Spreading Mulch

Several weeks ago, I asked my friend Lamar, who is the Public Works Director for the Town, if he could send a load of mulch my way.  The Trimming Crew in the Electric Department is continually trimming trees from around power lines and they create an abundance of mulch.  I remember that years ago a resident of the Town asked for some mulch, and when asked how much replied, "As much as you have."  He returned to his home from an absence of a week or two to find so much mulch that he had to call and say "Enough!"

That was not the problem this year.  Because of Covid-19, the Town crews were operating only partially earlier in the year, but a week or two ago I knew that they were fully operational again because this pile of mulch appeared below our property.  "Thanks!" I texted Lamar.  "That should keep me busy for awhile!"  

This was a good day to finally begin attacking the pile of mulch.  I was not needed to help on the project of cleaning out the house on Hickory Street today.  In fact, so much progress has been made that Martha now believes we can have an estate sale perhaps as soon as two weeks from now.  There had been a lull in the afternoon thunderstorms and I had mowed the yard thoroughly yesterday, in the heat of the afternoon.  I realized that I have finally become acclimated to the heat and humidity, and outdoor work is pleasant once again.  And when we ate lunch on the deck today, there was even a light breeze and intermittent cloud cover.  It will be even nicer to do this kind of work in September and October, but I am trying to enjoy the season we are actually in rather than looking forward to the next one.

The main purpose of the mulch is to build up the roadside along our property, which has over the course of a year or two been overtaken by weeds that have shaded out the daylilies and the hostas - that is, the hostas that have not been devoured by the deer.  I began pulling weeds and replacing them with mulch, one wheelbarrow-load at a time.  I should have counted how many wheelbarrow-loads of weeds I hauled down the road and how many loads of mulch I hauled up the road.  After all, I meticulously record how many miles I run each week.  I made slow, patient progress - stopping now and then to stretch, to listen to the birds singing - which is the only way to do yard work.

The large bushes along the road are burning bush, Euonymus alatus, which is popular in this area.  It has created a barrier between our house and the road which this time of year screens us when we sit on the deck.  Technically, it is an invasive species imported from China and not recommended for this area, according to one local landscaper we consulted, but we love its brilliant red color in the fall and thus far we have not noticed it spreading in the surrounding woods.

I realized that most of those "weeds" that I was removing was actually one of my favorite plants, Jewelweed, which starts to bloom this time of year.  I recalled that Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, "What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."  Jewelweed is also called "Touch-Me-Not" because touching the ripe seed pods make them explode.    

Part of me wanted to save these plants, already bearing some delicate spotted orange blossoms, but I decided I could enjoy them farther down the road where they were not shading the hostas and daylilies.

We both enjoy working in the yard, and Martha is planning on joining me tomorrow when she is taking a day off from Hickory Street.  At the end of the day, it is satisfying and often surprising how much progress has been made - a large pile of brush burned into a small mound of ash, an unkempt lawn mowed and trimmed, a pile of mulch growing smaller and smaller.  There is still a long way to go, but already the roadside is looking better.