working in the yard and studio

Some of you might be wondering what I've been doing all week. Well, I'll tell you. I've been digging holes. Big holes. 24” in diameter by about 10” deep holes. Three of them. Then I lugged 40 lb bags of compost over and mixed it with some of the dirt and filled those holes back in.

Ta Daaaa! 3 blueberry bushes!

Actually, that's just what I did Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I still need to get all the bricks around and eventually I'll get rid of all the grass in the triangle, outline it with the bricks, and fill it in with mulch to make mowing easier. I also cleaned three more windows. I've been slacking on the one a day thing though. That window cleaning is a chore.

I've been surveying the freeze damage and here's a list of all the established perennials I might have lost. I say might have because it will be March at least before I know for sure.

The...

*rangoon creeper that I planted three years ago and bloomed for the first time this year

*shrub that I can never remember the name of with the long spikes of small pink flowers

*Mexican bird of paradise

*shrimp plant

*night blooming jasmine

*yellow angel trumpet that I didn't think to take a cutting of

*plumbago

*upright rosemary which still has some green needle leaves but looks terrible and is struggling

*angel wing begonia

*all my succulents and cacti except for the hens & chickens, the big aloes, and the century plant

*most of the walking iris

*butterfly weed

*pony tail palm

*purple orchid tree which I just planted this spring

*white orchid tree which is in a pot

but then, there's this crazy thing...

It doesn't usually bloom till late summer.

And, of course, I've been obsessing about keeping an eye on Crybabyman and his executive actions, orders, proclamations, declarations, and obsessions. The man is insane. I had a running list going but I inadvertently deleted it but essentially, he's trying to gag the media and portray them as liars, gag the governmental departments whose work and science is at odds with his beliefs like the EPA and NASA, and the National Park Service because they tweeted that his crowd at the inauguration was small (as if he is going to stop information from coming out). There's plenty more about Crybabyman Trumplethinskin but it will need it's own post. I even dusted off my twitter account so I could follow the rogue accounts of the silenced departments and so I could send my displeasure directly to @POTUS and @realDonaldTrump.

Oh, and this week I did finish the three new pieces, got them secured in their frames, and today I have to box them up and send them off to Kittrell/Riffkind Gallery in Dallas for their show in February.

Robin with Cottonwood Leaves 6.5”w x 6.5”h x 1.25”d

Green Wo/man 4.75”w x 4”h x 1.5”d

Bumblebee with Red Hibiscus 6”w x 6”h x 2”d