Sad but glad

In the corner of my neighbor's lot stood a clump of mulberry trees.  On the one hand, the robins love mulberries and could be seen swooping into the berry buffet all day long.  On the other hand, baby mulberry trees sprout like weeds on my property.  And those robins?  Dive bombing purple stain makers, that's what they are.

Before

Said neighbor decided to have the mulberries removed along with a dead apple tree.  The elm gets to stay. 

After

The removal of the mulberries opens up that corner of my yard to more light, which is a good thing for the garden.  My compost pile is on the other side of my shed.  I was planning to clear that area out and plant hostas, but now will need something more tolerant of sunshine.

Now if the neighbor would also take down the silver maple in the middle of his backyard that rains whirly birds onto my backyard, life would be, well, not perfect, but improved.

Speaking of sunshine, a pergola guy came by Friday to give me an estimate for an aluminum pergola over my patio.  $$$$$  More than twice what I expected it to cost.  I want something maintenance-free, but gah.  I will definitely have to look into alternative (and hopefully cheaper) materials.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, I am having my driveway and front sidewalks replaced.  It is funny how one day something that has been sitting there all along suddenly looks horrible.  I think it is because the lawn looks horrible as well - the combination of crumbling driveway and weedy lawn with dead grass makes the house look abandoned.