Pulling thistles and poison oak can be rewarding…

Having more time because I’m NOT going out to dinners, walking on the beach, and hosting parties has its benefits. Yesterday, I finished a 3-month weeding project on my 2.5 acres. I just logged in 140 hours of weeding thistles and poison oak. This is definitely NOT something I would have done without the shelter-in-place order that forced me to stay home.

This year’s thistles consumed our property. Instead of having a few here and there, we had thick forests that were taller than me. I realized that simply weedwhacking the problem away each year only lays the perfect environment for seed propagation. Normally, I’d gasp at the crop of weeds and then hire a weedwhacker to level them, but this year I stepped up to challenge myself and handled it myself.

I started at the top of my property and spent 2-6 hours pulling thistles before work. I doubled up on leather gloves and bought every variety sold. After donning my knee pads, hat, and sunscreen, I hand pulled every thistle plant on my property and when I found huge pockets of fluffy seeds, I put them in trash cans. I shoveled poison oak by the roots and put them in cans to dry. My fingers are swollen from embedded thorns and my arms are covered in rash.

Somehow I feel a sense of accomplishment. While this isn’t exciting and it’s something most people don’t understand, getting up at the crack of dawn and racing to pull weeds – section by section – before the sun comes up over the ridge was challenging. I didn’t have to think and there was no stress. I saw insects – even a black widow! – and a snake. Normally they would scare me but they quickly moved away and I just kept weeding. Looking back at the piles of weeds I pulled each morning and evening made me feel proud. Yeah, it sounds odd even as I write this blog.

For now, I love looking at my weed-free rolling hills, and I’m hoping that next season will bring fewer thistles and poison oak. I’ll keep you posted next April!