I'm on my own today and got bitten by the spring cleaning bug. The weather has been fantastic, sunny and in the 70s, for several days. Radishes and spinach in the raised bed are up and growing. Azaleas and camellias are in full bloom, and I decided it was time to clean up the water's edge.
I wish I had taken a "before" photo but I was in a hurry to get started and I forgot. Suffice it to say our view of the dock and water had become seriously impeded by overgrown brush and trees. It took me all morning, but look!
We have our view back.
When I started, the tide was out
and I was walking in sucky pluff mud and tall spartina grass..
I love an excuse to wear my polka dot boots!
We call this pine tree the woodpecker tree.
It's mostly dead, bark stripped, full of holes from the pair of pileated woodpeckers that nests nearby. It's really, really tall.
Can't imagine why it's still standing.
I picked up the trash that comes in on the tide as I worked.
This is many months' accumulation, so not too bad. I wonder where the work glove came from.
Hurricanes have downed trees that you can't see until you get right down by the water.
They are works of art, sculptures created by Mother Nature.
Most of our dock was taken out by a big storm.
Docks are very expensive so it won't be replaced until we decide if we are going to live here.
There is a pile of oyster shells, memories of past oyster roasts. We have an oyster bed right near the old dock but we have never harvested the oysters.
Maybe one of these days ....
I cleaned the mud off my boots and the knees of my pants (because of course I fell in the mud a couple times!), took a shower, and now I'm sitting in a chair right next to the pile of oyster shells, writing this and enjoying the much improved view.
Posted with Blogsy
Ah first cab off the rank so to speak/write! (7.18 am Brisbane time 1st March).
ReplyDeletePity the old view wasn't shown, as what you see now certainly looks like you were
into really hard "YAKKA".
The boots would do Nancy Sinatra proud - ha ha. But your boots are made for WORKING, even
though they look like you could be prancing around on a stage.
Lucky you - your very own oyster bed. I think you should do a harvest and report on the
outcome.
I presume ( and presuming is never advisable) that the water is tidal. It looks a bit on the swampy
side??? Do you or the authorities have to spray for mosquitoes?
That was one thing I will never forget when I visited Charleston, SC - the tidal smell. It knocked me
for "SIX" initially, but strangely after a couple of days I stopped noticing it??
Summer officially over today here - but here in Brisbane we really had no real "sauna" like summer,
but down south they had really some hot weather. All very strange.
Enjoy your "mint julip (s)" as you gaze at your handiwork.
Cheers
Colin
We live in a really rural area in a very poor county. We wear bug repellant when the bugs are bad. Shhhh, they're still sleeping!
DeleteWe get the salt air when the wind is right and there is the smell of the pluff mud. It grows on you and I have come to like it.
The water near the edge is tidal and farther out, deep water.
Many thanks Cynthia for the reply to the question on the "smell".
DeleteI always appreciate it when the VERY few EXCELLENT bloggers I look at
take the time to reply.
Colin
PS: After the Anna in Hapong, which was in the once North Vietnam, I am reading
again the excellent novel ( some fiction but the main persons - like Ho Chi Min, Kissinger, General Westmoreland, the "Dragon lady of South Vietnam, Mme Nhu" etc are real) "Saigon" by Anthony Grey.
Here on Mme Nhu: A truly horrific specimen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Nhu
Worth reading
Colin
That elderly lady in the paddy fields would have a darn good idea what life was like in the period of the Vietnam War. She was a person from the North. I wonder did Anna ask questions????
Well worth reading.
Okay, first of all, I have serious lust for those boots. I've always wanted to buy a pair.
ReplyDeleteOyster beds - how amazing. And I'm very impressed by all that you accomplished and it's nice to think of you sitting and enjoying the view.
That's quite a task!
ReplyDeleteIn New Orleans, the streets on the West Bank were paved with Oyster shells when I was a child. They become a very bright, chalky white, and we used them as chalk, too.
Lots of driveways, sidewalks, and even some old roads have oyster shells embedded in them here, too. The shells are also recycled into new oyster beds and people are encouraged to bring them to drop off sites for that purpose.
DeleteWhat a beautiful location!!! Love being by the water. Your boots are great. Mac worked outside today, while I toiled away inside, gotta get outside too though.
ReplyDeleteI do love your view and no doubt you appreciate it even more when you've had to work hard to see it clearly. I think I could get used to the smells that come from the water and the mud. I love the earthy smells of the water. It's too bad about the deck but I'm glad the damage wasn't much worse. Are you really considering a move?
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! Very interesting. I didb't mind reading about the spring cleaning, but I was a wee bit jealous when I read your radishes and spinach were up and growing. Yum! Won't see that here for a while! Sorry about your dock.
ReplyDeleteI was a wee bit jealous of your oyster beds. I think I would have visited them by now if I was you - unless alligators lurk in there.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of oysters but I can eat them if they are cooked. I'm a shrimp girl. I don't think I'll ever get enough!
DeleteI'm with you on the shrimp. Yum! Last weekend, GN and I hit the right grocery store at the right time and we got to sample jumbo shrimp for breakfast. One thing better than shrimp is free shrimp.
DeleteLooking a good view of the water and self satisfaction for tou having cleaned up. Well done.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful location with a stunning view, a real delight. Your hard work has certainly paid off now that you can see, wonderful!
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job and can be proud of yourself.
ReplyDeleteyour spring looks lovely
ReplyDeleteThat was a very satisfying morning's work and what a reward you reaped.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing view.
ReplyDeleteGreat progress. Love the weathered wood but you know I am a dedicated lover of sticks and stones!
Spring almost here. I'm trying not to hurry the garden but got frost resistant plants today to join the onions. Radishes and lettuce will be planted before the weekend.
Have a blessed week.
Forgot! We eat dandelion greens with our other spring greens.
ReplyDeleteI can tell how hard you worked. It looks very neat and clean. What a pretty place to live! Wouldn't you just love to know where that old glove came from?
ReplyDeleteDon't you love it when you work hard and can actually see the results and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Soon you'll be drinking iced tea and enjoying that view.
ReplyDeleteI like your kind of spring cleaning:) The view is great! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw spring cleaning as your title I was sure you meant indoor cleaning, which I dread. What a treat to see where you spent your day cleaning. Aside from the mud which would make working impossible for me I would have gladly joined you and spent all day out there. Any chance to work outside and I jump to it. :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you are seriously considering not staying there with all the work you've done already. Do you have another location in mind?
I can't stay inside when spring happens either. I'd way rather have a better view than a dust free house. (Not that I'm proud of my dusty house ....). Hm, I could have used some help when the mud pulled my boot right off.
DeleteWe are looking at a couple other areas, one being Amelia Island off the coast of Georgia/Florida. One of us thinks the winters are too cold here. Can you imagine? What winter! I'm still waiting for it.
Your Spring looks lovely. Today we actually have sun ya. It was rain to be called for. We will take this.
ReplyDelete