Bushwacked!

So I decided to trim the bushes at my apartment this week. I have a little spot of garden and grass in front of my kitchen window that I like to call my own. In the garden, there is a big bush that happens to sit directly in front of the sprinkler head. Silly design if you ask me. But because of it, my grass and flowers get no water! If it were my own house, I'd take the bush out all together. But, it's not. So I did the next best thing. I grabbed my bush clippers and went at it. I didn't have a plan, I have never trimmed a bush before, I just had the clippers. Even though my intentions in cutting were to clear it from the sprinkler in the back, I started in the front since the bush has also overgrown into the grass. I just looked at the bush and started clipping. I clipped a couple of small little leaves with just a couple branches when I looked down at the bottom of the bush. I thought to myself, if I just clip that larger branch, I will save myself a lot of time.  So clip clip. And another clip, clip. I stood back to look at my work....um...ooops!!

It looked awful. Terrible. There were no leaves in front on the bottom of the bush. Instead all I saw were sharply cut angles glaring back up at me. I realized my mistake too late. I checked around me to make sure no landlord or angry neighbors were coming to get me. I tried to cover it up, but it wasn't working.  What should I do? Well, there wasn't much I could do.  I tried to weave the remaining leaves and branches down a little. I looked at the branches I had just cut, they sat poised like mini javelins, aimed and ready to fire.  I began to trim them downward so they weren't quite so hideous. I trimmed a little slower this time. I stepped back and took it in. Ok, so it was a hack job.

Oh well.

And that's the lesson! Oh well! I did the best I could. There was nothing I could do to replace those quickly snipped branches. It is going to take all summer to grow back and won't look good again until next spring. I could pity myself. I could avoid my neighbors and just hope they don't notice (Or at least say anything.) I could save some money to try to plant a new bush. Or. I could just learn my lesson. And move on. Next year, I'll know better. I'll start in the back, work to the sides, then carefully trim up--not whack off-- the front, growing branches. Oh, and I'll probably do it much earlier in the year so growing leaves will easily cover up any mistakes. But so often in life we make a quick decision, and it ends up being the wrong one. Oh well! This is all summed up in the over used cliche of "Don't sweat the small stuff."