Yes, Sir, yes, Sir...

...actually, four bags full.

That was how many bags of yard trash I collected yesterday. And that was only because I wandered over to the other house late in the afternoon to look for something on the porch and got distracted by all the new vines I spotted along the way. If I'd set out earlier in the day with the intention of doing some clipping, it would have been much worse.

Chop, chop, chop. Hack, hack, hack.

My goal was merely to separate the plants that had overgrown each other. Now the landscaping between the houses looks a little barren, but that's what had to be done, the plants were killing each other, and until the spring it'll probably remain that way.

While I was removing greenery, all the neighbors on our street, even the people who are only renting to own the house we first came to see in this neighborhood, were busy draping their houses in it, putting their holiday decorations up: Boughs of holly, evergreen wreaths, lights, giant inflatable Mickey Santas... In fact the lease/option neighbors put us to shame by setting up not one, not two, but three decorated Christmas trees on their second story deck. So when I ended up at the grocery store later and saw all the poinsettias on sale, peer pressure got the better of me and I went home with the back of my Excursion full of the red and green plants.