War on weeds

We had absolutely lovely weather for this time of year yesterday. I think it actually hit 70 degrees. It was perfect – clear, sunny, and just enough warmth to be comfortable without being overheated.

So Ane and I lathered up on the sunscreen, donned our straw hats and gardening gloves, and headed out to do battle. Mommy vs. the dandelions and Ane vs. whatever Mommy let her pull up.

Can I just say this again? I HATE DANDELIONS. And I really hate the fact that people seem to be nonchalant about dealing with them. Either spray them or mow them down or dig ’em out, people. PLEASE do not let them go to seed and spread all over – possibly to my yard!

Case in point – there is a house a little over half a mile from ours that has been vacant and for sale, off and on, for at least two years. The Webmaster and I have talked over buying that particular house at different points, but first the price was outrageous, and then once the price dropped, we seriously thought about it and the Webmaster even did a walk-though during an open house event. The house is owned by a company that has housed temporary employees there, which explains why we saw so many people moving in and out over the years. The house itself is pretty nice, according to the Webmaster. The location is not so nice. It is on the corner of a mildly busy side street, and the Webmaster and I are quite spoiled with cul-de-sac living. Still, it’s just sitting there empty (and currently off the market again, though I expect that it will go back on the market at some point in the near future) with a yard full of dandelions. It once had a lawn. Not anymore.

I am seriously tempted to just walk down there with my gardening tools and a very large bucket, and have at it. Honestly, though, the quicker way would be to spray the whole thing with a weed killer and start from there. It’s an eyesore that eventually will go to seed and spread its own little eyesores around the surrounding area – again.

The whole dandelion explosion bothers me so much that I actually sorta kinda snuck into my neighbor’s yard yesterday and started pulling out dandelions over there. There’s a large fir tree that sort of serves as a marker for the property line, and while I was pulling out weeds underneath it, I just kept going into their yard, pulling more dandelions as I went.

I must have spent over two hours outside just pulling dandelions, because I was truthfully shocked when the Webmaster told me what time it was, and that the kids were done eating lunch. My fingers were sore and my eyes were itchy. It was time to lay down my weapons and promise to return another day to fight.

Ane pulled quite a few smaller weeds for me in the front yard beds, and then was tasked with pinecone pickup, which she was quite good at, if not very thorough. She earned her requested wage – 26 cents. She asked for a quarter and a penny.

To a five-year-old, that’s some good cold hard cash there. And no one had better tell her any different.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 1:58 am and is filed under Children, Life in the Pacific Northwest.
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