Not really resting...

Well, I stink at resting.  I do.  I mean, even when I am miserable in body, when I see something that needs doing, I will do it.  After all, I was very much inspired by the lovely sight that is a freshly mown lawn.

My luscious GREEN grass has this distressing tendency to grow in my beds.  So, whilst waiting on Amos to tend to his business, I scooted from one end to the other dealing with the grass, weeds, and whatever those two-leaf things are that have already started to crop up amongst the thyme.  Strange that they were not here the first two years.

The Rose of Sharons are doing well, too.  Last year, they drooped over and I was worried about them being more bushes than the tree shapes like I had in Alexandria.  At the end of last fall, I worked on shaping them and then I used twine to hold them together in the center more, instead of spreading out, and to encourage them to grow upright.  The cotton twine is not noticeable, but it seems to have done its job.

You can also see that the daffodils I relocated to that bed all grew.  I am wondering if I can braid them, because they are smaller clumps.  In any case, this bed is doing well.

For three years now, I've been working on shaping my most wondrous, massive rose bush that is on the side of the garage. [Ignore the daffodils that are supposed to be GONE from that bed.]  Originally, this rose bush almost reached over to the bed against the fence and getting around it was difficult.  If you look closely, other than my beloved fluff-ball, you can see just a branch that is growing out over the grass (the one that looks like it is covering the back gate).  I need to prune it, to continue my shaping of right-to-left alongside the garage.

However, I have this utter failing when it comes to pruning things that bloom.  SIGH.  I shall tend to it soon ... hopefully.

My giant spotted begonia grew too tall over the winter without my realizing it.  I need to cut those two large stalks in half.  They are really, really, really easy to root, but still I loathe cutting anything that blooms.

I had better success with moving things about.

Three years ago, I had planted three ajugas beneath the smoke tree.  However, Amos "watered" to death the ones on either side.  So, the middle one was left.  Three years later, it had become a massive mound.

Yesterday, I got the idea to dig it up, separate off some sections, and replant them to make it more of an accent to the curve of the bed, the way I had originally desired.  Especially since the heather I planted on either side died the first winter.

You can see that the smoke tree is starting to leaf out, once more serving as my visual barrier in that corner of the bed.   And you can also see how well it has grown.  I fully support plants, bushes, and trees that grow without need of care on my part and are not so ungrateful as to die over the winter.

On the far side of the house, there was this empty bed.  When I first moved here, I found a single mound of hosta beneath my much-mourned lilac tree that used to be near the back steps against the fence.  I divided that mound into pieces and created four groupings of two hostas along this bed.  I've neither watered nor fertilized them, but they have been quite content here, as you can see.

When he was mulching, Firewood Man suggested that I just extend the bed on a curve to the side of the house because of how hard it has been to fill in that shaded area with grass.  And then he did so before I could really weigh in on the matter.  I wish I had a photo of it originally.  The GREEN grass that you see was all weeds and primarily barren ground.  Against the house, it was a weedy, crusty mess.  Totally.  Anyway, yesterday, Tim suggested that I fill in that portion by dividing my hostas.

I used to do that all the time in Alexandra, but somehow I am reluctant to do so here. However, there was a stray baby hosta that came up this year, so I moved it.  The two hostas on the end of the main part of the bed are the largest, so I might just harvest off of them.  When there has been sufficient amount of loin girding on my part, of course.

When the hostas bloom, I sometimes walk over to peak at them and smile.  It's like having this special bit of beauty in a place most would never think to look.  A secret of my house.

[Yes, the drain that Firewood Man put in to manage the torrents of water coming over the sidewalk from my neighbor's broken gutter is still working fine.]

Firewood Man asked me what in the world I was feeding my ferns.  Aren't they just AWESOME???  There are babies in the middle, so perhaps next year that barren spot will be filled.  I am wondering if the reproductive spikes that appeared for the first time last year have something to so with this magnificent display of ferns.  Tim is not much of a fan of ferns, but he is impressed with how they've broken out this year.

Here it was back in 2012, a year after creating it from bits of fern I found here and there.

Truly it is now the fulfillment of all my dreams for a fern bed, eh?  BLISS.

I also gave Amos a haircut.  This is just HALF of what I trimmed.  His curls, whilst adorable, grow very, very, very quickly.  Being so adverse to the process, the sheepgoatratbastardpuppydog wiggles something fierce, so I never quite get all of his canine self properly shorn. I would try clippers if I didn't think that Amos would be traumatized for life at the first application.  My beloved Nervous Nelly.

Tim stayed and talked for a bit after mowing.  Admiring Amos' shearing, Tim rubbed Amos all over until Amos decided they should play.  It was nice having someone able to chase Amos about the room until he was exhausted ... the dog, not Tim.  After Firewood Man left, when I was weeding, Amos was so tired that all he did was nap curled up at my back.  When I would scoot over, Amos would get up, curl against me, and go to sleep once more.

The beautiful lawn was inspiring, as far as serving as the impetus for getting all the grass out of the bed, but so was the cool weather.  A storm is coming, then days of STINKING HOT weather again.  I was savoring my lawn and enjoying the cool breeze and the pressure of Amos against my back.  I also listened to my most special play list, the one that calms me and makes me feel less alone.

So, in sum, yesterday I was not really doing all that well at resting, at least after Firewood Man left behind a beautiful lawn.  Today, I am doing a better job of it.  I did drag myself out to get some milk (and used the excuse for Taco Bell), but that is all I am doing until Monday's meet-the-new-GP visit.  Napping will be my primary agenda.

On that front, I thought I would note that Amos has learned to still sleep "on top of me" even when I am working on sitting up more (i.e., even when I am on the couch).  He crawls in my lap, sits up, leans back, settled himself a bit, and drops off to lala land.  Impressive that he can sleep sitting up.  New skill garnered nonetheless, I think Amos will be grateful that my primarily location until Monday will be the GREEN chair.

As in ... I'm moving there now for my first nap of the day....