Progress continues to be made on the sidewalk on the south side of the house. Last night, I almost reached our side door and we filled up the yardwaste bin once more, for the third time in as many weeks. I'm pretty sure that I could walk on this sidewalk earlier this spring and even into the summer. It amazes me how quickly everything grew up. I'm thoroughly fed up by the branches that the cotoneasters have thrown out after all my pruning earlier in the year so I've lost my patience with them and they are being turned into small trees. At least they're tall enough now to arborize, and they help hold up/back the rose brambles and the blackberry canes.

And why, oh why, did I want to grow so many things that have thorns? I'll admit, the hawthornes are not my favorite, although their mayflowers are pretty in the spring. Since I don't seem to be able to discourage them completely, they're being arborized unmercifully along with the cotoneasters.

I'm ready to tame the blackberry brambles as well. While I really want to keep them for their fruit, I'm drawing the line at the canes that are migrating across the walk into the neighbor's yard. Cutting them back goes slowly however. I cut enough to feed the rabbit and the rest have been left to provide her with dinner throughout the rest of this week. Hopefully by this next Sunday, she will have eaten enough to let me clear that part of the walkway. The brambles are actually still bearing fruit, some of which is not yet ripe even, so I've actually had a few berries this year after all and might even get a few more before the growing season is over.

As a benefit of this recent activity, I did manage to reach one of my rose brambles and actually got three flowers off of it. I've put them out into the front room by my computer where I can enjoy them. They are lovely and smell wonderful. Hopefully the kittehs will not knock them over during one of their prowls. That could be very bad for the piano. I need to go get more blackberry leaves for the rabbit's dinner; I'll check for more blooms then.