I had a LOT of company out in front along the street today because the next door neighbor has two guys building a new fence, three guys trimming his trees, and electricians and plumbers coming and going inside the house. So instead of joining the racket I worked on the opposite side of the yard by the driveway where a cactus has gotten large and is in the way when I mow. At one time I had a landscaping plan over there that would include some agave, yucca, a couple of desert willows and a pathway of rocks. I couldn't keep the Bermuda grass out of everything so I gave up and ended up later pulling all of it and putting in the vegetable garden. Everything was gone except the cactus at the bottom of the slope.

I've intended to take it out for a while anyway. I toted three wheelbarrows full of pads to the property behind my back fence (also my property, but too close to the creek to place a fence) and another three or four across the road into the woods where they will look lovely if they take root over there. There are a few already taking root in the back, the ones today will probably have time to take hold before we have such heavy rain again that that area floods.

That cactus has been there for 16 years so is about 18" at the base. I don't have a saw long enough to take the whole thing off at ground level so I sawed off slabs of the main trunk and will finish it another day. I also trimmed the vitex limbs stacked nearby that I'm meaning to compress and put in the trash for pickup on Thursday. I still have to take the loppers and do more cutting on those. In all, though, it was a couple of hours well-spent and will make it much easier to mow out there. I think the next-door tree guys will finish today so I'll mow tomorrow.