Yard Work & Sunsets

I despise yard work, but it's one of those things you have to do when you own a home. I've been the only one doing yard work around here for the last two years(even when my dad and grown brother were living here), so it's been a little neglected. I do good to keep the grass cut because during the summer it has to be cut every 1-2 weeks. My hedges hadn't been trimmed in over a year, so last weekend I finally got to it. This picture is of the box woods that run the length of my house and some around the corner. I trimmed them, but I haven't picked up the trimmings yet. There's some kind of vine growing up next to the window that I need to get down. If my grass looks strange it's because I had a huge patch of crab grass that I sprayed round up on. I knew it would leave a big dead spot, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get rid of the crab grass.

This is a picture of my camellia bush that has probably never been trimmed. I'm not going to touch it other than to clean up some of the weeds around the bottom.

This is what I cut off of the bushes by the front door. They were up to the middle of the windows. They grow 4 times as fast as the box woods and were out of control. I trimmed as much as I could with the electric hedge trimmers, but they will only cut small branches. So, I used the pruners to cut as much as I could off. I want to cut them back completely and just start over. This might not be the right time of year to be doing this, but I really don't care if they die. I'll just plant something that doesn't require as much maintenance.

This is what I'll use next to get the rest of the bushes cut down. I'm afraid to use a chain saw for fear of getting cut, but these seem pretty safe. It's like a mini chain saw/pruner. The chain saw is covered by a guard, so it shouldn't be that easy to get hurt using this. We'll see. I went ahead and got a tetanus shot when I saw my doctor this summer just in case. I hadn't had one in 20 years.

This is what I want to tackle next, but it'll only be with the assistance of one or both of my brother-in-laws. I want to cut this ugly thing down. It's the only tree in my yard, but I think it's so ugly. Plus, it is constantly dropping dead branches all over my yard that have ruined the blades on my lawnmower. Before I get the blades replaced, I want this tree gone. I refuse to walk around the yard and pick up branches before I cut the grass.

While I was outside taking pictures of my work, I noticed the neat looking sunset, so I took some pictures of that too. The sun sets in front of my house, so my view of it is obstructed by the other houses.

This is a zoomed in shot.
One more angle.

Maybe I'll get all of the clippings hauled to the side of the street tomorrow so the trash truck can pick them up next week. I need to prime my air compressor so I can pump up the tires on the dump wagon/cart thing that goes with the lawn mower and use it. I'll have to see. I don't have to move them very far, so it might be more trouble to use the wagon.