Reclaiming The Back Of The Backyard

I haven't been out there yet this summer.

 

Since we now have neighbors with kids, they have been peeking over the fence when we are out in the back yard, so Bobby is building a higher fence. that way, we can have privacy when we are out floating around in the little pool, and not have kids hollering at us.
On the inside of the fence, we are going to plant blackberries, and I have ordered some starts from ebay, and some from a relative out in Washington state, where they have those huge berries on the bushes.
Lots of thorns, but delicious berries.

Did you get your blackberries planted yet, @Ken Anderson ?

 

The blackberries were a no go. I've tried them twice and they don't survive the winter, which is odd since they grow wild even further north, where the winters are even harsher. I have continued to cut trees in the back, mostly because they are shading my yard so much that a lot of stuff doesn't grow. Hurting my hand slowed that down some but I think my hand is healed now, so I have a few more trees to cut. I'd cut more but I can really only cut the ones that I am confident that I can land in the right place, such as not on my house, the neighbor's house, or the garden beds. There are still a few trees that meet those specifications, and another that I really want to be rid of but I would have to get it to fall in exactly the right direction, as there isn't much of a margin for error. I still haven't decided if I want to tackle that one. Cutting trees in the backyard isn't like cutting them on my land up north, where the only thing I'm worried about is that it might land on my head.

 

The starts that I am getting are for wild blackberries, maybe those would work better for you, too, since they are probably more cold hardy ?

 

I cut one of the larger trees this afternoon. The only safe place to land it was on the tracks. Although the trains don't run through there anymore, it's used as a walking trail and an ATV trail now. So I put a couple of buckets across the trail on each side that would make them stop, at least, and maybe my tree wouldn't land on their head. I'm a nice guy, that way. It landed right, and I was able to cut it into sections short enough to haul away. Then I cut another, smaller, one that was near the house because it was shading my spruce tree too much, and stunting its growth. I was going to cut that one further up, using a ladder, but the ladder fell, and that hurt, so I cut it from nearer to ground level, but it landed right too, so I was okay with it. I still have more to do but I'm sore because I was on the ladder when it fell.

 

Not very, but I had a chainsaw in my hand so it wasn't a very graceful fall. I'm okay, though. Just sore.

 

An electric chainsaw, not a gas-powered one. Much lighter and safer. Chainsaws shut off once you let go of your grip, anyhow.

 

I have starts growing from both the Illinois wild blackberries I got on ebay, and the Washington wild blackberries that I got from my niece in western Washington . We are getting the planting box filled with lawn clippings and compost , so it should be ready for us to transplant the blackberry starts this fall when they are going dormant for the winter.
Bobby has been clearing out the yard area in front of the blackberry box, and he just planted clover there, so we should have a pretty, green lawn there soon.