Trimming the Old

I sit here in my gym clothes waiting for 12:00.  Why?  Because I don't want to fight the "Resolutionaries" for parking space or machine time at the Athletic Club.  Yes, they'll be taking up space at the gym for the next two to three weeks; this happens every year.

We de-decorated the outside of the house yesterday.  It was cloudy and raw, but we figured we had a chance to get our work done before the lights were buried in any snows the season may bestow on us although frankly, I don't think we'll be getting any appreciable snow this year.  I also took the opportunity to cut back the lavender, trim the dead lily fronds and the lenten rose, and re-shape the boxwoods and pieris.  I'll wait to cut the liriope to the ground until March for no other reason than I just didn't feel like doing it yesterday.  It's really a messy job.  I also raked a few remaining leaves.  It was good to get outside -- even in the raw damp and mud.

Today is cold, but beautifully sunny.  A good day to take my new camera outside for a few trial photos. 

The Skemia Are Dying and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

It is a cold, damp, and dreary day here in Maryland. Even Azrielle has bundled herself into a ball under one of the pillows on our guest bed. It's still too wet and chilly to be out there weeding (and the weeds are definitely calling to me!!). But Maryland is one of those places that goes from weather like this to sweltering temperatures and humidity, so it's only a matter of time. Did you know that French mercenaries who fought in the Revolutionary War stationed in this area (DC) received tropical pay? Well, that little tidbit and a couple of dollars will get you a latte!

I spent some time this morning out in the misting rain with a landscape specialist from a local nursery. Our front plantings are not doing well and I needed advice as to why. She suggested that I replace the rosemary and lavender with day lilies -- a great suggestion. I had always treated rosemary and lavender as annuals anyway, and was surprised when the guy who did the original landscaping had suggested them. We also have a Foster holly on each side of the house. The one on the NW corner has lost its leaves now for the second year in a row. I think the reason is winter burn -- and she agreed. We'll replace it with another heartier variety. I don't like plantings along the foundation that are thick or will cover the windows, but the skemia we have planted, although are lovely and stay small, are not doing well. She'll replace them with a type of boxwood that doesn't smell like cat urine as English boxwoods tend to do.

TAG at The Amature Gigolo and I decided to post two different versions of Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." Here's mine on this Way Back Wednesday.