Oh hello. Please don’t mind me, I’ve just gotten back from vacation, have some personal stuff going on and just can’t seem to pull my head out of my ass long enough to be a blogger again. Case in point, I missed Tuesday’s post all together.
It’s not like I didn’t know it was Monday. Hellooooo…I had the day off, I knew I had a post deadline for 4Knines, but somehow, I just lost my mind and when I woke up on Tuesday, I was like….whoops. Missed that one.
So rather than stress about it and struggle to throw a post together, I decided I’ll just post today and call this week done. Not counting tomorrow’s FUF post, of course. (Providing I can get my shit together.)
Anyhow, I hope at some point I’ll be able to pull some posts together that are rolling around in my head, and I pray to DOG that I can get around and visit some blogs, but it’s damn hard right now, so please forgive me.
I did want to share something with you though.
We have a bit of a wild back yard. It’s super hilly and steep and there are lots of trees and lots of shrubs/ground cover/weeds.
SO MUCH. Usually Hubby gets out there in early summer and mows/weed whacks it all down, but this year he left one side of the hill wild.
Typically I hate this. I mean, there’s always ONE house on the street that looks like hillbillies live there (amIright?) And I damn sure don’t want it to be MY house.
I’m not sure if it’s my general “MEH” attitude, lack of interest, or because I’ve just literally given all my fucks away, and therefore have no more fucks to give, but the other day I mentioned to Hubby about just leaving the area wild. I know, I can’t even believe it myself.
My justification is based upon an article I read about how American’s obsessions with having grass yards is helping kill off the bee population. Without flowers, the bees don’t pollinate, without pollination stuff doesn’t grow, without stuff growing, well food that feeds humans and cattle won’t grow. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s something like that. (Not as detailed and technical as my high school science class, but you get the point.)
According to Michigan State University this is a bumble bee.
Anyhoo, so my idea is to try and get the majority of weeds out of the area, and leave the flowers that are there, there, and maybe throw in some wild flower seeds and see what happens.
Or maybe I’ve just been looking at too many of Mary Hone’s photos of the wilderness and my wanderlust is showing.
The left photo shows the yard as it really is, the middle photo is some yellow flowers and the one on the right shows the type of fencing we’ll install to keep the muncher out.
Either way, it looks like we’ll be putting a small fencing around the area to keep Delilah out. (She loves to hunt for eatables in the yard.)
It’s certainly not The Challenges of Gardening With Dogs – Are Your Plants Safe? By Jan at Wag ‘N Woof Pets, but it’s a post and right now, it’s just the best I can do.
You are a lady after my heart. I think grass is boring, boring, boring. (the lawn type, I mean) and while I give in to peer pressure from neighbors to keep the front yard in check. I take advantage of the fence that hides the backyard to let it all revert to pre-Columbian days, but with watering.
Sometimes we all have weeks like that. Glad you decided not to stress out over it! “Here’s looking at you, kid” and hoping the rest of your week gets better.
You can get back to us after your first 6 bee stings with your final decision….
My mom always wanted to toss out a package of those wild flower seeds and see what happens, but we don’t have a yard where it would fit. Don’t force the blogging…it will happen. This week is messed up with a holiday. We are confused as to what day it is as well! Nice wild flowers, and Mary does have the best photos around when it comes to anything nature!
I don’t mind looking like a hillbilly cuz I hate yard work, lol. your yard looks just fine. Hope your week gets better.
Ha ha, thanks for the mention! Don’t feel so bad – I need to finish up that series before summer and gardening season ends, and I’m not sure I’m going to make it. Well, other parts of the country will still have summer so maybe technically I will.
I agree with jan – grass is boring. Plus it requires mowing and even though hubby does all of that, I have to listen to him complain about it. We have far more grass at our new house than the old; but I can see the area decreasing as time goes on. It has to end somewhere. Plus you are SO right about the bees! Between losing habitat and being killed by pesticides they are in serious danger.
My only issue with weeds and brushy areas is that that is where the ticks will hide. But as long as the dogs aren’t in that area, and it’s away from the house, that’s not an issue.
You made me literally laugh out loud about giving all your fucks away! Think maybe that’s my new goal 🙂
This year we just didn’t get the hay off our fields and we didn’t bush hog either and I think I’m glad. Our butterfly and bird populations have rebounded and are enjoying our mess! I say to hell with what the neighbors think about your wild natural area. It’s good for nature and the planet!
If my yard was anything other than a big, flat rectangle, I’d be easily persuaded to let it be natural, too! My parents just got their own beehives, so I’m kind of into all things bees right now and love that you’ll be making your yard more bee friendly! We have a little pollinator garden in our yard (that’s mostly dead because I forget to water things), but I loved seeing bees enjoying it earlier this summer!
(And don’t worry about the blog schedules and visits–we’ll all be here when you’re ready to come back to us!)
And as usual, you nailed it Jodi. I so love ‘natural’ gardens and dug up all the beautifully laid sod years ago and replaced it with perennials, ground covers and wildflowers. It’s a bit of a hot mess at times but for a few weeks (but definitely easier to maintain) in early spring when the lupine are blooming their little heads off or when the plumbago’s blue flowers bloom and the leaves turn gorgeous mahogany colored in the autumn, neighbors all around are complementary and I sit back and take it all in and smile. Good for you! Happy naturalizing.
I think it sounds like a brilliant idea, I have made sure any plants I buy for me garden are bee friendly, as I think the little critters need our help. Don’t worry too much though, your garden will never be as much of a state as mine. That I can promise you