a bit of history and some yard work

Panel installed, circles with stars delivered. When I delivered the circles I got to see for the first time the railing that they are accents for in the little theater in the Texas history museum at the San Jacinto Monument, the battleground where the Mexican General Santa Anna was captured by General Sam Houston of the Texian army and as a result of which Mexico eventually forfeited about half it's territory, an area that encompassed all of Texas and parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and on up into Wyoming.

We have finished all the work we had in the shop so I should be starting on some new models but I keep casting my eye outdoors. So much work to be done out there.

Last Friday afternoon I got out there and hacked back the wild space that continually encroaches on the yard. I cut down about half a dozen small rain trees (3” in diameter or less) that were leaning into the big cedar providing a bridge for the wild grape vine that was all up in it. Got all that pulled out and lugged over to my not-in-residence neighbor's burn pile since, technically, all that stuff was on his property. The cedar is on the property line so I claim possession.

This is the cleaned up shot taken from my neighbor's side. As usual it didn't occur to me to take a 'before' pic. The shed is ours, about 5' from either property line.

my side

Sunday was overcast all day so I took advantage and expanded the flower bed around the water lily pond...

the one that has the natural filter that this:

is growing in, which is called white snowflake I recently found out, and it smells so sweet. I had no idea it was so fragrant...so I could get the cutting from the heritage rose at the old city house in the ground since it wasn't doing all that well in the pot I stuck it in a year ago. The rose bush at the old house was from a cutting my across-the-street-neighbor gave me many years ago and I'm not sure where she got it. You can barely see it for the mistflower that hitchhiked along and is now blooming.

The mistflower (a native wild ageratum) is invasive and spreads through root runners and seed and it will quickly fill in any available space. I do love it anyway (though I have learned to be ruthless when it starts getting too greedy) and am glad it is getting established here. I'll put a clump over at the shop when it gets big enough and it can run wild to it's heart's content over there.

Well, I've managed to waste another perfectly good day and got nothing accomplished either outside or in. Guess I'll go take the dog for a walk.