I apparently had a sixth sense about when it was the right time to leave work and have my shoulder surgery. The decision was made mid-February to have it right at the beginning of March. What a good decision that turned out to be! My workplace is now closed and we are on furlough until further notice. My 6 weeks of physical therapy turned out not to be enough, last Friday being my last one. With my auto-immune crap, and my muscle/tendon issues, and being told to wait until after my 2 week post-op to start physical therapy--which was incorrect--I've built up scar tissue and have a limited range of motion still and horrible searing and zapping pains in my tricep and elbow.
But I've decided that everything happens for a reason and I feel like it's time to take this all under my control now. I am listening to my body and gaining degrees of motion each day with as little discomfort as I can. I have another follow up with the doctor on June 5th and what am I doing in the meantime?
Well, I've crocheted hats and made soaps with my oldest son that we donated to a food pantry, I'm making care packages for all of my lady friends that include masks I'm sewing for them, cleaning out my house(!!!!!!!), and my oldest son and I have pulled 15 bags (15 GARBAGE BAGS!!!) so far of invasive and/or non-native weeds and plants from my yard, which is less than an acre. It's great work for the arm and shoulder....especially when I pulled a tree sapling out of the raised garden bed with my bare hands. That felt great! So I thought I'd share a little bit with you about some of the things that I'm pulling.
Garlic mustard, henbit, chickweed, motherwort, purple dead nettle, sweet clover, raspberry (can be native, but invasive around here), mullein......we have more non-natives right now than natives, but hopefully by doing this work that will change over time. We also have some honeysuckle and Tree of Heaven to get rid of, and hubby just took out a winged burning bush that we'll replace with something native. I've got plants coming up this year that I've never had before, never had in this quantity or in the locations they are coming up in.
I've got raspberry plant galore coming up under my beloved evergreens and am pulling them while they're tiny, making sure to get the roots out when I can. But off in the side field area, where small trees that we didn't plant, and native and non-native plants and weeds thrive, I pulled one plant (also known as a "sucker") that was beginning to get too close to the actual yard, and out came the runner and another plant ("sucker") at the end of that
If you pull a non-native/invasive plant, make sure to try and get as much of the root system as possible, bag it and research the best ways to get rid of it. When we pulled the burning bush out, we were told not to let the roots touch soil again or they'd start to root all over again. It's also important not to let certain species of plant just lay where you cut or dump them. Garlic mustard being one of those! And if the burning bush or honeysuckle has flowers or berries at the time you remove or trim them, don't drop those clippings! Again, research is key in stopping the spread and realizing that not every plant can be handled the same way.
I'm sure there are sooooo many more out there that I can't see because they're already covered by the other plants or I can't get to them. This has been a big learning experience as well as a test of endurance for me! It is my hope that by the time we put the place up for sale (hopefully within the next 12 months), there will be a healthy plethora of native plants and trees for someone else to enjoy. Let us not forgot that nature can be brutal, but rewarding!
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