Progress

I apologize for no pictures but I was too tired to go out and photograph!

Worked for about four hours in the garden today. This doesn't seem like a lot, and in fact it isn't, but I'm considerably weaker than I used to be. I cleared out the side garden (which apparently was home to about twenty tiny aspiring trees...too small to be called saplings --except one honker-- but still hard to get out!) and I'm so glad that it has good soil in it, it was so much easier to get things out than dealing with the clay soil in other parts of the yard. Yay for all the work Mom and I did six years ago!

Also pulled out as much ivy as possible for me from the other side of the house. I'm very short and could only reach so high...and then of course it is pretty well attached to the walls and very determinedly clinging to the ground.

I also raked out a bunch of leaves everywhere in the corners and discovered that, indeed, there are carrots growing all over the front lawn. Not the garden, the lawn. The only way I can explain that is that six years ago we had a vegetable garden and the carrots proved disappointing (my fault, I didn't thin them out properly). I was irresponsible and just uprooted them and left them on the grass. Well...they went to seed and now we have carrots running rampant. Which is a good thing, I guess.

I also made friends with a few beneficial allies: I found two garter/garden snakes (nondescript harmless grey ones that I think eat bugs...because they're often found in gardens) and relocated them while I was using the rake and hoe in that area, and then probably the biggest earthworm I've ever found at our property (a good 5-6 inches) who I also relocated. Hopefully they'll repay my kindness by eating bugs and giving me better soil, respectively. And heck...if a Lion and the Mouse scenario came to play, that'd be cool, too.
Pictures soon. Now to soak in warm water.
Oh! Also, I'm going to a workshop at
Weston Gardens (really bad at updating their website) on the first weekend in March that focuses on vegetables, fruit, and nuts that grow well in Texas and how to grow them, etc. I think there will be some container gardening as well (I can learn how to make my spinach dream happen!). Will update about that!