This and That on Friday...

Well...another week gone by.

This year, is flying.

We haven't had any real rain, for over a week.

I'm having to water...yes, water.

It's pretty amazing how fast things can dry out.

But, the creek is still flowing.

It comes across the cart path here, and the path gets really slippery.

But, it sounds nice. Here, and the waterfall, further down.

Kids have built another place for the water to make noise.

The Mexican Hats are beginning to take off.

And, the grasses.

I'm not a fan of Johnson Grass, unless it's on the other side

of Elli's Meadow. The seed heads are really pretty.

Especially, backlit with the sun.  

I ran up to our local garden/feedstore the other day,

for a few more plants. (can you have too many plants?)

 And, there looking like some

strange thing peeking at me, was this

Giant Silk Moth...

Antheraea polyphemus.

Really cool...and, about six inches across.

Never know what you'll find, at the garden center.

That's about all from here. Watering and weeding

have taken up the week.

And, I do believe Summer may be here.

Have a great weekend.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

A Little of This, and A Little of That...

Hot and humid have set in here.

We've had a lot of sunshine, with a few quick showers,

the last few days.

We do need some more rain, though.

We have so many trees, sometimes those quick showers don't

put much water on the plants.

The Great Prickly Pear Wars continue.

I've sprayed so much soapy water,

I keep expecting foam to cover the ground,

when we do have a shower.

They've spread to other prickly pears, though.

So, next up is something stronger.

I hate to lose these larger plants.

 Salvia guaranitica

Things are blooming.

 Impatiens

Yarrow

And, the Oleander, that has seldom bloomed, since we planted it.

Something woke it up.

Not sure I ever showed you the olla our grandson gave us for Christmas.

Too cute to bury. 

I decided on the vine for the AC screen trellis.

A Scarlet Passion Vine.

I went to the garden center where our daughter lives,

to get a purple one...Incense Passion vine...

but, they were out...and, we were there..

and, I needed a vine.

Ergo...Scarlet. 

It might be an annual. It's not as hardy as the purple kind.

Among other things I've potted up...

Kalanchoe thyrsiflora...or luciae.

Not sure which it is.  Label just said Kalanchoe.

Another succulent and strawflower cactus.

Even cleaned up the potting table.

That's so unusual, I decided to document it.

Tomatoes are setting.

I know a lot of you have harvested some already.

I was late getting mine in.

   

My best crop, is the grass coming back up in the Veggie Garden.

Need to get out there and get it out...again.

The compost bed seems to be doing pretty well with plants.

Already took out the cucumbers...now, we have cantaloupe.

Before I go out to work...

or, just pick up the newspaper...

I need to don my arsenal of mosquito repellents.

The Avon one seems to work well, and it doesn't warn not

to get it on automobiles. 

In a couple days, I'm off to Camp...

the annual get together of Buttercups.

I didn't make it last year, because of health reasons.

Linda Lieu was my stand-in.

This year, the Buttercup on the far left won't make it.

She fell and broke her jaw, just a few days ago.

She's doing a bit better, but

she could use your good thoughts, and some prayers.

I missed the concert in the park, last year.

And, we'll be too early for it this year.

But, we always have a good time.

Have a great weekend.

See you when I get back.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Catching Up...A Little...

Wow!

Here it is past the middle of January, already.

Hope you all had great holidays.  We did.

Many mornings here have been cold and frosty..

Some rain and fog...moisture we really need.

But, makes you want to stay inside and stay warm.

I haven't been doing ANYTHING in the garden.

There are things that need to be done.  But, cold and no energy have kept me inside.

Plus...we've been 'downsizing' some of our stuff.

We have TOO MUCH STUFF!!

So, bags and bags of things are being donated.

Somebody can use it.

We celebrated this beautiful girl's birthday, just the other night.

Hard to believe she's so grown up.

Where does the time go?

And, remember this guy?

Well...tomorrow he has a BIG birthday, too.

Mine won't be until the end of October.

(I'm MUCH younger...lol)

Then, in November, we have a BIG anniversary.

So, we're just going to celebrate the whole year.

Our 'dance card' is filling up fast....several trips and celebrations.

I think maybe we're trying to cram it all in,

while we still can.

Hahaha...

Not sure what that will do to the garden.

Less time to work.

Depending on others to keep an eye on things.

Thank goodness for native plants.

We even have some the pesky deer don't eat.

So, I'll leave you with this view.

Yes, you've seen it before.  But, it hasn't changed much...maybe a bit

more rye grass, from the the golf course.

I'm off to do more cleaning out.

Maybe, I'll even get some freeze damage cut back in the garden, too.

Stay warm...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

This and That....

It's been busy around here.

 Getting ready for Christmas.

Every year, I say I'm going to start early.

Every year, I don't.

Hmmm....I'm sure some expert would have some answer

for why that happens.

The weather's been nice.  This was yesterday's morning sky.

The day before was colder and the moon looked crisp and cold, in the morning sky.

 I've been spending a lot of time inside....getting the decorations put up.

We put down some stepping stones, in the New Front Bed.

Maybe a little too straight.   But, they're there.

.

I finally got the pansies planted.

I'm good at buying bedding plants.

Not as good at getting them planted.

Of course, the ever-present deer are still here.

They look so nice, don't they.

Yeah...don't believe it.

So....

We still have shopping to do.

We still have some decorating to finish.

And, we have family and friend events to attend.

I think maybe Santa (above) has the right idea.

Let's all run away to the beach.

That's what's going on here.

Hope things are coming together for all of you.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

This and That....

It's been a while, since I posted.

It's been busy around here.

Lots of weeding and cleaning up, getting ready for Spring.

We had some out-of-town guests, and took them over to see 

The Painted Churches.

Then we ended up in Gruene, for an early dinner.
Can't go there, without going to Gruene Hall.

We had this little guy come into the yard, one morning.
He was acting a bit strange.  Not aggressive...just like he felt bad.
He rested a while and then went off.  We thought he was ok.
Later, Animal Control (I wasn't even aware we HAD Animal Control here) came.
They went down to the creek with a cage.  Then they came back up with him inside.
I'm hoping they helped him.

We got the privilege of replacing the water heater.
Luckily, it only flooded the front porch, through the overflow pipe.

I couldn't help myself, and after a few days of 70s and 80s,
my daughter and I went to some garden centers, and I planted.
Mostly some 'Color Guard' Yuccas and some rosemary.
But, also some geraniums.

Silly me!
I forgot to cover the geraniums, and they froze.
So, I can buy and plant them again.

Such pretty, warm days, make you feel like the cold is over for good.

The Red admirals were flitting around everywhere.

We had some dense fog, the first day of March.
It was warm and humid.

Then, ANOTHER cold front.
We went from 75F to 25F, in just a few hours.

Out on the porch,
we have a fountain, that the birds love to come to.

Standing there, looking out into the Grove,
this little Titmouse came for a drink...not two feet away.
He didn't notice when I moved to take his picture.
They're usually very timid.

We were lucky enough to miss the ice that they got to the east and north of us.
We did get some hail, and sleet, and enough rain to bring us to .75 inches, for the year.

All in all, except for this yo-yo weather, it's been a good year, so far.

I've been doing good, with my
Project 365....so far.
The photos here, are for that.  I've been posting them on my
Photo Blog, and Flickr feed.

That takes up a bit of time, editing, etc.

So, that's what's happening here.
Have you been getting ready for Spring?
It is coming.
I promise.

***********
'Til later...
Take care...
~~Linda~~