Go Away Already

Last weekend we were working on the yard and found all sorts of small holes throughout the flowerbeds (in the pine straw). It looked like an animal had been digging through the straw and into the dirt. Norm said it appeared to be birds... I did not believe it appeared to be birds.

So to clear up the debate, I texted a picture to my friend Kris (whose husband is a superintendent at one of the golf courses, so he knows lots and lots about mother nature). She quickly replied and said: armadillos.

Apparently armadillos only come out at night, and the only ways to get rid of them is to either a. shoot them (at night) or b. keep them away from the yard with... moth balls.

Determined that the armadillos were not going to mess up our new pine straw, we took off to go buy moth balls that same afternoon and went ahead and put them out that evening.

That was last weekend. Since, the weather has been gorgeous and we've kept the windows open... with the beautiful breeze comes in the awesome moth ball scent.

At least our flowerbeds look nice!

The Fig Tree

I don't know if I ever got around to blog about our fig tree:

But then again, the way August has played out... I probably thought about blogging about our fig tree and never got around to it for abcdefghijklmnop reason.

At some point during the summer it got full of figs:



Then all of a sudden, Norm realized that the figs were gone... Gone... GONE. We could not figure it out... the leaves were intact, so we didn't think the deer ate them... did maybe a neighbor pick them? But the tree sort of blends in with the surroundings so unless you know there's a fig tree there you wouldn't be able to spot it and let alone it's baby figs.

Yesterday I looked out the kitchen window and saw this:


GEESE!! I think these geese (ha!) might have played some sort of role in the eating of the figs...

The joys of country living... I could be eating nice ripe figs at the moment... instead I'm munching on sun chips...

Pretty Blooms

Now that Spring is 100% here (on it's way out the door actually) we are getting to enjoy our beautiful blooms! Here are some pictures for your virtual enjoyment...


Hanging basket in the backyard


Pots on the porch (these have survived Cali - actually Cali has done very well this year, she's only attacked one pot - so far)


These are the hydrangeas by the garage - I'm so excited that the one in the back is finally blooming! it has blue and purple flowers...


Remember this post little over a month ago? Check out how much the basil has grown:



These are the lantanas along the side of the house (they are deer proof - so hopefully they will continue to grow and get lots and lots of bright orange flowers!)

Today's Project

Today's project was the herb garden. We planted the baby sage plants straight on the ground and the baby basils on containers.

We used the dirt that came from digging the holes for the sages to level out the area where the basil containers sit.

Baby sage - soon it will be just as big as the thyme in the back.

Today also involved weed wacking, spraying the lawn for bugs, spraying around the house for bugs, pulling weeds and killing fire ants (and taking a nap on the couch at the 4 o'clock hour)

Slowly but Surely

We are going on our fifth year living in this house, as well as our fifth year of being amateur gardeners. Pretty much everything we know about gardening we owe it the wonderful fact of being a homeowner and having to take care of the yard ourselves.

Yesterday Norm and I worked on the yard just about all day and since I've been thinking (deeply) about how far we've come since we first moved in... We are now planting deer resistant plants (deer don't like lantanas, they don't like gardenias either). We are diligently spraying the anti-dog spray on the flowers on the porch, as well as the throw-up-smelling spray for anti deer (on the hydrangeas). We're putting hair clippings on these too to keep the deer away (these are the sort of things you learn when you live out in the boonies).

We have overcome the weeds (for the most part) as well as the moss stuff that grows on the front hill. Our yard is slowly turning green.

Norm "rescued" a Maple tree from the woods area, he planted a fig and a dogwood tree... We have an herb garden with an established rosemary bush, a lavender bush, thyme, parsley and we're about to add sage and basil.

Trial and error have been (and still are) our best teachers and because of them we appreciate what we have today even more. We are learning so much and loving every minute of it!

You May Disagree... and That's OK

I know that with this post I am going to put myself out there and folks might think I'm crazy (Norm and Pablo already do). We all know that there is something about gardening that is relaxing and mind-freeing. However, I particularly find weed pulling to be one of the best stress relievers.

Yes, legs hurt due to squatting. Shoulder hurts from pulling. Fingers hurt from grabbing weeds. But overall, at the end of a weed pulling session I feel so liberated and relaxed.

Our backyard (and front yard) have been taken over by weeds. Yes, I spray. Yes, they come back. So like every other year, I hesitantly turn to weed pulling to end up regretting not starting the weed pulling sooner due to the benefits it provides.

Not only is the pulling of the weeds a stress reliever, you also get instant gratification by seeing the yard slowly become weed free.

Here are two piles of weeds that were pulled yesterday afternoon and this morning. This is nothing... still have lots and lots to go. Can't wait!


This one you can sort of see the pile in front of Cali - it's just as big (maybe bigger) than the one above.