Lilacs. I seem to be completely obsessed with them right now. I suppose that could be because every time I take a deep breath, I am swimming in them. I love it. They are amazing.
My mom has some very well established lilac bushes at her house and they are quite large. I think generally they top out between ten and fifteen feet and these ones are getting close. They hadn't had any horticultural attention in quite a while and so last night Cyle and I went house on them. Out came the pruners, a ladder and even a saw. Those suckers (literally, suckers from the plant that grow up out of the ground and take energy away from the main plant...) never knew what hit them.
It was buggy, scratchy, itchy, dirty and awesome. I was covered with lilac twigs, the dried remains of last year's spent flowers and lots of black fly bites, but it was all completely worth it. I don't know why, but there is something I love about pruning. It is artistic and cathartic all at once and when you're pruning lilacs, you have the added bonus of it being favorably scented. Not bad... not bad.
Meanwhile, we're having major squeaker wars in the front yard. Squeakers are more commonly known as chipmunks, but my fantastic friend Jess refers to them as squeakers and it just stuck in my head. We have several factions in the front yard, each claiming their own territory and that doesn't even touch the renegade band who rule the back yard and harass the dogs just outside the fence 24-7.
Sitting outside on the deck you are right in the throes of the battle. They are constantly running back and forth yelling at each other and they have gotten mighty brave. One had the cojones to stand up and start speaking harshly to me the other day when I was just trying to enjoy the evening. I gave it right back to him (or her) and he (or she) retreated to the safety of their fortress under said deck.
It's a wild, wild world out there. Bull moose walking through the yard, a huge black bear lurking in the shadows at my grandmother's house and the never ending epic squeaker battle. Come on down and enjoy the show.
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