Cleaning up the yard

I do realize that there are two months of winter left, but these 50+ temperature days have started me day dreaming about spring.  I am one of those people that leave the perennial plants untouched in the garden to over winter.  It gives the beneficial bugs a place to live during those cold months.  It's also a reminder for me, when I look at the beds and see the skeletal remains of summer flowers and shrubs mounded with snow, that spring is getting closer with each sunrise.

Did a lot of clipping and cleaning up in the yard this weekend. I filled four 20 gallon buckets and two other garden bags, and this was only the first round of clippings.

After putting it through the chipper shredder, it reduced down to these two buckets.  It makes a good ground cover for our clay path along the fence.  Then I filled the empty buckets one more time. 

I think I made best use of those relatively warm days.

It sure feels good to have that clean up done this early.