Raking sidewalks, gutters, storm drains... and Clematis?

No bleep, there I was...

It's Fall, no question about it.

Leaves are falling, and as Property Owners, we're responsible for the leaves on "our" sidewalks, regardless of origin...

So I'd just spent probably 30-45 minutes raking leaves; hey, they're small leaves, don't cooperate that much, and its been raining, OK?

Then I'd turned to the street gutters, cleaning out leaves before they turned into dams.

Then to check the storm drain at the bus stop.

Clematis. Growing in the storm drain. A foot to eighteen inches down. Roots into a crack in the wall. Real healthy looking, large shiny leaves, dangling down several feet to the storm sewer.

This one will be interesting, currently... no, I take that back, the pruning saw that screws onto standard thread handles, I can stick that down and cut through the vine, can't do anything about the root but I can get the vine.

But not today.

My hands are cold.

I should change afore I catch a chill, damp cloths and cold body do no one any good.

Post this cold, dry-nosed Puppy