Going Green!! Well Kind Of .....

Everybody seems to be "going green".  Recycling everything possible and installing solar panels.  At a cost of $24,000 solar panels aren't cost effective for me.  I recycle cardboard only, as our County doesn't feel it's important.  Waste Management Company said it "cost too much" and so ended all of the programs except cardboard.

You wouldn't think you could do much in the way of yard and garden recycling, but I recently saw a program that used recycled tires as a playground area like a sandbox, only softer.  After checking on-line, I found the same recycled tires chewed up in small one inch pieces used in place of bark in flower beds.  I thought that was a pretty good idea, until I discovered you should remove all the old bark first.  This is a very small part of the areas I want to improve.

Three hours and 10 loads of bark later ... I just kept telling myself I needed to get it done before my trip next week.  I moved all the bark from the front to the back yard.  That saved me from buying any more regular bark for those areas, as it usually needs to be replaced yearly.

As you can see, it's a big house with even BIGGER flower beds.  Now I'm up to 25 loads taken to the back yard, I'm creaking like a 90 year old and exhausted, but done with the front yard.

Off to Home Depot for the new recycled rubber mulch.  I found our store has two colors, red and brown.  The bag says the color is guaranteed for 12 years, so I'm assuming the mulch is too. It kind of sticks together and wind and rain are not supposed to wash it away.  At the very least, I don't have to replace it yearly as regular mulch.  Unfortunately it comes in really small bags but that makes them light enough to handle easily.  Thirty bags should do the whole yard ... WRONG!!  Thirty bags did the area you see here!!!

Back to Home Depot, the girl that helped me load the first 30 bags quickly disappeared when I said I need 40 more!!!  The newby, just transferred from the Hollister store, got stuck with the job.  She asked if I had someone to unload them when I got home ... Yup I said ..... ME!!

As nice as this looks when done, the 40 bags are still in the back of my truck.  My back screamed UNCLE!!

Hopefully today, with the help of my friends Advil and Bengay, I'll get the job finished!!