kevin_standlee: (Fernley House)
About a month ago, I showed how much that tree beside our front porch had grown, starting from my having cut it down to almost nothing but a bare long branch.

It's still growing )

There are other trees of this type (and I understand that it's not a particularly nice plant) on the property. I think that if maybe we aggressively cut them back the way I did this one, in the future they will mostly just produce leaves (which I value for the shade) without producing any pollen (which I value not at all).

There is another pod of these trees (they propagate through root systems as well as seeds), and I expect that the way they crowd out other plants is why I've never been able to raise any flowers in the seed bed out front. I instead planted birdseed and have raised a crop of birds, who don't seem to mind the tree and like being able to shelter within its branches when one of the local small hawks flies through.

Lisa has already had to cut this one back to keep it from crowding the front steps.

Off and On

May. 28th, 2020 08:30 pm
kevin_standlee: (Family)
Due to the hours I worked earlier this week (including on Memorial Day itself), I had/have half-days off today and tomorrow. But that didn't get me away from my workspace, as several tasks dealing with continuing cleanup of my mother and sister's estates and also a matter for my nephew (all pictured in the icon) have been accumulating. I spent my half-day off (and then some) pulling together documents and affidavits/forms that I needed to fill out and get notarized in order to (I hope) tie off loose ends. My idea was to minimize the number of trips I had to take. This afternoon, I went over to the office-supply place where there is a notary and got four documents dealt with. I'll only be able to send off three of them right away because they all want certified copies of either my sister or mother's death certificates, and I don't have enough of mom's. (More are on the way.) They all claim that they will send back the certified copies, but I frankly don't trust them. If Yuba City were closer, I could just go in to each place and show them the certificate so they could assure themselves that the things are official, make an unofficial copy, and hand it back to me. I've included SASEs for each of them to make it easier for them to give them back and also included color unofficial copies in each case. Maybe they'll do as I ask.

That whole process of dealing with all of that paperwork was more stressful than I thought it would be, and by the time I got back home from the notary, I was too exhausted to get the material ready for mailing. Besides, I need to scan all of the documents in question to retain copies of the notarized documents and everything I'm sending in case any of these places later come back and tell me they've never received anything. I wish I wasn't being cynical, but things have gone astray and people have told me they never have received things when I'm pretty sure they have.

It wasn't all stressful work today, though. Our one remaining rose bush is putting out blossoms this spring, so I got some pictures.

Spring Opening )

I like the rose bush, although I'm not much of a gardener. I managed to kill off the other bush by trimming it back too badly and I think some of the other plants strangled it. The one that remains is only a ghost of what it was when we first got here. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
kevin_standlee: (House)
We were away for nine days. When we got back, we found that the bushes on the property had had an amazing growth spurt.

Turn Your Back and They Take Over )

I only wish plants that I want to grow would be as enthusiastic as these.

July 2025

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