Yard Work

Today I spent a good part of the day cleaning up fallen leaves from the blow we had last night. I hadn't been back by the orange tree for awhile and many leaves had fallen, dried and crinkly. I picked the last of the oranges off the tree...two had been eaten by a fruit rat. I suppose, now that I have removed it's source of food, it will move to the Meyer lemon and enjoy what's left there. 

I have been toying with the idea of taking out the two scraggly bougainvillea plants behind the fountain. I want to replace them with a calliandra that will grow up against the wall adding a green background with red blossoms. I finally got out the pruners and started whacking.

Tomorrow I must go to the nurseries in search of the calliandra!

Let it Steam!

This is my new toy, well...kinda!!
When the Solmonsons were visiting, Mary Ann commented on cleaning tile with a steam mop. It sounded like a great idea so I trotted off to Target and found one to try. I think I like it a lot. Yesterday I steamed the kitchen floor and learned the ropes of handling the thing. Today I did the rest of the floors and liked it even more.

Jasmine

Today Kareese needed a hand moving her jasmine plant that had outgrown its spot. John put on his work clothes and we headed up the street. All the hard work, digging it out and prepping the new spot to receive it, had been done. With the temperature hovering around 87 it was a bit hot to be transplanting, but Jasmine is a tough plant.

Kareese and John maneuver the tarp under the root ball and we were able to lift it out of the hole.

Its new spot was looking nice. Kareese had worked hard at loosening the cement-like sand and  amended it with mulch. That made it a quick and easy dig.

Into the hole it went... 
After it was settled in we realized it wasn't quite centered...just a little bit of shifting and we all approved of the job. 

Jasmine has a heavenly scent when it blooms with it's white flowers.

Tea Time

 Today I was working on a crossword puzzle on the patio and just happened to notice a roadrunner on the wall. Not bothering the little finches, I thought all was well~ hearing a funny noise I got up and looked up on the roof. There he was with his snack. I wanted to yell at it "Come back you rascal...I want that lizard back!!!" The little lizard has been surprising me, as I work in the garden, darting here and there. I'm going to miss it!

My Little Girl

I ran across this old photo of Annie and had to scan it. She was wearing Jenny Jo's raincoat and new black boots. I think it was probably about 1983.