I noticed a dead branch at the base of Jerry’s pine tree and climbed down the slope to investigate. I came back quickly with loppers and and tree saw. I ended up removing dead wood from the lowest six feet of the trunk for fire prevention and view. I combed out the dead grass and trucked all the debris out to the burn pile. I can now walk under the tree unimpeded.
I trimmed off the sprigs from the valley oak that I chopped down a year ago. It is a many-headed Hydra. I poured Roundup directly on the remaining stump and into the roots, as I learned from Del. Hopefully, that will be that.
I continued clearing a warning track around the retaining wall and out to the terra cotta planter. I dug out out grass and applied Roundup to whatever remained. I also dumped ashes from the fireplace just behind the planter to create a permanent no growth zone.
A trip to Lowe’s for six cubic feet of raised bed soil and another bag Preen mulch. That mulch has not been very effective so far in the Circle Garden. I weeded around the salvia and helianthemum and the blue grass, and extended the mulch around the edge of the garden.
No water came from the hoses this morning. Fortunately, there is an easy enough fix. I climbed the fence down to the pond and tripped the pump lever back on. Apparently cows were there before me; they must like to scratch themselves against the pump lever. When I was back from Lowe’s, the irrigation water was restored.
A Year at the Snake 