Walls in France: What may be done

For those of you who have been to visit us in Eygalieres, you know how gigantic our backyard is... For those of you who have not seen it, it is tough to imagine. We are located in the center of town and anyone who comes into our gated yard and ventures to the back, exclaims how big our yard really is! Because of its size, it is daunting to maintain. Bucky is diligent about mowing and taking care of the first part of the yard that we actually use...the area with the clothesline, the garden beds, the petite maison and the badminton net. However, we have pretty much let the rest of the yard go wild since we don't reallly need the space and we were afraid that the job was just too tough for our simple lawnmower.

About a year ago, we paid a local tractor owner named Fred a nice sum to come in and mow down the overgrown grass, but his work was less than meticulous, so we decided not to throw that money away again. We learned to live with the overgrown state of things, and managed to make our way through the long grass and unruly weeds during the olive picking season in November. A few weeks ago, however, in an attempt to keep my husband busy, I suggested he try and mow the entire backyard. The weather was showing signs of spring, and Bucky is always up for a new project, so he was keen. He was a little unsure if the 90Euro no-brand mower was up for the job, but he decided to give it a shot. He mowed for a few hours everyday while I went behind him with clippers and trimmed around the olive trees. It took more than a week, but he got the job done and the yard looks spectacular! "It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." -Thomas Jefferson