Clearing Out

It happened.

We actually got a SUNNY DAY. And what did we do with it? Not lounge on the deck, not frolic in a sprinkler, not even head for the nearby beach... Nope, like the holy-crap-there's-so-much-that-needs-to-be-done-first-time-homeowners we are, we (drumroll) cleaned gutters and weeded!!

I know. Don't be jealous.

But seriously, because it seems that our house was a rental for years before we made the big purchase, the gutters have gone untouched for about the same length of time. And now that the weather is ever-so-slowly turning nicer, there are actual shrubs poking up from every roof-line. Not cute.

So Nate did this:

And since I had to be outside to be ready to catch him or something "just in case", I decided to tackle the crazy Lamb's Ear that's slowly taking over our garden.

The derivative we have is a somewhat pretty plant, with fat, soft, dusty leaves, and it even has a moderately attractive bloom to it when it's not busy choking the life out of anything in it's path. According to my mom, you can whack it back with clippers if you want it shorter and it'll just keep on tickin', but at this point I'm just done with it.

So! Two big patches up and into the yard waste bin:

The smaller of the two patches.

Playing Caesar. Die, plant!

And while I know this gutter and weed talk has made for a scintillating read so far, the best is yet to come.

Under the larger patch of Lamb's Ear, I found.........

Why, frogs on a park bench, of course! They're so ugly, but it was too funny to give 'em the heave ho immediately, so in their little glen they remain for now.

See 'em tucked away in there?

I think I rather would have unearthed another patio as before, but the park frogs were just as surprising. And I guess the upside of the rain returning tonight is that the froggies will get a good bath before they head out for the thrift store.