cutting back winter and terrified screams

I got out there Wednesday and started cutting down the dead orange cosmos, got about half done (on the right in the picture, did the rest yesterday afternoon). You can see the trunks of the bridal bouquet plumeria in the middle. I cut off the soft finger thick branches but the trunks seem solid enough so maybe I didn’t lose this one. Time will tell, we’ll see if it comes out.

I’m taking it slow because the burn pile is as big as I want it to get right now and needs to be torched. My grandson usually takes care of it for me and I’m sure he will. Plus, I don’t want to start throwing stuff in the truck because I’m planning on taking the rest of the pecans I’ve gathered in to sell today. My neighbor next to the shop told me last week if I wanted to pick up pecans in his yard I could. Wish he had told me earlier because I’m over that labor. I’m not even picking up the rest in my yard, most of which that are finally falling are empty inside but I did scour the shop yard yesterday one last time where the two trees overhang the fence. I don’t want to wait much longer to sell what I’ve gathered since the last load I took in for fear that they will close for the season and then I’m stuck with five boxes of pecans.

The other thing I did yesterday was uncover the ponytail palm which looks good and take all the small plants in pots on the end of my desk back outside and discovered I had had a little houseguest.

While I was outside Wednesday someone on the next street over was screaming bloody murder, terrified, like you’d expect if they were getting attacked by a pack of dogs. I could hear a man’s voice as well not yelling, more like trying to calm the person screaming. It was so loud I thought it was coming from the shop yard and I ran to the street to see, but no, the next street over, wondering if I should call the sheriff. The screaming stopped, started up again briefly, stopped again. Surely a neighbor would call the sheriff and in fact someone did. I saw an ambulance go by and walked over to the back of the shop yard where I could get a glimpse through all the overgrowth along the fence line. I could make out at least four cars from the sheriff’s department but not the ambulance. So DRAMA! I’ll probably never find out what was happening. And then my friend at the other end of my street called me last night to see if I saw what she saw Wednesday night about 10 pm. I didn’t, already in bed because I have to get up early Thursday mornings for SHARE, but she said there was a cop car driving down slowly down our street and the next one over with one of those bright search spot lights shining it into everyone’s yards and houses. We surmise they were looking for someone. Again, have no idea what that was about and probably never will. 

Nights and mornings are still chilly but the sun is shining and days are warm. Rainbows decorate my walls and ceiling. This one from Wednesday looked like a comet streaking across the wall. 

Still nothing worth taking a picture of outside.