Wordless Wednesday Walkers

Posted by Sheila Octaviano on July 2, 2008 at 6:00pm

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This walk was actually Monday, but I was too busy today to walk. Trust me...the exercise I've been getting the last few days in my yard is way more than a walk. I've been using a pick axe, a shovel, a rake, a wheelbarrow and a weedeater. I've been moving rocks (some as big as a foot or more), bricks, and junk stuff that I'm finding out there. (My brother threw a lot of the stuff he "got rid of" back in the back area of the yard, including the entire wall-to-wall carpeting that used to be in my living room and hall.) I've also been shoving appliances around in the garage and getting ready to put up walls. I guess this isn't wordless, now, huh? haha.

Ok....these are the pictures I took on my walk down and then my walk back up to my car at the casino where I work. I love the ones of the weeds in the dark. The rest is wordless.

Comment by Lisa Newton on July 3, 2008 at 6:54am: Great pictures. I love the perspective of the wall.

I totally agree with the exercise you're getting doing the yardwork. It's a different kind of exercise, but exercise none the less. I'm sure you're working up a sweat. I know I would be.................:)

Comment by Sheila Octaviano on July 3, 2008 at 1:40pm: Oh, yeah! and it's been hot for here. The area I'm working in is somewhat shaded, but full of mosquitos because it's been neglected a long time. There are giant river begonias back there that I have to dig out because they spread through the roots like blackberries. I'm also digging out the blackberries. I dug out one ant-eaten stump. The pick-axe makes it somewhat easy, though. Here's a pic of the giant begonias on the other side. It was taken last fall. The leaves are often 2 feet long and over a foot wide. They're nice to look at if they aren't taking over your yard, but they are really invasive. I live in a wetland area and my neighbor doesn't clear her "back forty", so they are always intruding into my yard.

Comment by Ask The Dietitian on July 3, 2008 at 4:41pm: One word: beautiful

Comment by Christine Braun on July 3, 2008 at 7:42pm: Those pictures are taking forever to load. My computer is slow. Where are the giant begonias? Oh...here they come. LOL They are nice. Too bad they are so hard to control.

Comment by Sheila Octaviano on July 4, 2008 at 12:37am: They are actually quite nice to look at when they are not sprawling all over your yard. My dog's yard is so full of them that she has been reduced to about half what she had over winter. I am bulldozing her yard and then graveling and cementing parts of it. I will leave some natural areas in case she feels an urge to dig, but want to make it more user friendly in the winter. I will take some pictures of them before I cut them down. Then you can see them green. I can't remember if they've bloomed yet or not. They get a long stem of little white flowers near each leaf.

Comment by Sheila Octaviano on July 4, 2008 at 7:37am: P.S. I'm sorry the pics are so big. I tried to reduce them, but it didn't work. I used to be able to do that easily, but for some reason lately they don't stay reduced. Also, in looking around last night online I was surprised to find that those weeds are actually Japanese Knotwood. I originally had them identified at the WSU extension by a Master Gardener. That was in 1986. He called them Giant River Begonias and I've called them that ever since. Not only are they Japanese Knotwood but they are considered a noxious weed and they are very invasive and extremely difficult to eradicate which explains why I've been fighting them for 15 years. YIKES!