"I found Mordor ..."

[alphaflyer]

... quoth hubby as he located the ur-root of the false bamboo that has been sprouting up all around (and through and out of) our deck for a decade.  (He dismantled the step from the dining room to get to it ...)  Personally, I think he's being optimistic and all he got was a piece of the White Tower ...  But man, it was a lot of work pulling that shit out.  Mama Bamboo and a thousand babies.  My back is killing me.

The neighbours took down the old fence and this weekend was the sweet spot before the new one goes up, so we had unique access -- minus the bit where the post holes have been dug, so it was a bit like mining an asteroid, craters and all, and mind your step, dear.  We doused any remaining shreds of possible false bamboo root with our precious single leftover litre of Round Up.  (The stuff is now illegal in Ontario; we Canadians are a polite people, and apparently don't believe in something that is Effective At Killing Things.)  I can only hope that hubby followed instructions and did NOT allow it to get near the good shrubbery....

A thing I learned:  don't wear a woolly sweater when weeding.  I must have picked a trillion seeds out of mine.

Oh, kidlet is sick and I have to get up at 4 am to catch the 6:30 flight to New York.  My life is pure bliss.

Comments

[franztastisch]

Aww no! Send best wishes to kidlet. ♥

And that sounds like some killer bamboo. I will never complain about dandelions ever again. :P

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

It's an ambitious plant, false bamboo -- grows up to 8 feet high and bent on world domination. I swear it's intelligent, too -- grows out of cracks so you can't dig it out, and it breaks off when you try to pull it out so you can't get the root (or can't find where it is). Multiplies via both seeds (the flowers smell kind of pretty) AND the most pernicious creeping roots you've ever seen. Ugh.

[franztastisch]

Next Avengers villian? :P

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

hmmmm.... thinking ....

[franztastisch]

Oh man, that just reminded me. I think it was in China (?) bt there used to be an ancient death penalty which was to be tied down in a bamboo grove. The bamboo grew fast and straight through you.Three foot in a day. *shudders*

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Ewwwww!!! Thanks for that image ... I think ... :P (Maybe somebody condemned our deck, a few years ago>>)

[franztastisch]

Did it kill any baby bamboo when it was laid? :P

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Buried it alive, it seems. Stuff comes through the planks like the hand of Carrie ...

[franztastisch]

And thus your patio was sentenced to death. Alas.

[spyforaday.livejournal.com]

Your ambition is admirable. I hope you've seen the last of the creeping (and creepy) false bamboo.

And I will no longer be annoyed every time I have to move the gallons of Round Up that litter our shed. We go through several gallons a summer trying to maintain control of our fence line. It's perfectly legal here, if a tad expensive...

Hope your kidlet feels better soon and you have safe travels.