Last night was yardwork night at Pembroke Castle. It seems that the gardener had been stealing from the treasury, so we had him drawn and quartered in the public square (as a warning to the other servants and peasants). The lawn required mowing (its first trim of the season) and although I would have preferred to pick the heads off the hundreds of dandelions about to seed on our tiny stretch of front lawn, I was pressed for time. That makes it doubly unfortunate that our landlord’s lawnmower doesn’t have a catcher-bag. I guess we’ll have a nice bright yellow lawn in the near future.
I also started to pull weeds from between our interlocking brick, but only made it up the front walk (again, time constraints). Since I want to test out my propane torch (like plumbers use to solder copper piping) in preparation for Canada Day fireworks, I might use it to burn off the remaining weeds. Can someone verify if that’s a good idea or bad idea? I don’t imagine they’d need much heat to burn, so just a quick shot with the torch shouldn’t scorch the brick, should it?
Our maples have finally quit dropping seed bits on our side patio, so I hope last night was the final sweep-up. Given the leaf cover we’ve got in between the houses, that little patio will be quite cool even on the hottest of days. I can just imagine myself sitting out there sipping a mint julep in a kiddie pool. Oh yeah. That’s the life.
On another castle-related note, I found out why 10.5 foot ceilings can be an inconvenience last night. Sure, they may look pretty, but when you have to stand upright on top of a wobbly fridge so you can change a bulb in your track lighting… it’s either time to buy a step-ladder, or to learn how to walk on stilts. Some of the bulbs in the living room chandelier are starting to go too. Granted, it’s much lower-hanging.
Lastly, I’m looking for some household advice. I have venetian blinds in my room and bathroom and when I moved in, they had permadust on them… the kind that you have to rub quite hard with your finger to get off. Is there an easy way to get that kind of dust off blinds?
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Good thing about the garderner. I’ve just got one question…can you do some of my servants too? The dishes lady has been a little lax lately…come to think of it, the whole housekeeping staff has gone to shit! I say execute, we’ll solve this problem of insolent staff once and for all!
About dandelions. I have a few things to tell you. First, they are not a native species to North America so with that in mind, you can choose to disregard all that I am about to say. I think the discourse of “weeds” is constraining. We must exit this dialectical grid and choose to define a weed according to better criteria. I suggest that dandelions are indeed not weeds but rather beautiful flowers, creatures of God’s creation, and must be embraced in all your glory. It is mere discourse, constructed at the hands of pesticide companies and MNCs, that tells us lawns must be green. Embrace, my friend, embrace the yellow.
THAT said. I’m all about the fire test on weeds. On top of being UBER fun, it also destroys the seeds. So I say GIVER.
Now, about the permadust. I suggest an oil. Olive oil might even work…you have to loosen up the junk first. My gran would probably suggest taking them down and running hot water down them first too…but that would be a lot of work and unless your >65, with your kids moved out, and a husband providing for you, it might be a little labour intensive. You be the judge.
Ummm…my advice would be to simply…Get New Blinds
Ummm…my advice would be to simply…Get New Blinds
Advice so nice, she said it twice!