I'm sold

Sean from Santuary Native Landscapes came by yesterday to discuss the "final" design for my yard. I put *final* in quotes because there are still a few tweaks. After listening to his explanation about plant selection, I'm (almost) all in. One of the tweaks is setting aside a corner for wildflowers, ironically the area previously designated as a meadow. A hickory tree will be planted there; they are tiny to start with because they grow from a tap root. In the area south of that, there will be Canadian hemlock to provide a windbreak and background for the winterberry plants and to keep the white oak tree company. I'm extremely excited about this plan. I probably won't be as excited about the cost of installation, but I'm rather dedicated to spending my children's inheritance.

One sad aspect to all these changes is saying "thank you" and "good-bye" to many of the existing plants and shrubs. Some will be sorely missed (gold mop, cotoneaster, smokebushes), others not so much (boxwood, yucca, mugo). Almost everything has become problematic in one way or another, and ugly to boot. I feel like I have slaved away in the yard for thirty years and there is little to show for it. Part of me is reluctant to let someone else redo it all, but I'm on the cusp of old age and would like to do less yardwork but still have the kind of yard I want.

I was hoping to attend a cross country ski workshop today but we have no snow at all. The storms all seem to pass us by. Also, it is cold and breezy, okay if one is in the woods, not so much out in the open.

I purchased several self-warming pet beds from Chewy, in three sizes. Watson, the medium-sized dog, seems to prefer the smallest one even though he barely fits.

Stay warm!