chop 'em while they're down

We had a few big snow storms that damaged the evil bamboo in our yard. It wasn't exactly chopped down, but it was on the ground from the weight of the snow and very easy to chop. Since we couldn't get around the back, Fernando decided to hack at the fallen pieces. After the snow cleared and the recent rain storms, we were left with this disaster:

Where's Jamie Durie when you need him?


Did I ever mention the bird's nest of a mess that was growing on our arbor? I couldn't wait to clear this off - it was mostly dead growth and matted leaves weighing down heavily on the lattice.

We hired Winston to clean it all up this week. I'm not sure how he handled this job by himself, but as you can see the results are incredible:

We now have a blank slate. I'm thinking Clematis for the arbor.

He also chopped down the remainder of the bamboo!

It ended up here on the curb:

I wonder if this will have any effect on the ridiculous amount of mosquitoes we get in the summer? He's going to try to get the roots up next. I'm still skeptical that this can even be done. Good luck Winston.

The first signs of Spring:

I can't wait to start planting some more flowers and a few veggies again. And grass. We REALLY need grass.

who are the kitties in your neighborhood?