Pruning and pruning and pruning I say!!!!!
And DH is getting to help every step of the way. This is a fabulous climber on the chicken house but it has not only grown over the roof, it has grown under the eaves and just about this big on the
inside of the coop.... I have been running around like a mad woman with clippers on my belt and both the loppers and the power saw in hand.. If you look back at the barn another big rose bush has completely blocked the window. I started on it but there is a big yellow jacket nest by the window...
Here is the climber all nice and tidy and ready to set the new growth for next year's blooms. It still needs a few cuts high on the roof but DH can reach that better than I can.. It is DH's job to follow behind me and rake and clean all the pruning and haul them to the county clean green operation. He has made many many trips already and will make many more before I'm done.
Today it was 95+ degrees so I quit early and will blog. It is supposed to be that hot for the next few days so I might take a break for a few days and do some cooking and other inside chores.
Another huge task finished this week was taming this autumn clematis. This is the before picture. I have written often about my love/hate relationship with this vine. Here it has engulfed the lilies, rhubarb, and the mahonia. In addition it has gone over the roof of the wood shed and is heading toward the garage. But (and a big but) it smells absolutely heavenly in the spring when in bloom, birds nest in it and also the birds go crazy over the seed heads in the fall. So I keep it... and it is pretty easy to cut back... Whoever buys the farm will probably get rid of it..sadly.
The trees you see behind it are saplings of Hawthorne that need to be cut down. I do have one Hawthorne tree about 100' from these that I did plant. I did not plant these. The problem with planting things that fruit for the birds is that the birds spread the seed everywhere. These are under a power line and need to be gone...next week.
Then there is the beauty bush I planted 35 years ago behind the antique farm wagon... It is indeed a beauty and if you look closely at the bottom of this picture you can see one of the wagon's wheels peeking out. This has to have a major pruning about every 4-5 years/
Below is a picture of the wagon when we got it and when I planted a tiny little beauty bush behind it. You can see how sparse the garden was then. Even though we are zone 4 and have only about 12" of moisture a year, we are blessed with very heavy rich clay soil and if you plant carefully things will grow and thrive. My garden receives NO supplemental watering except for the veggies.
Our veggie garden has an deer fence all around and a divider besides and one side is DH's corn and on the other side I grow squash for the chickens, a few veggies and mostly clematis on the fence. The purple clematis on the right is early and just finishing and the white center one is in full flower. The duchess on the left is quickly spreading over the old gate and will bloom into September. There are species clematis for every season. The sunflower are courtesy of the birds...
I can't remember if I posted this but it was taken last month when the purple clematis was in full flower at the same time as the lavender in the foreground.
If we move into a place that has even a tiny patch of earth.....the clematis and peonies are coming with me.
I love cooking for anyone actually but especially friends and this special friend Cristina loves to cook as much as I do. For years and years we've gotten together on Sunday afternoons with our husbands and played bridge and had dinner. Not as often lately because they started going to CA in the winter and her mother has been sick and required trips away. So to have our "usual" Sunday get-together was special. 
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