SNOW in Central Texas

The house as seen from the back yard.

Looking toward the orchard.

The shed and kitchen garden seen from the second floor.

What a marvelous surprise last week.  So beautiful.  These photos were taken at dawn.

Tucked Away

Cooler weather is here so time to 'cover up'.

y outdoor seating area (with newly covered cushions.  Hope the squirrels don't chew them up).



Citrus nestled next to the house on the back porch.


Covers on the raaised beds.



One little tomato still hanging on.


I have been fighting the worms on the kale.



Still 2 little goldfish alive after the pond was raided by a raccoon.


One 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory blossom.



Lots of tasks to do.


Time to clean out the Martin house.



Primrose Jasmine is a monster.  It has to go.


Having 3 crepe myrtles removed - too close to the house and real litterbugs.


I made some kumquate marmalade and got distracted.  It overcooked.  so need to try again.  The original batch still tastes good  but it is way too firm and sticky.



My little amaryllis that I started from seed.  Need to plant them out.



My Celeste fig cutting that needs to be potted up.  Doing well.



I am making a slipcover for a cozy chair. This fabric is 'Document' from Calido Corners.


I've started knitting again.  After decades!  This will be a cowl (if it turns out ok)



Started some veggie seedings, beets and turnips.


I want to do some tole painting on a chest of drawers.  this example is one of Bob Timberlake's designs of a blackberry bramble, love it.  Going to give it a try.

April 2017

Everything is blooming.  It has been a cool, wet spring and everything is growing like gangbusters and I'm busy WEEDING!.

A big surprise as I was doing my garden walkaround one morning, a PINK bluebonnet.  I was so excited and grabbed my neighbor to show him.  He was not impressed.  Seems he had at least a dozen pink plants!.  I put a sprinkler flag by mine so I can collect the seeds and maybe start a bigger patch next season.  So pretty.

The hesperloes sre blooming.

A late stray daffodil.

Each Christmas I buy amaryllis bulbs and after they bloom in the house I will plant them outside.  Several are blooming now.

Four blooms on one stalk!

My apples are growing up.  I'm trying something new this year to fight the squirrels for the fruit.  I'm putting plastic sandwich bags over the fruit and tightening the zip lock to enclose the fruit.  I snip the lower corners of the bag to let out any condensation. Picked this tip up off the internet so we will see if it works.

My latest addition, Sango Kaku Japanese maple.  Bright orange stem.  The leaves should be bright orangey yellow in fall.

One of my best surprises this spring.  Little Zoey is climbing her tree again.  I thought her climbing days were over when she lost her eyesight.  Hurrah for Zoey.

First Week in March

Redbud and Anacacho orchid tree in bloom.

Crepuscle rose, my favorite.

Neon yellow rose whose name I lost.  Very dependable and carefree.

A field of blubonnets that are not yet in full bloom.

Cozy corner for lunch.

View from the house.  Wildflowers love the granite paths.  The pots are planted with citrus putting on new leaves after losing so many from the last freeze.

Rebuilt the shed doors and repainted the shed.

Repaired the fence and painted replacement pickets.

Re-organized the shed inside and gave it a good cleaning.

Still need to clean the Martin house.  Probably too late for the Martins though.

No room to walk without stepping on bluebonnets.  I need to be heartless and clear a path.

Seedlings in the greenhouse are ready to plant.

Winter, What Winter?

This has been a very mild winter.  It is just mid-February and already so many things are blooming.  Although this morning we had frost on the roof, the first frost in quite awhile and it caught me off guard.  Hope no serious damage was done.

My little Zoey has recovered well from eye surgery.  She is now totally blind and one eye is fake, the other is gone.  We are learning how best to teach her to navigate.  Do any of you have blind pets and suggestions for making their lives easier?  She is doing pretty well at finding her way around although the other morning I 'lost' her in the house.  She was in a corner of my closet behind the door and couldn't figure out how to exit.  She was so quiet I had to search some time for her.



The Carolina Jasmine is blooming heavily.

Bluebonnets coverng my paths.

Apple tree in bloomk.  Not a lot of blooms(see right side of pic).

These two espaliered apples have blooms as well

The Mountain Laurel is in full bloom.  So early.

First rose bloom of the season.

Poor lemon tree lost all its leaves.  I did not cover it properly.  The stems are all green so I'm hoping leaves will sprout soon.  I had a HUGE lemon harvest in the fall.

Pretty little violas.  Love this color.  I think I'll get some more.