Yard work is becoming more of the norm, with my mowing for the fist time this season last Tuesday after work. One of my projects this summer is to take out the several stumps that were in the yard when I moved in. Last weekend, I managed to remove a couple, and get a third stump dug down quite a bit.
The first two stumps were next to the stairs leading to the front door. They were most likely cedar and had been planted too close to the stairs, so had to be cut down as they encroached. The first stump took quite a while to dig out.
The second stump must have gotten scared and gave little resistance - it took perhaps a total of 30 minutes of digging and prying - the stump actually gave me a nice place to lever against itself.
The third stump is next to the driveway. I don't know what it is, but it was certainly a larger hardwood that was evidently planted too close to the house. To add to the difficulty, I have to be very careful with the dirt because Japanese Knotweed is growing right next to it (that is the green stuff next to the stump - I cut off the 2 ft canes, after applying shrub killer a couple of days previously). JK is a very invasive plant that needs lots of sun to grow, but when it grows, it grows so fast you can almost literally see it (up to 6"/day). Evidently it got enough shade from the Cedar that I cut down last year, that it didn't start growing until last summer. This year, without the cedar to shade it, it took right off.
I gave up on stump 3 until I can get ahold of a chainsaw to cut the two roots on the downhill side, and Monday evening I started on the 4th stump that was between a flower garden and the planter that I placed the (now dead) Peace Rose in last summer. Even though it turned out to be the smallest of the stumps (it is the one on the right in the picture below), this one was challenging as there were lots of rocks that had to be removed.
I still have 3 stumps to go, but those may not come out this year. I have the two cedar stumps from the trees along the driveway I had removed last year. Those two were great at blocking my snow blowing and throwing the snow back into the driveway. There is also a very large stump between the willow and maple in the side yard. It is not only large, it is located in an area that is always wet as it is near the swamp next door.
I placed a couple of lupines in part of the hole left by stump #4.
I have plans to fill the rest of that hole with some moisture loving plants - let the landscaping begin.
What a way to spend your time and build muscles. Whoo!
Posted by: Cop Car | May 24, 2015 at 09:29 AM