Welcome, 2017!...

All the best wishes for the new year!

~~Linda~~

Merry Christmas....

God Bless Us, Every One...

~~Linda~~

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy...

Today is the 75th anniversary of the 

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

December 7, 1941.

"A date which will live in infamy."

Last year, we visited the 

USS Arizona Memorial.

It was very moving.

Thinking of all those young people,

going about their business, on a Sunday morning.

Before the surprise attack by 

Japanese Imperial Navy.

Many ships were sunk.

The harbor was turned into an inferno,

by the burning oil from the ships.

The memorial is built, straddling the sunken ship.

It's arranged so that it doesn't touch the ship,

which is actually the tomb of so many sailors and marines.

1,177 men died on board the USS Arizona.

229 bodies were recovered.

The rest still lie here.

The next day,

the United States entered World War 11.

Today, let's pause to honor these forever-young men,

who perished,

75 years ago today.

"A date which will live in infamy."

Rest in Peace

~~Linda~~

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves...

I hope your Thanksgiving was good.

Ours was great!

Now, back to the continuing saga of leaves.

This was a couple days ago.

We got those picked up.

This is now.

Not much, actually.

And, fewer seeds.

But, more are coming down.

When the wind blows, it's like a leaf blizzard.

And, the trees still look full.

This is over the back porch.

Which looks like this.

So many leaves.

So little time....and, energy.

But, there will be weeks more leaf clean-up.

And, it's time to pack away the pumpkins....

and, get out the Santas.

Time really flies by when you're having fun.

OK...out to clean up leaves...again.

Hope your garden chores are easy ones...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a safe and happy day.

Let's...

Count Our Blessings...

~~Linda~~

Happy Veteran's Day!....

Thank you, to all of those who risked everything,

for all of us.

November...

November!

Seems, each month, 

I'm surprised the time had gone by so fast.

I should be used to it, by now.

We made it through a Halloween,

without a flood.

So, I'm smiling today...even though we do need rain.

So...what have we been up to?

Well, mostly this....

It's Fall Leaf Season.

Or, more accurately, Fall SEED Season.

See all those seeds?

They're Cedar Elms.

The best germinating seeds ever!

At least 85%.

And, each one will be a little Cedar Elm tree,

if it falls onto soil.

I try to keep as many as possible out of the soil.

Come spring, I'll be out there pulling them all up.

So, every day is seed clean up day.

Next...when the seeds are done...every day,

will be LEAF clean up day.

Such fun.

But, we can at least use the seed-free leaves for mulch.

And, of course...there is always fun with deer.

They took the core out of the Spanish Dagger Yucca.

There is a REASON this is called a dagger.

Sorry to be mean, 

but I hope it really hurt.

There's already a new center growing back, though.

So, on a happier note...

the Big Muhly has really taken off, this year.

And, the Gulf Muhly is trying hard.

They're both really pretty, with the sun shining through. 

Oh, and we went to Oregon.

Tell you about that next time.

Hope your November is starting out good.  

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

October!...

October!

Wow! This year is flying by.

At least, it FEELS like fall now.

We had a 'cold' front come through.

It brought us some rain...

five inches, in two days, here.

We needed it.

AND, the lower temperatures.

You can stand to work outside.

The Big Muhly, Mulenbergia lindheimeri, has really taken off this year.

I love those bloom plumes. 

It's about six feet tall.

All that growth had swallowed up this Barberry 'Tangelo',

I planted last fall.

So, I moved it out to better sun and room.

It's supposed to be orange.  I hope it does that, in its new spot.

That's all I have today.

Just checking in.

Now, back to work.

I have some other things to move.

Hope the weather's nice, where you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

The First Day of Fall....

It's already Fall.

I'm hoping the weather around here

believes it.

We've been pretty warm....

HOT...

for the last few weeks.

And, dry.

Ruby Chrystal Grass

The forecast is for cooler, wetter weather.

We'll see.

Caldium Pot

I haven't been keeping up with this blog too well,

this summer.

Autumn Joy Sedum

I mean...there hasn't been anything much going on here.

Hyacinth Bean

How many times can I whine to you,

about the heat, or the drought...

Inland Sea Oats

...or the floods, or the cold?

Liriope

You've heard over and over,

about the ever present deer.

Yikes!

And the bugs!

Garlic Chives

Of course, nice things happen, too.

Lantana

But, like news reports...

there's no drama in nice things.

Bee on Lantana

So...I run out of things to say.

Yes...even me.

Big leaf Jerusalem Sage...finally blooming.

But, me without something to say,

won't last long. 

I'll try to show up more often.

We did get a new weather station,

that I haven't shown you.

Kinda stands out, doesn't it?

Kinda self important?

It gives us all kind of information.

Look at the lower middle.  

That's the forecast...like the guys on tv...

can't make up its mind.

Just hope that rainfall total goes up...

a little.

So...Welcome Fall.

We are SO ready for you here.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

The Definition of Insanity...

You've heard it.

"The definition of insanity,

is doing the same thing over and over again,

and expecting different results."

~~Albert Einstein

Well....

here I go again.

I'm about to clean up the garden,

getting ready to plant more seeds.

I'm going to try growing vegetables...

again.

The squash bloomed all summer.

Not. One. Squash.

The okra blooms...
and makes pods.
One here...one there...
never enough for a whole serving.

But...
I won't give up!!

Seems maybe the definition of insanity,

is being a 

Patchwork Gardener.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Big Limb Down...

We were out the other night.

Coming home in the dark, we knew it had rained,

but maybe there was some wind, too.

When I got up the next day,

I saw this huge limb down,

across the street, in the vacant lot.

The deer were loving it.

There were maybe twenty, when I first looked out.

Several ran away, when I walked outside.

They came and went all day.

This morning, you can see how much they ate.

Those leaves must taste good.

Walking around yesterday, I saw no other limb damage.

Maybe it wasn't wind. Maybe this limb was just ready to break.

Luckily, nobody was hurt.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Happy Birthday, National Park Service....

Today, is the 

100th Birthday,

of the 

National Park Service.

Founded on

August 25, 1916,

by Theodore Roosevelt and Horace Albright,

the Park Service manages the National Parks, most National Monuments,

and National Historic Sites.

My love of National Parks started early.

My parents loved to camp...and fish...and national lands

were a good place to do that.

Mr. P and I, took our children, when they were small.

In recent years, we've been to quite a few.

Ready?

Grand Canyon National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Grand Tetons National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Glacier National Park

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Saguaro National Park

Shenandoah National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

And, National Monuments and Historic Sites...

 Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Mount Rushmore National Monument

Little Big Horn National Battlefield and Cemetery

San Antonio Missions National Historic Park

National Monuments in Washington, D.C.

There are more. But, you get the idea...we like National Parks.

There are more on our list of places we want to see.
Getting there a little at a time.

Do you like National Parks?
How many have you seen?

GO!

They're worth the trip.


Happy Trails...
~~Linda~~