Tree & Shrub planting 6-18

Last Monday we found the trees we've been wanting...a maple for shade and color in front of Larry's shop and then Crape Myrtle trees for color, shade and interest in our barren front yard area.  I love crape's because they bloom in the summer, they have a pretty compact shape and as they get older their trunks are really pretty...smooth and with neat texture/coloration and they are pretty in the fall too as their leaves change color.  We chose Arapaho for the red flowers and the burgundy foliage in the spring.  


We love planting trees, or I should say we like adding trees to our landscape....I am sure Larry would love to have someone else dig the holes in pure rock and plant the trees for us.  We also planted three crape myrtle shrubs in the corner by the deck and edged the deck with Russian Sage...the sage requires hardly any water once established.  We are experimenting with some other perennials that are supposed to need little water and the deer don't eat...time will tell.

I know many of you have enjoyed following our progression here and we are amazed by how much we've done and how far it has come in almost two years.  I will of course keep you posted with pictures as all this stuff grows and gets gorgeous.

 The deer aren't supposed to eat maple or crape myrtle trees but at the nursery they told us to fence the trees until the trunks mature because the bucks like to use saplings/young trees to rub their antlers on.  Now that we have all this stuff planted, we'll study on what we will want to do next.  We made additions to the flower garden too, but I haven't taken any pictures yet so that will be for another day.  It was a bit cooler today...high 80's maybe but very windy all night and all day.

Dirty Dirty Turkey 6-15

they toss the dirt up with their feet and wings,
and they can do that for 5 or more minutes

More pictures of a turkey taking a dirt bath.  Sometimes we may miss seeing the bath but we'll see a cloud of dirt float by from somewhere and we'll know a turkey is nearby.  They have such beautiful iridescent feathers, but who would know from this?

Then they walk off...some don't shake right away, but this one did.

Quickie check in 6-14

It has been hot and we have been busy in the yard, mowing, planting and plant shopping.  I've been taking pictures, but haven't had the time yet to edit and compile...and as we are having company for a couple of days it might take a bit of time yet so I just thought I would share a few pictures of the daylilies as they open and say Hi and I'll get you caught up soon :)

Warming Up 6-10

We have had a few days of nice weather...my favorite, highs in the high 70's low 80's with a nice breeze.  Tomorrow we'll get back into the low 90's, Larry's favorite weather 90+.


We've just been puttering around with little projects.  Larry built us a couple of small benches/tables for the garden and primed and painted them with the base color so I can now make them pretty.  We bought some new plants at one of the nurseries around here and I planted several of them yesterday.  We spent time yesterday coming up with a landscape plan for the front yard, at least for the section by the deck.  We will be adding to and making changes to the flower garden that will make for less work for both of us in the long run...well we can hope.  

Russian sage

Yesterday I went on my first trail hike with Larry since the end of winter some time.  Now I have my muscles strong, my awareness of which muscles should be doing the work and it went well.  I just ended up with regular muscle soreness, but no hip pain and I wasn't all sore and crippled up the rest of the day, I'm finally starting to feel like my old self again.  We heard a whole family of coyotes yipping and yapping to each other...I could see them off in the distance and I think the parents must have returned to the den and the pups let them know they were happy to see them I guess.

No more trailer blocking the view of the meadow from
behind the shop.

While we were sitting on the deck/porch a few days ago we both looked up in time to see a coyote run by on the hill, then later that evening I saw a fox go trotting down the street...the wildlife is very busy around here.

The hole the toad was in that I mentioned last week.

his close-up

This is a magic turtle.  Our neighbor found it in the road and we set it in the garden to watch it.
It was shy and wasn't coming out, I gave it a sprinkle of water.  Larry saw one leg and its
head appear as we left the garden, which is surrounded by wire fence.   In 45 minutes
we were back in the garden and that turtle was GONE.  We looked everywhere,
then figured we would see it out of the garden somewhere...never saw it again.

Larry spotted this on his hike a few days ago.

I cropped it so you can see it better.  A yellow belly racer making like a blade of grass looking for breakfast.

Larry gave it a wide berth but I'm proud of him,
he got pictures of it for me.

The End 6-5

I just love when everything falls into place!  Larry pulled the trailer into the driveway on Thursday and wrote and posted the listing on Craigs List.  We got one call of interest on Friday.  On Saturday Larry realized he could have the listing post in another area (it was posted in Sacramento area), so he posted it in Yuba/Sutter.  It wasn't a half hour when the phone rang, and it was our potential buyer from Live Oak.  They had been looking for two years (about how long we have been done with the trailer), wanted more storage and a walk around bed, loved my pictures and arranged to come see it Sunday.  They did, spent two hours going through the trailer and talking to us about it, they loved it...Sold!

Bye-bye!

They came back this evening to bring the check and take it home...  It drove off into the sunset...literally!  They are regular people, not flakes and they are experienced RV'ers which made the whole experience easy.  Really, really nice to have it gone and not just sitting here deteriorating and losing value.
















