Weed Through

The rain (remnants of Hurricane Isaac) started Friday morning. It lasted all day yesterday and a good chunk of today. We got between four and five inches; most of it came down as the good, soaking rain we hadn't had for months.

This summer's hot weather and drought did a number on our lawn. Now there are vast sections of dead turf with clumps of grass. And weeds. When the temperature was close to 100 degrees I didn't venture outside to remove any of the little green aliens. Our two days worth of rain sent them into a growing frenzy. The biggest offenders, spread out like carpets, were crab grass, spurge, and oxalis, but there were also dandelions and nut sedge poking up into the air.

This afternoon I grabbed a bucket and a trowel and started pulling and digging my way across the yard.

I think weeding by hand is gratifying. You grab the stem close to the soil and pull. If you're lucky the whole thing pulls out easily. Nothing's better than a clump of dirt and roots hanging off the bottom of a weed. If that doesn't work, a quick thrust of the trowel takes care of the root. The remains go in the trash, and you're on to the next one.

I filled up the gallon-sized bucket with weeds from the front yard (and probably could have done two more, but the sun came out from behind the clouds and made it uncomfortable), dumped it in the yard waste trash can, and moved to the back yard. The house's shadow covered much of the area, making it much cooler. There was only one problem... mosquitoes! In ten minutes I was covered in bites, so even though I hadn't made a dent in the weeds I quit. I counted nine bites, all on my left arm and left leg, which might be a new record. I guess they liked the rain, too!