Girl Power: Tree Stump Removal

My husband had to remove a sick Holly Tree some time ago, and here's what was left of it:

Even though he dug around the stump, and сut the big roots with an ax, the stump was in there pretty good. We thought we'd leave it as it is until spring, but the weather was perfect for yard work today, and "the force was with me," so I decided to give it a try.

I dug some more, all around the stump, and uncovered four--deeper lying--roots, substantial enough to keep the stump in place. I dug around and under the roots (until I could fit my palm and move it under the roots easily) to make sure I wouldn't ruin my handsaw by hitting the dirt.

Then I sawed...and sawed...and sawed...and...voilà:
 

I didn't even have to use a crowbar. Once the roots were cut, I lifted the stump without any trouble. Here's the defeated stump posing with the tools of the trade:

Woo-hoo!

Nothing like tree stump removal to boost a girl's confidence!

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Now or Later: Fall vs. Spring Clean-Up

"I'm a fall clean up person.  When the snow flies I like to look out and see all my flower beds put to sleep for the winter, knowing they're nice and clean," says Chris, contributor to garden.org.

I feel the same way. My flower garden will meet winter looking like this:

Hard to believe there'll be things growing here next year, but it'll happen.

Check out Chris' article  "Fall Flower Garden Clean-Up" (originally published in 2011 and re-posted a couple of days ago.) 

Even though cleaning up your flower garden in the fall is a matter of preference, Chris gives quite a few reasons behind his decision not to put off this task until spring.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Hard-boiled Eggs: Make It Simple

Julia Child has a recipe for perfect hard-boiled eggs. For years I've tried it, and for the life of me I cannot get it right. To make myself feel better I've come up with an excuse/explanation: the recipe's too complicated.

So, I've searched, and found this video from Real Simple. It's pretty much as simple as it gets, and I'm very pleased with the results:

Pore an inch of water into a large pot, place a steamer basket inside the pot, cover, bring the water to a boil on high heat. Add eggs to the basket, cover, cook for twelve minutes. Cool the eggs in ice water. 

All done!

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Spring into Action: Planting Bulbs in Autumn

The daffodil, tulip and hyacinth bulbs are sleeping in the shed under the sand blanket. Cannot wait to plant them, but here in Maryland, especially with the record high temperatures we've been having, it's still too early...Not ready yet.

Are you ready? Once the temperature drops to below 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the soil, it's safe to plant your spring flowering bulbs.

Bulb planting isn't rocket science, but there's a few tricks to it.

Watch this short video to see if, for instance, you know:

• what flowering bulbs love
• why you shouldn't treat them as "little soldiers"
• how to protect them from chipmunks, squirrels, etc.

I found the layering technique particularly interesting, and will definitely try it myself.

Happy bulb planting!


Live for the Love of it,
Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

"We don't know..."

“We don’t know what to do with all the lawn we have. We use lawn as wall-to-wall carpeting, and I think it works better in most yards as an area rug.”

-- Thomas Rainer, landscape architect

atypical front yard -- doesn't it look great?

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

image credit

Going Nuts: How to Repair a Split Branch

Last summer I noticed that my beloved Red bud was in need of some TLC: its branching off bough had a large crack in it. I knew it had to be fixed. So I googled "how to fix a split branch."

I would've never guessed that you can repair a broken tree branch with nuts and bolts, but apparently it's a common practice. Here's what my husband and I did:

• drilled holes--as close to the split as possible--through both branches growing out of the bough 
• hammered a threaded rod through the holes
• put washers and nuts on both ends of the threaded rod
• tightened up the nuts with an adjustable wrench
• trimmed the ends of the threaded rod using a saw
• hung a wind-chime on one end
• hoped for the best

I'm very happy to report the mended bough is doing fine, and the Red bud's blooming nicely.

So if you ever need to repair a broken branch, try bolting it together -- it just might work.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)