is 11 pm the right time for yard waste?

(this photo is not of yard waste, but i forgot to take a photo of the pile.)

so on the weekend, the husband and i went to town on our overgrown yard. he tore out a huge wisteria that was trying to kill everything in its path including our beautiful plum tree that gave us some delicious fruit which may or may not be organic.

i trimmed branches and reshaped bushes and hedges. yes, i still have plenty to do. when the batteries ran out of the hedgehog and we were at a good stopping place on the branches, we hauled a pile of branches 8 feet long to our curb.

well, despite the crazy amount we pay each year for "refuse removal", it stayed next to the mailbox despite everything in trash bags disappearing.

i asked a neighbor what the deal was and she explained that sometimes "they" take it and sometimes they don't.

well, our next garbage day is thursday. and while having twice a week garbage pickup is quite a luxury, coming from a place where they shipped the trash to michigan, my guess was that the HOA (home owners association) would definitely not appreciate looking at the branches dry up in the sun next to our mailbox for yet another day.

and while i welcome correspondence of all kinds, after one month in residence, i think hate mail from the HOA probably wouldn't make my day, especially so early into our tenure here in stepford-land.

so at 10:45 tonight, i stuffed our wheelie trash bin until it screamed for mercy. i filled empty cardboard cartons that once housed chair parts full of branches. i dragged all that stuff back to the top of the driveway, where hopefully it would disturb no one except my sensibilities. (my arms are tired.)

grrr.

not being satisfied with that show of brute strength, i decided to wage war against the cardboard cartons that remained from the move and the purchase of new essentials for land ownership. the destruction made me feel better and at least i know that the chance of them recycling the cardboard is greater than mulching the yard waste.

coming from toronto, the place of green bin wet recycling for everything from dog poo to vegetable peels to oyster shells, brown bagging yard waste so that its mulched and you can repurchase it at home depot, and recycling of wine bottles for cash, it feels like we've gone back in time to the 50s.

where's my vodka martini served on a silver tray when i get home from a hard day at the office? yeah, i know, it's in the cupboard until i make it, smart ass.

at least the garborator pulverizes vegetable and fruit matter so that it doesn't go in the landfill, but instead to the sewage treatment plant.

rant rant rant