When we bought our house many moons ago, there was a huge above-ground swimming pool in the corner of the backyard.
It wasn't on our wish list. We just considered it a bonus. That was before many dollars and hours spent trying to keep it clean. Hubby liked it, though. Once he got done mowing the lawn, a nice swim afterwards was just the thing to revive himself.
Then the liner tore.
Not up at the top and not just one rip. Multiple rips in the bottom.
Uh-oh.
Not being in a position at the time to make repairs or replace it, we had to leave it be. Over the winter. Well, the next three winters to be exact. Fortunately, some resourceful soul saw it and volunteered to take it away. He had a liner, but the side walls on his pool were damaged.
Hallelujah and have at it!
Now we were left with an 18 foot chemical-laced circle of sand to deal with. Hmmm, what to do, what to do...
A garden was my first thought, but the chemicals that had leaked put the brakes on that plan. So, I decided on a sort of patio. The sand actually made a nice base underfoot. I covered the entire area with a double layer (criss-crossed) of landscaping fabric to keep out weeds. Then came bags and bags and bags and bags of cypress mulch.
At the center, I placed four one foot tiles together to form a solid, fire-proof base for the cast iron fire pit. Hubby was delighted with this development, by the way. He likes fires way more than swimming, plus it has the added benefit of being an option for cooking. I'll have to do some digging to see if I have pictures of the area then.
Due to recent health issues for both hubby and I, though, we've had another three year stretch where the neglect is very evident. It didn't help that we pretty much covered the whole thing over in cuttings taken from along the back fence a few years ago. We had work done to the sewer line hookup to the main city drain in the alley. The elbow had disintegrated! We had to prep in case the fence needed to be moved. (It didn't, but what a mess!) That's what it's been like ever since.
Except for the rose vines that found an excellent scaffold to use. Sigh...
This is basically what it looks like today. When I started, the entire circle was engulfed and the rose vines were taller than me.
This is the part I've been pecking away at. It's hard to tell, but I've got three different piles going. The foreground is dry, burnables. Just behind, on a (hard to see) large, cut open trash bag are the disposables. They'll eventually be put out for the city to pick up. And, then, on the other side of the cart is the fresh cuttings pile. These will become burnable in time.
Yesterday, I finally managed to free the actual fire pit! THAT felt really great and was a very visible sign of progress. The rose vines had rooted in the pit & were growing out of a hole in screen cover. This was the one that was making it's way up the (now cut back) tree next to the pit and towered over me. I think I heard it growl a couple times.
Today's goal was to keep cutting back the rose vines and make the other brush accessible, plus move some more buckets* out of the way. I got more done than I planned, because the root system has formed a mat under the old landscape fabric. I can peel up clumps at one go, but it's not easy. I had to get a second disposal pile started to handle it all.
Yay! More progress! I managed to move three buckets and clear another sizable chunk of the space. I'm going to tackle another piece tomorrow and possibly finish up. Well, at least finish the obvious overgrowth. Then, it will be on to fine-tuning everything to get it comfy again.
*Oh, and the buckets? They're remnants of our container garden and our work-around to avoid the afore-mentioned chemical issue. Hubby was a new construction painter back then, so we had access to as many free buckets as we wanted. I'll be (hopefully) getting them back in action soon.
Stayed tuned for the next installment!
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Plants can sure take over, especially ones with lots of thorns! Take care of your shoulder!
Amen to that! Doesn't seem fair somehow...
And will do on the shoulder. Ice packs help, plus a couple days rain delay should have thing back to normal.
That's awesome stuff Deb
I like how you have a 2nd pile of stuff ready to go that is drying out / in process.
I think you guys would likely get a lot of use out of a homemade rocket stove in that area -- you can make them out of all kinds of things and whatnot -- and they burn so very efficiently!
Tons of videos on them on the YT. And cheap, for the most part to repurpose stuff out of
Good post by you sister.
Thanks, bud! I could give it to the City for mulch, but they get enough from everyone else. They can have the rose vines.
I've heard of rocket stoves, but don't think I've ever seen one. Well, maybe one, but I'd have to dig a little to be sure. Mostly we just wanted a spot to relax and pretend we were in the U.P.! Lol! Stay-cation, I think they call it...
Tonight's plan is an ice pack for my shoulder (pulling roots ... ouch!) and a fistful of aspirin at bedtime. We have a potentially rainy week coming up. I've got one more dry day to get stuff done. Then I can collapse for a few days. Woot!
Roses are remarkably resilient when placed somewhere you don't intend them to permanently reside.
Yes, they are, dammit. Lol!
The journey of 1000 miles starts with one step! Well done.
Thanks! I knew this was going to be a tough go, hence the bite size pieces of 20 or 30 minutes a pop. I think today is day 5...
(I had a mild stroke last June, so am trying to avoid keeling over doing #%@*&%#^$## yardwork. Lol!)
Sorry to hear that. I think you are doing great!
Thanks! I got lucky and it only affected my speech. We caught it quick. Even so, I try to pace myself and otherwise am healthy. No sense in pushing my luck.
nice! used to have one, it was great!
I love sitting near a fire on a summer night and hubby like fiddling with the fire. Beats whatever rot is on TV. Lol!
Starting to think about what to plant in the buckets, too. That's part of the fun, too.
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