Whew.

Barkeep, about a gallon of lemonade, please?

We HAD 2 evergreen shrubs at the entrance of the house. I've been meaning to get rid of them since we bought the place. I despise them. THey require a ton of maintenance, produce nothing, and are hidey holes for critters, most of which I don't want due to the veggie garden (the lone exception is the garter snakes, which eat bugs, and are therefore good critters).

Finally finished removing the buggers this morning. Did I add that they're a PITA to remove once you decide you don't want them anymore?

3 tow straps, 2 (okay, they were already headed for the scrap pile anyway) chains for the chainsaw, and about 4 gallons of sweat later, both they and their stumps are gone.

Finally got the impetus to remove them because my daughter wanted a garden for her birthday, and the best spot for another flower garden was the spot previously occupied by the shrubs.

DONE!