With the extension of the deck, we had to take out a few large wax myrtles. We chopped them down and left them in a pile which has, over the Summer months, gradually become a monster pile of yard waste.
I pulled the truck around and started tossing in wood and branches.
Then whipped out the trimmers and gave the holly bushes their winter haircut.
Then spent several hours weeding the natural areas until the pickup was full.
Yes...Full!
SM was in his office working but I stuck my head in and asked if he wanted to come help me unload my huge haul at the recycling waste center.
"What's got into you today?" SM wanted to know as he climbed into the truck.
"I'm just tired of looking at all that crap in our yard and if I'm tired of it the neighbors must be sick of looking at it too. Is there any chance when we get back that we could sort through the lumber pile and toss the wood you don't want to keep?" I asked.
SM is a HUGE packrat and rarely tosses anything away. We plan on using the old deck boards to create an arbor for the grapes. (Another project for another day.)
"Might as well. " SM agreed. "I think anything else we have to cut to finish the deck will be little pieces and can be tossed in the regular trash."
So when we got back to the house we sorted through the construction pile tossing the trash into the pickup.
"Anything else?" I asked.
Construction waste goes to a different landfill than yard waste.
SM decided to go ahead and toss the old front storm door that no one wanted to buy from his Craigslist posting.
*Side note: Craigslist is amazing. SM had posted our old dumpy spare "beer" fridge there for months. I'd cleaned it up, took pictures of it and SM had posted it back in the spring. No bites. He dropped the price to $50. Still no calls. He posted it for free just to get rid of it. Nothing. No interest. So that fridge has sat in the garage all summer. A few weeks ago SM reposted it and sold it. For $95. Amazing.
Anyhow...We wandered through the garage and shed and picked up random crapola to toss and then hauled it all to the big landfill site. I'd never been there before but found it fascinating. A constant crawl of huge trash trucks and land movers building a trash mountain.
When we lived in Virginia Beach 30 odd years ago they had turned "Mount Trashmore" into a park/recreational area. Since our landfill is located by the Charlotte Motor Speedway, I'm expecting they'll do something similar.
By the time we got back SM had to run to a job so I was left my own devices.
Which can sometimes be a dangerous thing.
There is a pine tree in our backyard that SM planted 10 years ago. He calls it his "Charlie Brown" tree.
It's stunted and has never done anything. I suspected that it was root bound and over the years have asked SM if he'd be "OK" if we took it out but it always managed to survive another year.
I eyeballed that sucker.
Reflected that now was my chance since SM wasn't around.
Whipped out the tow rope, hooked it around the tree and attached it to the hitch.
A couple of satisfying yoinks on the gas pedal and TaDa!
"WaaHaaHa"
Turns out SM wasn't bothered by my evil intervention at all. Other than to ask me why I'd left it in the middle of the yard.
I shrugged as I headed for work the next day. "Just seemed like the best place for it. Do you think you could chop it up and take it away today?" I asked, kissing him goodbye.
It just wouldn't do to leave SM alone at the house without a project to work on @;)
You go, girl! Sounds like an amazing day's work. I find landfills to be extremely high on the ick factor. I know they are a fact of life, as there seems to be an endless supply of disposable diapers and k-cups, but geez. At least the wood, construction debris type can break down a bit more. Our 'away' piles are covered and vented. Looks like some secret agency underground operation....
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