Taming the behemoth!

I did it!! Aided with great valour by my neighbours Rhonda and Alan, the bougainvillea has at last been heavily pruned. I say valour, because we are all nursing hundreds of scratches and puncture wounds from those beastly thorns. Despite long trousers, long sleeves and heavy duty gloves I have wounds under my fingernails and even in one of my ear canals!

But the beast has been tamed.
We chopped and pulled, tied rope around it, attached it to the car, pulled some more, broke the rope a few times, chopped some more, pulled some more, and at last it toppled. Then we had to chop it up small enough to roll it past the garden beds, between the entrance trees and onto the verge. And today the council cleanup lads loaded it in their truck and took it away....

I am so happy. I now have more sun in the house and an even more expansive ocean view, but the main thing is a huge feeling of relief that the jungle has been removed and I can now keep it under control. Unfortunately I inherited the mess when I bought the house 10 years ago and have always struggled to keep on top of it, but now at last I can keep it within the boundaries I wish.

Note to self: NEVER allow this to happen again!!