The rain has lifted for the last few days and I finally got some time to work in the backyard on the weekend. The first big task was raking up all of the small branches and cedar boughs that have been falling the last few weeks. Once that was done I put down lime. On the west coast we get a lot of rain and it makes the lawn very acidic, which is something moss really likes. The lime balances this out so the moss isn’t suppose to grow so quickly.
Right now the backyard looks more like a moss farm than a lawn, so I’m not sure if the lime is helping, but it is a necessary ritual out here. I’m going to have to get serious about getting rid of the moss this spring or there will be no grass left at all. The one nice thing about the moss is that it’s green and from a distance it doesn’t look too bad. But it retains a lot of moisture so walking on it is a soggy adventure.
Having taking care of the backyard I started to clean the gutters again. We decided that I might be able to use a garden hose and spray all of the leaves and junk out of the gutters. I gave it a but it didn’t work :-( So I was back to the old method of using a narrow garden trowel to scoop everything out and put it in a garbage. If anyone has a better way to clean out gutters please comment on this post. I’m thinking of using a pressure hose or a pressure washer next time.
I promised myself yesterday that I would clean out the gutters in the fall instead of waiting for late in the winter. I think I made the same promise to myself last year around this time, so I’ll see how I do next year 