Adventures in Gardening

I discovered that slugs were eating my strawberries.  Yesterday evening I placed an aluminum pie pan with some beer in it among the strawberries.  I was amazed at the number of dead slugs in it this morning. 

I have two lilac bushes in the backyard that are not blooming.   I don't think they get enough sun.  One was huge.  I spent time today cutting them both down.  Daughter helped me with the clean-up, though there's more to do.  Cutting them down was the easy part....

My garden angel and her husband, A,  came by.  He cut down a large limb I had been working on.  He was the second man to attempt to finish it, and both complained about the difficulty of it.  They were both on a ladder.  I was working from the ground with the saw on my pruner that extends.  It made me feel a little bit better about not being able to cut all the way through it. 

A also hung some brackets up high in my garage.  I have placed a pipe and the poles form my volleyball net up there.  He looked in the attic and confirmed that the vent above my stove does exhaust to the outside.  My current vent fan isn't connected to it, and at some point I want to change it.  My five foot step ladder and my short stature are such that I couldn't do these things on my own.  A also got up on my roof to sweep off the pollen and leaves the large locust tree in my backyard had deposited up there.  He expressed concern that they were damaging my roof.  I had been pondering getting the tree removed because it is so messy, but this settled it.  As big as the tree is, it will still be cheaper to remove it than replace the roof.  My red bud tree should get healthier when it's not in the shade of the locust tree.  I think the new exhaust fan for the kitchen will have to wait.

While A was doing the tasks with his ladders, his wife spread 6 more bins of mulch in the back yard.  I've been filling my trash cans with the mulch they shredded after our spring clean-up day at the church.  Two of the men with trucks have been willing to transport the full bins for me.  I could still use several more loads, and I'm grateful that they're so willing to lend a hand.  I love my house and gardens.  It's a blessing to be able to spend a day working in them, and I'm grateful for those who are willing to lend a helping hand.