Simply Wednesday....

Yesterday, here at Patchwork Garden, it was 85F.

Today, it hasn't gotten out of the 50s.

Nothing much is blooming.  A couple viola blooms.

So, I took a tour through some photos I took in September, 

when we went to the Grand Canyon.

That's an amazing place.

And, there were quite a few things blooming.

Three of my favorites:

Apache Plume

Some kind of aster.  Anybody  know this one?

And, I loved this plume-y grass.

I don't know what it is, either.

OK....that brightens the day a bit.

Now, back to plotting  planning what to do about the deer and the landscape.

Hope you're safe and warm where you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Change....

Just before Christmas, Mr P surprised me, with a new laptop.

My old one was getting so slow.  Filling it up with photos wasn't helping.

He was tired of hearing me gripe bemoan that fact.

And so, this arrived at the front door.

I had a Dell before.  This Toshiba is a bit different.  The touch pad is taking a while to get used to.

I have to turn it off when I'm typing.  A slight touch, makes the cursor dance all over the place, and before I know it, I'm typing somewhere I didn't want.  And, those fun times, when  whole PAGES were deleted.

I know, as my daughter-in-law tells me, I could use a remote mouse, like she has to.  

But, that's just more stuff to keep up with.

And...Windows 8...what can I say?   

From my point of view, it's NOT an improvement.

It takes more 'steps' to do things than the old system did.  I'm not crazy about the 'tiles'.

They might make more sense on a touch screen.

So, I click on that lower left tile.  It takes me to the desktop, which is close to the old kind.

I can navigate easier from there.

When they make something 'new & improved', it should be BETTER.

Don't you think?

But, I'm learning.  I guess you CAN teach an old dog, new tricks.

I learn something new, every day.  That's a good thing....sometimes.

***********

The weather today is beautiful here. 

 I need to get off this computer, and get outside in the garden.

I hope the weather is good where you are.

If you're in the frozen part of the country, stay warm & hang in there.

 Nothing stays the same way for long.

Things always change.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Woe Is Me....

The deer have been at it again.  Only, I'm thinking is getting even worse.

Remember back last year, I showed you this lovely Squid Agave?

Well....there are two of them.  

And, they've been chomped.

Remember the lovely Powis Castle Artemisia that the deer NEVER touch?

I have it all over the place.

Well...they've been chomped.

Remember this agave that we put in the new Drive Bed last year?

Well...it wasn't chomped...

...it was shredded.  This is an old picture.  It looks worse now.

The centers of the Lophanthas have been chomped out.  

Oh...they don't EAT it.  They just take it out.

Remember last March, I showed you the back view of the Front Bed?

See the nice Softleaf Yucca?

Well...they've pulled it up so many times, I don't think it'll make it.

I really want to garden.  I feel sorry for the hungry deer.

But, I get tired and a bit discouraged, when those hungry deer eat everything I plant.

I don't want all our plants to live in cages.  

I guess we'll just have to start over....again.

I love grasses...they strangely don't eat grass.  But,  but I don't want ALL grasses.

No wonder so many people in this neighborhood have just given up.

Then again, some people have the same things I do....

and the deer don't eat it!

OK....thanks for listening to me whine, yet again.

The weather is supposed to be nice for the next few days.

I have a lot of clean up to do.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Oh...by the way...I'm linking to Pam at Digging.  for
Foliage Follow-Up.

Bloomday January 2013..Short & Sweet...

Every 15th of the month

Carol at May Dreams Garden,

asks us to show what is blooming in our gardens.

Well...we don't have much going on here.

We've had a few hard freezes.  Seems we live in a low spot.  

I joke we live in a hole....crammed in here with all those deer.

Even people on the other...higher..side of the fairway,

 don't get as cold as we do here at Patchwork Garden.

So, just a couple lonely little Cylamen, left from last winter, are blooming.

As you can see, they are short and sweet.......and, lonely.

If you want to see some gardens with much more to show, 

be sure the click on the link above.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Favorite Photos....2012 Edition...

I see a lot of my favorite bloggers are reviewing some of their favorite photos from

2012.

Les, at A Tidewater Gardener, started this meme last year.

I have to say....it's hard picking favorites.  I took a LOT of photos last year.

A good many didn't get published.  

So...I picked a dozen of my favorite ones that were published.

I liked three of these enough to put them in the new header.

Water over the low water crossing @ Cypress Creek, close to our house.

Wine corks, used as mulch.

The birdbath in the redone Island Bed.

We did some travel this year.  Some I've posted about, some I haven't, yet.

Joshua Tree National Park was one of my favorites.

I have a lot of photos of the ever present deer.  This was one of my favorites.

We have this Axis Deer doe in the neighborhood.

Mr P saw a buck crossing the road once.  But, that was about five miles away.  

They're pretty. But, research tells me they eat EVERYTHING!  Even more than our resident deer.

I picked out a couple favorite Bloomday photos

 Mexican Flame Vine

Hyacinth Bean.

And, birds.

Chickadee

A Cardinal, playing in the sprinkler.

We finally found the right tomatoes.  I was pleased with the good harvests I got....

even if it's a battle to get them.

And, last, but not least...this beautiful sky.

We get some wonderful morning light, around here.

So, there you have a few of my favorites.  Hope you enjoyed the walk down memory land.

Do you have favorites?

~~Linda~~