The Front Yard Cries for Attention

Our front yards are mowed and generally tended by a lawn service, the cost of which is included in our monthly home owners assessment fee. They mow, edge, prune bushes, and spread pine straw where required. In general, they maintain what the builders provided when the homes were built. Any additions, like a different kind of mulch, ground cover, trees, etc., are the responsibility of the home owner. The trees were planted by the builder, but somehow they aren't covered by the maintenance program.

So, when I discovered an army of caterpillars* greedily devouring my oak tree yesterday, I hit the panic button. Soon discovered that the tree people I found on line were eager to remove the tree, but none of them would deal with the caterpillars. So, this morning I hied over to Walmart and bought a bottle of Sevin Ready-to-Spray pesticide and a pair of long-handled loppers and went on the attack.

The caterpillars very conveniently had arranged themselves in bunches. It appeared from the previous damage that they started at the end of the branch and ate their way to the trunk of the tree before moving on to the next branch. I say convenient, as it made a relatively easy job of spraying several at the same time. One cluster was well above my head. I was afraid I'd have to climb a ladder to get to it, but the spray stream was strong enough to hit it from the ground. Sorry this photo is so blurry, but I wasn't eager to get closer, so this is a blow-up.

The caterpillars appeared to die almost immediately, as all movement stopped. I was afraid they'd come raining down on my head, but they stuck to the stem of the leaf they were eating. Tomorrow I'll get out the long-handled loppers and prune away the branches with the most damage. They are all fairly small in diameter and down low.

I would have done it this morning, but I tackled another bit of landscaping instead.

The area beneath the tree has a faux brick edging that is supposed to contain the vinca ground cover. Nobody told the vinca, and it crossed the edging and was heading toward the driveway. The lawn service trimmed the bush that you see here, but ignored the vines, so I'm assuming that's outside of their purview. 

I attacked the vinca and the knockout roses that are under the dining room windows.

The roses had been reaching out over the sidewalk, putting visitors in jeopardy as they approached the front door. And voila! The faux bricks have reappeared!

Compare this photo with the before photo above. The clippings from this side and the other side of the flower bed filled a large plastic yard waste bag.

This side of the flower bed was also overgrown with escaping vinca. The greenery in front of the tree is balloon flowers past their bloom. I deadheaded them, so that part also looks better. The holly bush at left was trimmed last week by the landscaping crew. They ignored the Knockout roses. I cut back the bushes on the right, but the ones in the middle still need attention. I wasn't too eager to push my way in among the thorns to reach them, never mind a mild reluctance to encounter a snake or two in all of that greenery. 

So much for the front yard. As we segue to the back yard, do you see that white rectangular item in the open garage door? It's a bundle of shingles for the screened porch. Yes! Construction has begun. Nothing much to see so far. The material are all stacked on the patio, and the gutter has been taken down and the initial framing for the roof beams are up. Come Monday morning, Nick the Builder assures me that they will be framing it up.

I added a second hummingbird feeder in the back yard. It took the little hummers about 20 minutes to find it. Both feeders are busy from dawn to dusk. The numbers appear to have increased. Apparently, if you feed them, they will come. :)

Still dealing with the pigeon situation. Some friends suggested that a plastic snake would scare them off. One said a piece of electric cord on a window sill was enough to scare away the birds. Not having a fake snake in the cupboard, I used what I had on hand -- a black bungee cord.

I put it down at dusk one evening. The next morning the pigeons were stomping around as usual. It didn't faze them a bit. I'm a bit leery of using a fake snake, as if it does work for the pigeons, it may scare off the smaller birds, too. 

This entry is getting a bit long, but I have one more photo to share.

The rain clouds were the lovelies shade of pink at sunset the other night.

*Did you know that a group of caterpillars is called an army? I learned that today!