Yesterday was garbage pick up day and it seemed a bear decided to sample from the cans up and down the street.  We can tell because the bears actually carry the bags away from the cans and sometimes quite a distance before they rip into them.  We spent some time today speculating on where to mount the trail cam to watch the cans on the next garbage day, but there was a chance that it wouldn't return for quite awhile on garbage day (it's not like it has a calendar in its pocket).  

Fat, Big Bear

Larry brought the trail cams SD card inside to offload the pictures so we could see what had been cruising through.  Well, from yesterday morning there was BIG bear heading off along the wildlife highway at the top of our hill, maybe going home after its raiding of the garbage cans.  I took some pictures today to try and give you a perspective of where the trail cam is in relation to the house.  These huge animals can move so quietly and unless the windows are open you don't hear them unless they roar or knock something over.  When it is a Momma and babies they are a little noisier.

Wow!

We've gotten pictures of deer, coyote, fox, jack rabbits, turkey, squirrel, cats, dogs, blue-jay, quail and even a couple bats (they were flying through when a deer had triggered it) and now a bear.  Its a regular thoroughfare.

That's the camera on the skinny stump.

Here's a shot back towards the house with the trail cam in front.

Its hard to see, the stump looks like a white line in the center top area

From the deck.

It was breezy and cold, but the clouds were pretty.

Wintry Day 6-4

rain-drenched

This morning before the rains started we drove over to Coloma where there is a nice bakery where we split a chocolate croissant and I had a double espresso.  The drive over there is always so pretty.  We sat outside at a dry table and enjoyed the misty cool weather.


Today was in the 50's all day, windy and many torrential down-pours.  We again got close to an inch of rain today.  It was a good day to finish up indoor projects.  There were a couple of breaks in the weather when the sun tried peeking through and I walked around outside and took a few pictures.  

Lazy Writer 6-2

Today is an interesting day...Larry and I know at least six different people who celebrate their birthday today...it is just one of lives little oddities to us.

Last weeks clouds

I am such a lazy, lazy writer.  Every day there has been some little tidbit to share and by the time I finish my day the thought of sitting and actually typing what I've composed in my head a few times into the hot computer just doesn't thrill me and I find something else to be doing.  


So to catch you up I will probably get things out of order, but you won't know the difference anyhow!  We spent most of last week emptying out the 5th wheel, Larry cleaned it inside and out and it is now in the driveway waiting for someone to come buy it and have fun, fun, fun with it.  It is tedious absorbing all the last bits from a former home into a current one...in the house, in the shed or in the garbage?  That baby is spotless inside and out.


The past month was also humbling and full of introspection, for my sister Lori's best friend, a woman whom I admire and like a lot discovered she did not have kidney stones but actually has stage four Pancreatic cancer.  Such a roller coaster ride.  You never know what you would do in a situation unless you actually walk a mile in someone else's shoes...but as much as I care about Jennifer, I don't even want to walk a tenth of the path she is on right now.  The anguish, sorrow and anger Lori feels....I am just glad to be able to listen....  But what a friend to have!  Lori's career is caring for people battling all stages of cancer, but it is always different when it is "home".  


Last Saturday it rained and was cool, the past two days were in the low 90's, today was better in the high 80's but windy and Monday/Tuesday we are supposed to be down in the 60's and raining again...weird spring.  Our green slopes are fast becoming crunchy golden brown, which means we won't have to mow for several months...yay.


Today I was watering and one of the many lizards was licking the water off of the rock as it ran down the sides and raised its head into the mist like it was enjoying the shower.  They usually run off when the water hits them.

Where the plum tree was...I decided to plant my
zucchini and tomato plant there with elephant garlic...
the nasturtiums are volunteers.

Yesterday I uncovered a toad buried in the mulch of one of my rosebushes...scared me because it was a brown mushy looking blob and it took me a second to figure out what I was seeing...a toad back.  Then later an empty hole under a faucet by the house had a huge toad hunkered down in the hole...it just always seems so dry around here for toads and frogs but they are everywhere.


Day before yesterday we discovered a dead baby wood pecker on the path to the shop several feet from the oak tree where the nest is.  The adults must have pushed it out and away from the tree.  The most interesting thing though was that with whatever means they use, a buzzard knew that something was dead and kept landing and wandering around looking for its meal.  They are so silent that we weren't even aware they were there until they took off and we heard their wings flap.  They are huge big birds to be gliding over your head.  


Then the last nature story I can remember...at dusk last week I was looking out the window and I saw a Great Horned Owl swoop through and land on the telephone pole.  It sat there a bit turning its head this way and that, then lifted off again and was joined by another as it flew on its way.

 Hopefully I made sense, didn't make too many typos or grammatical errors!  Oh, and Happy Birthday to the June second people.  Hugs!