Reclamation Day 5

(or "Eventually You Have to Save the Snakes")

Remember that scene in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" when the pet store is on fire and Pee-Wee has to save all the animals... including the snakes he keeps passing by with a grimace until they are all that's left? That's how I feel about this:





As mentioned previously, we purchased this mulch from a neighborhood Boy Scout who cornered us one day last spring in our own yard. Shortly after its delivery, we had to abandon the garden for the year to concentrate on other issues. So there these bags have sat in our driveway, now for a full year. Every time I pass them (i.e., every day), I give them a guilty look and walk on.  Until yesterday.

Yesterday, Reclamation Day 5, I started letting them fulfill their mulchy destiny. Some before and after:

Before: my neighbor's front bed, created when I asked
them if they wanted me to plant the random liriope
I dug up from our yard in what was then a bare patch
of dirt in the corner of their lot.

After: Okay, I didn't go crazy fixing up this bed, but
four bags of Boy Scout mulch made it look a lot nicer.

But here's my favorite result from Reclamation Day 5. Recall the small bed in the front. Before:


That's a bed?



Seriously?


After the initial weeding.

Oh, there's the bed.

Well, that's... better.

After Day 5, EDGING!



Oh yes!

Look at those borders!

Sharp!

Once more, I have Crappy Knife to thank.

It's all in a day's work for Crappy Knife.

This morning, the spoils of war will be carted away.