Yellow House: Spring Front Yard

Hello my lovelies.

 It was 85 yesterday. I have broken out my shorts for the season.

 The maple outside our window has leafed out.

 I placed a geranium by the door as it can take the heat.

Look here-a grim little Gremmie in the dogwood tree. 

She weighs ten pounds now y'all.

I'm chubby, my mama's chubby, and my cats chubby.

Our wide expanse of monkey grass (lilirope) is sprouting. We had a million pine cones before the storm. Now we have about five million. I ignore them pretty much.

Easy care sedum on the front stoop that survived the winter unscathed.

Finally, our sweet boy Sheldon. 

Shelley is one hundred pounds and suffers gladly the mischievous cat.

In Olive Out news today is mine and Joe's anniversary.

 Ten wonderful years. To find love again, we think, is a most splendid gift. 

I am going to physical therapy twice a week for shoulder therapy. 

We continue to clear debris from the storm (I basically rake). 

I am carrying on with spring gardening in spite of the extra chores.

 I must have flowers.

Linking@Be Inspired

happy gardening

Olive

Kindness, Despair, Expectation

"Beauty is important in this fragile life"

Jan Karon

Yes, the ice is pretty on my old watering can. 

But that ice from Ice Storm Pax caused at least nine deaths that I know of. On the February eleven the storm came in the night. Trees and limbs begins to fall. I awoke to an old dogwood tree on our roof. There was a constant cacophony of limbs falling all day and into the next night.

 Joe arrived from work before the roads were blocked by trees. Transformers began to blow up and shoot blue flames across the sky. We had power lines in our front yard for days. We were without power for five and half days.

Kindness

Our neighbor, Gary, who lives down the gravel road we live on

 where eight trees were down walked three miles in the storm to a lawn mower shop to buy a chain saw. He walked back with the heavy saw and then helped clear our road. All of us were there picking up limbs and clearing. We also cleared the paved road beyond the stop sign.  

On Saturday Gary came with his chain saw and helped cut the dogwood off our roof. 

He asked for nothing but for us to wave at him as he drives by. 

That is extraordinary kindness.  

Despair

Joe and I have taken 19 truck loads of tree limbs from the

front yard alone. We have not started on the back yard or side yards. Every muscle in my body aches. Joe would never hire anyone to help us and that is fine. The limbs are not going anywhere. I have been in a state of despair off and on. We both sort of lost time there for a few days living in the dark, picking up tree after tree with no end in sight. It is rather disheartening still.

Expectation

We have lost many beautiful ornamental trees and the large dogwood.

 It shaded my flower garden which you have seen here frequently. I have high expectations that my flower garden will be a sunny spot now. Different and better. I am installing a few David Austin Roses soon. I need ordinary garden chores to do.

Ordinary is good:}

 Our yellow house is in the Central Savannah River area near Augusta, Georgia which was the epicenter of Ice Storm Pax.

joy and peace my friends

I have missed you

Olive

Dog & Dogwoods

Shelley Boo is looking out the window into the front yard watching for any squirrel. He shares my view that they must be scooted away from the bird feeders and therefore also must be chased off the property entirely if he is outside with us.

This is the view of the front yard with our beloved yet sick dogwoods blooming. Both grainy images were snapped with my iPhone.

Happy Friday

Olive