Right On Schedule...

The Oak Tree island (right) and two other islands before trimming

We have "islands" of trees, palmettos and other plants all across our large yard. The trees kept getting taller, but then, the same could be said for everything else.

Things were getting out of control, so while Handsome is away, I arranged for a crew to come in and clean everything up for us. Even if I weren't allergic to most of the plants, it was a lot more cutting than I could have ever done on my own. I got a recommendation from a trusted friend in the business and Jesse Bosley, owner of Steven's Tree Service in Venice, Florida put us into his schedule for yesterday.

The Oak Tree island (behind the lamp post) and two islands from a slightly different angle.

The day started with rain, so I was concerned that I'd get the dreaded "We have to reschedule" call. The call never came, but the crew certainly did. 

Jesse, his wife, and his son arrived around 10:30 in the morning, and spent the entire day ducking in and out of their work truck when the rain, thunder and lightning threatened.

Same area of the yard - after the trimming and raking. What a difference!

They worked through the entire stormy day. When they left at 7:15 last night, Tag and I headed outside to take pictures so Handsome (and you) could see the big change.

The Oak Tree island with everything cleared and the tree "lifted".

You can actually see soil now! Their work involved chain saws, a weed wacker, pitchforks and rakes. There wasn't a single drop of Round-up or chemical used in this entire process! 

Jesse's wife used to own a greenhouse. She said that now that the oak tree is lifted and cleaned up, I could get a few pots of orchids or staghorn ferns to hang from the branches. I love that idea, so I may do that, and then I can take those plants with us when we move.

Tag and I walked down to the first curve in our driveway. This shot is looking out toward the street. Jesse made sure there was nothing growing out over the pavement, and he trimmed all the "scruffy" out of the Washingtonian palms on either side of the drive.

Then, without taking a step, I just turned around to look back toward the house. The view is still obscured (which we like) by the islands, but not as much as it used to be. There are no more dead fronds, pepper tree (invasive) saplings (yay!!) or piles of pine needles. Even though the grass needs to be cut - which I won't do until Friday - the yard looks so much tidier!

As Tag and I headed back to the house, it started to sprinkle again. We didn't waste any time trying to stay dry, but I continued to take photos of the improvements.

The painting is finished. The yard is cleaned up and I only have one more service appointment today. I can't tell you how different it looks around here, but I hope the pictures help to tell the story for me.

I'll be picking up a few flower plants to put into a few empty pots, so I think I'll try to do that this afternoon or tomorrow. There isn't much left to do inside for our open house on Saturday, so I might get back into the studio later, too.  Not only am I on schedule...I might just be a little ahead of the game!