POTM August/September {Before}

Last Winter we spent a big chunk of change to get rid of 4 huge cottonwood trees that were just moments from falling on our house and totally destroying it (this isn't an exaggeration). Each branch was as wide as most tree trunks. So 3 trees are gone and 1 trunk remains but there is still bark and mulch and weeds and over grown rose bushes. My project for the next 2 months is to clean up this strip and get grass planted where it isn't all ready. It might not look that bad but it is. The whole area is about 50' x 8'. I also want to kill all the weeds growing in the cracks of our driveway and sidewalk. Hate that!

This is probably the worst area of the driveway. It's all weeds, dead grass, that remaining tree trunk and then on the side of the garage is lawn waste, swamp cooler and old riding lawn mower. I want it all gone and by the end of September it will be. There still are some huge logs in our driveway and those might have to stay but everything else will be gone!
See all that crap against our house, that's bark from those huge trees. I want to stack that on the side of garage where the lawn mower and other waste now resides.
This shot doesn't look so bad but trust me there are tons of weeds in that grass and all the rose bushes need to be trimmed.

Yikes! I'm really not looking forward to this project but I told myself in January it would be our first project for the yard. I might have to dig up some pictures when there was even more bark crap because it seriously covered this whole section at least 3 feet deep everywhere.