My cousin-in-law was paying a handyman to come by and take care of the yard here, before we moved in. After we moved in, he was supposed to still come by every so often, and then she paid him to drain the pool, because it was a stagnant swamp. This was like a month and a half ago.

He finally came by today. The pool is disgusting. It didn't smell before it started draining, but it now smells pretty rancid; in this picture, you can see the mark on the tarp where the water level used to be, and the concentrated sludge of leaves and other dead things that collected since last fall when they closed it up. There's water underneath the tarp, too, and I'm scared to see what it's going to look like when the handyman comes by again tomorrow to finish the job.

In the course of cleaning out the pool, he completely removed all the plants from around it, which I guess is his job. You can see the decimated remains of those beautiful white flowers on the ground here next to the Shop-Vac.

Good thing I'm so emo about plants. It really turned out to be useful in this situation.

Not only did he rip the plants out of the ground, but he chopped them into little pieces as well. I transferred most of the big pieces from the grass to my compost pile. At least one they're composted they can contribute to growing more flowers, someplace else. Like in pots inside.



The side garden was another casualty of the pool-cleaning. I'm not sure if this was planned, or if it got run over by pool equipment first. This one is actually not so bad. The bushes here were really out of control; except for the daisies, which were pretty much done flowering anyway, they would have had to be pruned or replaced next spring. Mulching like this is not much loss, although it was messily done, and looks like a battlefield.

I'm thinking about attempting to turn this spot into a vegetable garden next spring. If we're still living here, I will almost certainly do it, and if we move someplace else but are still in the area I may try as well. I've become rather enthusiastic about gardening since I've moved someplace that seems to consist mainly of concrete and car exhaust. It's really not that bad here, but I do feel a little out of balance without as much green as I'm used to.

Plus cheap fresh vegetables would be neat. Even if it did turn out like amateur gardens often do, with 100 lbs of zucchini and nothing else.

In spite of my pessimism, there are still places where slightly wild things grow. The handyman is coming back tomorrow, but I don't think my cousin-in-law is going to be there; if she isn't, I will do my best to make sure that this remaining ivy is left in peace. It's not even anywhere near the pool.