Weeding Derby

It rained last night and was overcast today, making the perfect conditions for weeding the back bed. This bed is in direct sunlight most of the time, so has not been worked for over a month because of the very high temperatures.  As expected, it was overrun with violets, crab grass, devil's grass and a few briars.  It took all three of us working together to have the courage to face and destroy the weeds.

Since we were all working together, it was a chattier session than most. The devil's grass was interwoven with the Japanese irises and the day lilies.  While cleaning out the dead leaves from those plants, we'd accidentally grab the Bermuda and come away with a six foot strand of grass along with the dead leaves we were aiming for. We started comparing them to see who pulled the longest.  Then Brian pulled a violet that was 10 - 12 inches across and I got a stand of crab grass that was about 24 inches across, all in one piece, roots included. All of this led to a discussion of a weeding derby.

A weeding derby would work like a fishing derby, except withyard work. There would be prizes for the longest weed, the biggest weed, the weeds pulled with the best root structure, the most buckets of weeds, the best weeding of a square foot section, etc.  The beauty of it is that you could charge participants a fee to enter, then have them weed your yard for you!  There are even quality control measures in place (prizes) to ensure the work is done well.  How very Tom Sawyer. This is yard work I could get behind: someone else pay me for the pleasure and the glory of weeding my yard? You bet. Sign me up! Or better yet, I'll sign others up!

Unfortunately, it was just the three of us winning the prizes today.  Mom won "best weeding in a square foot section", Brian won "longest weed" and "weeds puled with the best root structure", and I won "biggest weed" and "most buckets pulled". Sigh. Maybe next time.