The Foliated Fort

   

Metal Man went to the Metal Man

 Well, my intentions are always good, but I had to admit to myself ages ago that I am not much of a gardener. My skills seem to be in the buying of the bulbs, not in the planting of them – the bulbs end up sprouting in the garage months or years after their purchase.

     Every year I buy three or four pumpkins for the front yard – they don't get carved, just sit there for autumnal display until after Thanksgiving when they are moved to the backyard and we watch them slowly sink upon themselves – sometimes the next spring some pumpkin plants start to grow from the seeds, but they don't live for very long.

     Except that one summer when we were at the rented house here in Georgia – 1991, I think – when some pumpkin seeds I actually put in the ground myself sprouted, and the vines spread all across the backyard! They were beautiful and the girls' father didn't even complain about them – he had an excuse not the mow the backyard – there was no grass that season. Alas, we did not yield any pumpkins – they started to grow on the vines, but quickly shriveled in the heat.

     A patch of wild flowers grew in one corner near the house also that summer – seeds from a can like they used to sell – guaranteed to grow! They were beautiful, and as tall as the pumpkin vines were long. I guess that was a good summer.

     At this house, I mostly buy hanging plants each summer and put them around the backyard. Anything that looks like it should be a flower bed has nothing in it but the aforementioned good intentions.

     And so that is how it came to be that I thought the backyard could maybe be a habitat instead of a garden. We have a tiny front yard that I mow and think of Pleasant Valley Sunday when I do; and we have a tiny strip of a backyard which then meets some railroad ties which takes the yard to a higher level and another thin patch of land – this has always had trees on it, and possiblities.

     The treed area is where I wanted to create the habitat. I put debris from the rest of the yard there – grass clippings, leaves, pine cones; and several old Christmas trees were on their side back there. I used to put hair from my hairbrush out there on the Christmas tree branches until I realized it was never getting claimed for nests or lairs.

     What kind of animals was I hoping for? The birds are always welcome and colorful. The neighborhood would be too dangerous for deer, but I thought perhaps some rabbits might nest in the yard, or chipmunks or squirrels. There are plenty of squirrels, and they seem to live in the trees. Chipmunks are less plentiful but more fun to watch – until the day I saw a hawk swoop down and eat a chipmunk in the yard!

     For a few days one summer I was watching a rabbit, and then I saw him flat splat in the middle of the road in front of the house – I threw him back in the habitat before Amanda saw him (sorry, Bodie), and no rabbits have been in the back yard since then.

    Under one of the bird feeders and beneath the railroad ties, we have seen the occasional rat family. For some reason I am not as entertained by rats as by chipmunks.

     But still the idea of a habitat is cool – it fits with my all natural hippie persona. Over a decade, yard debris continued to pile up, and the trees grew taller and denser, but the wildlife was few.

     Then Mike entered the picture and things began to change. He suggested we get rid of the Christmas trees – having a truck made that an easy request. But the rest of the backyard remained about the same.

A really cool fort been it would have!

     Mike had some bed springs from an old twin bed. He has sentimental attachment to almost all of his stuff – so I was surprised when he said that the bed springs could go to the dump! I sheepishly asked if I could put them in the backyard – and he okayed it!

     I set it up sideways hoping vines would start to grow over and cover it. When the lawn got mowed I would throw debris into the backyard and then put branches and sticks into the springs – and I'd think maybe more rabbits would move into the yard soon.

     And I hoped the springs would grow covered in foliage so that the grandchildren could play in the yard and be creative with the wall of bed springs sitting there just for them – a fort, a hiding spot, a castle wall!!

     Yeah, Mike did not like the springs in the backyard. Not classy.

     Last summer I had many of the trees cut down – I had wanted to get rid of the pines lest they topple onto the house during a storm – but the tree guy cut down almost all the trees back there.

      And Mike said the springs needed to get thrown away – they were much too visible, hence an embarrassing eyesore to him, without the trees.

     He also made me take out all the sticks and greenery.

defoliated for the Metal Man

     I called him names like Pleasant Valley Sunday, and on the next trash day, Mike chased down the guy who looks over the garbage on the streets for metal – and the metal man took the springs.

     So what are we going to do with the yard now that the trees are gone?

     Likely more good intentions.

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