Hand-to-Hand Combat

My ass is worn slap out. Finished the bush-hogging today then turned my attention to land clearing, specifically my aggressive anti-privet hedge campaign. The dag-gone privet almost got me today. At a critical juncture in the battle, I surprised the foe by whipping out the chain saw and letting that little beauty sing a few chorus of "O Solo Meo." In the end, I puttered home on the tractor, tired and sweaty but victorious. The privet campaign is critical to placement of the Airstream on the land. And, since the Airstream will be home until I build, this is an essential struggle. Not to mention that privet is an invasive species. My suspicion is that the US Department of Agriculture introduced privet to the South in the same way that it blessed us with kudzu. (I am from the Government and I am here to help you.) And, who says that Reconstruction is over? Privet can grow on concrete. It crowds out native plants. Auburn did a study on the impact on privet and concluded that it is kills off hundreds (as I remember 530 or so but my fatigued memory cannot call up the precise number now) of native species. Privet is my enemy. And I am on a crusade, dare I say a jihad, to wipe it off my land. But the battle has its costs. I am exhausted. My clothes are soaked from sweat. My arms and legs are rubbery. The prescription for this situation: long shower and a couple of beers.