A Pretty, Early-Winter Day

A warmer than usual day last weekend allowed me to get outside and do some yard work. From the house, you can't really tell I did anything at all, but I spent a good part of Sunday working out back. First, I cut ivy off of some of the trees. There are still dozens of trees that have ivy growing on them, but they'll have to wait for another pretty day. I also gathered up a lot of fallen branches/trees and dragged them into a pile at the bottom of the hill.

I'll refresh your memory ... here's what it used to look like:

I need to bring my chainsaw down there and cut the pile into manageable pieces, but that probably won't happen until next spring. There must be a crack in the patio by the fireplace, because there is a tree growing on it. Next spring, I'll remove the leaves and the vines and the tree on the patio, and I'll find out if there's any damage that needs repaired. 

In addition to working on the fireplace area, I need to finish clearing a walking path to it. I started on that this past summer, but all the debris (and poison ivy/oak/sumac) prevented me from going any further. I've since killed all the offensive weeds, and now that I have all the fallen branches/trees out of the way, it's ready for a path to be forged.

I don't know that I'll ever use this patio, but since I have it, it may as well be usable. Once it's cleared, it will be like a pleasant surprise at the end of the path! Even though I may not ever use it, I can certainly see my grandkids playing there.