Blackberry Fields Forever

Invasive is not a strong enough word to describe these tenacious vines that took over a corner of the yard and began stretching off into infinity. They were strangling the rhodie bush and the little maple tree as well as pulling down the fence. Most importantly (for my dog) they crawled into Buddy’s mud wallow (dust bowl) and interfered with his nap.

Scott and I pulled them out on this sunny Saturday morning and have scratches and bloody gloves to prove it. We dug out the giant pumpkin-sized root from which all appeared to spring and sent it to yard waste recycling. The dead vines are heaped behind the shed awaiting dismemberment and transport to the dump.

While we were behind the shed (in no man’s land) we discovered that some giant squash vines have migrated from the yard next door and one giant fat pumpkin is ripening underneath all the pyracantha and other debris we have been tossing back there. Perhaps it will be a Jack-o-lantern.

This is a tiny yard but every so often it requires some serious work. Several neighbors have already stopped to comment on how much better it looks. Scott also brought his brand new Turbo Jet power mower and made short (and I do mean short in both senses of the word) work of the grass that passes for a lawn.

Now we are all tidied up and ready for winter which appears to be just around the corner. Rain is predicted for tomorrow and cold nights are ahead next week. In other years when I lived other places, this clean-up would take place toward the end of October but the seasons are different here. “Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about…blackberry fields forever.”