Stumped!

I'm stumped. And I think I may need professional help.

Well, at least my yard might need some help from the experts.

Randy and Jake took out some a tree and overgrown bushes from the side yard this week. Last fall, Randy campaigned to plant some new trees. I told him I thought we should clean up what we had first.

The problem? Neither of us really knows what we're doing in this department. (That will come as no surprise to anyone who has visited us.)

We had to say goodbye to several 125-year-old pine trees at our farmstead last year because of pine wilt. We need to replace them, but should we choose blue spruce (like the one Jill & Randy planted in 1987 seen in the background)? Or should we choose deciduous trees?

With this latest dismantling project, the old hackberry tree was growing into electrical lines and the evergreen bushes surrounding it hadn't been trimmed in years.

Unfortunately, the mess seems worse than when we started. The stumps are still there until we can borrow a front loader with more "umph." The ground has pockmarks left from the tractor tires and branch removal.

The good news? Randy didn't fall from the bucket loader or cut off any of his own appendages with the chainsaw while removing tree limbs. The electric line stayed up, so my power stayed on.

I'm not sure whether I was out there to watch the proceedings or to be right there to call 9-1-1 if he toppled from the bucket. Thankfully, nothing but the ground was harmed in this winter maintenance project. So I guess it's a success after all ... even if it doesn't look like it at the moment.