Operation: Dig Out the Bushes

These bushes were a bit much for me when we first moved in, but now I really like them. They smell good, are hearty, provide a wall of green, good times. But then the heavy snowstorm came (actually 2 back to back), and flattened them! The bushes in the front of the house are probably not going to make it and are brown, but they are a different type, and I'm cool with losing them. It gives a nice excuse to get a hydrangea bush or something flowering and wonderful.

But I look out my sunroom office window each day to see these bushes flattened, and I just want to dig them out! David does the whole driveway and plenty of other things, so I'm doing little baby shovel-fulls for the exercise. The baby wanted to breath winter air, but we only do it for a few minutes and then stop. Gerdy usually comes to supervise.

bushes covered
You can't tell what anything is here, but the bushes are on the right.

bushes covered
We're in the middle of a Big Melt, and I've gotten those bushes out so far. Otherwise, they'd still be stuck in ice and flat. A few raw branches where they just bent too far. In the foreground of this picture is a limb we lost from a tree on the side of the house, one of those decorative kinds. Maybe cherry blossom or something.

bushes covered
I uncovered enough snow from the top that the branches could pop out again, but they are kind of stuck that way now. The rest of the bush is under that snow.

bushes covered
To me, the bushes are saying: "Bla! Help me!" as they splay in every direction. Yes, that is a neighbor garage in the background that is slanted and falling over. We thought maybe the snow would bring it completely down, so that the insurance could take it away, but not just yet.