what a job!
Busy day at your house! Thank goodness for your son's help! I just started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Since you are on book 3, I take it you enjoyed them. It takes me a long time to read a book (I prefer audio books so I can work while I read), but I look forward to the story. Hope you are having a grand weekend. Love your yard!! ~karen
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely garden you have and that photo shows a great spot to read. Glad you have help with your hedge, a monumental task to be sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for stopping by and wishing me a happy birthday. Much appreciated.
An English Girl Rambles
Your yard is just beautiful! What beauty though that has kept your privacy! Looks like a major job in all the trimming indeed. Your spot to sit and read makes me envious! Here its still humid after almost a week of it. Its cloudy today but sticky and dampish. I have that book you mentioned in my stack of reads. I just finished The Wish Maker by Ali Sethi, I couldn't put it down. P.S. Glad the Sounders won!
ReplyDeleteBoy things grow in your part of the world. It's a lot of work to keep it under control but the results are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am being a woman of leisure, trying to shake this cough that has lingured since Michael and I came down with colds almost two weeks ago. We head for Alaska a week from today and I would like to be 100% by then. Any excuse to stay inside out of the heat.
I'm so sorry about your back....can't they fix you and get you on the road again. Then again, it's wonderful to let someone else trim sturdy headges like that. What a lovely place you live in.
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