Friday, March 30, 2007

My screened porch!



Yeah!!! My screened porch is finally completed! I have wanted one for as long as I can remember. It may not look like much, but it has changed how I feel about the backyard. Now, if I could have my druthers, it would be overlooking a pond, lake or stream with no neighbors nearby, but alas, my suburban backyard will have to do... My sweet friend, Nancy, has always told me that she loves to get up and go out back in wee hours of the morning (before everyone gets up and ruins it!). I now know what she means! Even if only for a few minutes, I go out there with a cup of tea and enjoy the sounds and scents. It IS different in the morning, even if I'm not a morning person! The next phase is to put a simple arbor in front of the porch to semi protect the grill and cover it with Sweet Autumn Clematis.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Spring has SPRUNG!





Spring has arrived in Dallas in it's full glory. It's drop dead beautiful here right now, but don't blink because it'll be 100 degrees before we know it! It's been a trying month, what with losing my job (first time in 27 years!) and health issues I've been trying to ignore. How many time have I heard, "When God closes a door, He opens a window" during this time?? When I've gotten over the shock of it all, it really has been a wonderful time to enjoy my garden. Everything is blooming and it's hard not to sense God's presence all around me. The contractor even showed up to finish my screened porch the day after I got canned. That will be another post... This rose bush looks wonderful, especially since it got butchered to the ground by the fence guys last fall. The Carolina Jasmine has just finished blooming-it was glorious. I thought the Trumpet Vine was a goner, but I've got more than I know what to do with. My butterfly weed is beautiful. Oh, I brought one plant of mint with me last year from the old house and I have now been overtaken. I fear I will have to dig it up and throw it away, but that feels like murder to me!! :) For anyone who might be reading, does anyone have a Fig Tree? I saw one at the nursery the other day and it was just beautiful. I think I might want one. Are than any down sides to these trees?