Of Mice and Weeds

Abi enjoys kicking soccer balls. She also enjoys pretending they are hats. Why? I don't know, but apparently it's hilarious to her.

It's been another busy week. If you're on FB, you may have noticed that we had some baby mice in the house. Yes, eww. Robin had spotted the mouse race under the basement futon one night - with George quickly following. We've not seen the mouse since. Nevertheless, Robin conducted a thorough cleaning of the rec room (WOOT!). In the process, he found these newborn mice.

He was too grossed out to move them, so I used some cardboard to scoop them into this box and delivered them outside under a bush (not in my yard). I'll be honest, I'm sure they didn't survive the cold night (despite it being summer) and if they did, I'm sure some local animal would have found them a tasty snack. But I wasn't about to kill them directly.

You may also have heard that I had a friendly visit from a municipal by-law enforcement officer informing me that my backyard is too weedy. Now it's not - and that was a major job! First step was to severely prune the rose bushes just so I could get to the backyard. Next, pruning shears still in hand, I began to tackle the prickly plants. Sorry, but I'm too embarrassed to have taken before and after pictures. It ain't pretty now since the stupid hill is being held together by the wild-plant (they're only weeds if you don't want them there!) roots - so I chopped down the plants by hand (for the Goldenrod and Thistles) and weed-wacker (for the Colt's Foot) but left the bases. Once again we will try to cover the hill with Creeping Thyme for next year. Last year's seeds seem to have taken well. I've also scattered Columbine all over the bottom of the hill and some Musk Mallow in one of my former gardens for next year.
For the sake of context, here is the known history of that backyard - a previous homeowner (about a year before we bought?) had used Roundup to clear the hill than covered it over with sod. Needless to say, the sod didn't take and the grass has been dying since. I tried to create some garden beds along the sides, but the only things that will take well are herbs - which I am now going to focus on. The whole time we've been fighting with Colt's Foot (an annoying rhizome) and Thistles. Last year, with Abi's birth, I didn't get out to tend the hill as I had in previous years. This year I had better intentions... but, well, didn't get around to it. Late summer with sudden rains and sun provided the perfect environment for the wild plants to grow quickly - so that by the time I had a child-free opportunity, the back hill was too frightening and some other chore quickly became more important...
Next year... next year I'll tame that hill with Abi's help.