wherein I don't talk about the yard except maybe just a little

After a day in the city doing work stuff and BSing for a couple of hours with an artist friend I don't see often, last Wednesday both our jobs told us to hold up there Nellie, not so fast. I was set to finish the door panel and had the installation set tentatively for this week when the designer told us to hold off on the install for two or three weeks. Not ready for the glass so of course I didn't do the final day of work on the door panel. The same day, the art consultant asked me to put my progress on pause until she got some feedback from the client on the compositional sketches I had sent in. Well, alrighty then. At this rate it may be fall before we finish the A&M job.

Actually, it was a good thing because now that I have started on these two jobs, I was reminded that I volunteered to do the art work and ordering for the postcard for the open house a group of us have all agreed to do the first weekend of June at our glass blowing friends' studio, similar to the one we do in December but this time, it is not just glass. I should have been working on that while I was waiting for The Job. This is my life. Dick around until I see the deadline looming, so I spent the rest of last week working on that.

What else. The turtle pond is finally clearing up again I'm glad to see. I guess it's been about 6 weeks since I upset the balance in the filter.

And I got the azaleas in on Sunday.

Just in time because Sunday night the heavens opened and it rained all night and all day yesterday. We got between 3.5” - 5” depending on which rain gauge I looked at. Houston got 16” and is once again flooded. We had water standing in the side yard but that's pretty standard after a hard rain. Water was all the way up to my daughter's house in the city though and she did get a little in the house, the low room that is the converted garage. Fortunately they were awake from the storm and moved the furniture out and got the cars all up on the lawn.

So, I was sitting here at my computer with the dog laying in my lap when all of a sudden she was up, alert, jumped down, started barking as she ran over to the door. I followed and saw this which had come in the back door with the screen propped open so the dog can come and go as she pleases. Seems something else tried to come in out of the rain. It's a young rat snake about 2 feet long, harmless to humans and dogs. I used the broom to sweep it back outside and the screen door is now firmly shut. It didn't try to strike me, just seemed annoyed that I was trying to get it out of the house.

Just another day in paradise.

the west and north sides

Just a note about the images of the Big Backyard...the distances look greater than they do when actually standing out there.

So while I have made gardens in the Little Backyard (the roses, althea, and the large shrubs were already here) and the Big Backyard (ditto with the long day lily bed), I have done almost nothing to the west side and absolutely nothing to the front besides neglect it to the point that two of the roses died as well as a big althea and another is dying.

Standing in front of the barn looking at the west side. There are two oaks and a large white crepe myrtle (the one with the climbing roses in it that the arbor is next to) which keep this side in near total shade except in winter when it gets afternoon light. It's mostly ferns, english ivy, and azaleas. The one big oak had half a dozen small scrawny struggling azaleas under it so I built the curving bed around the other oak and moved them there where they promptly died. Bought new azaleas on sale which were so pot bound that out of 10, only 6 survived and only one of those remains planted there. The red crinum lilies that I dug up from the city house are in there now but one clump will be moved over to the shop. The chinese fringe flower shrub was already there as well.

Standing at the end of the driveway looking at the west and north sides.

Across the front which is also mostly in shade except out by the street...roses, yellow bells, purple coneflowers, crepe myrtles, altheas (also called rose of sharon), two huge yew trees one on each corner of the house, chinese fringe flower shrubs, yellow butterfly iris that I need to move, society garlic, gerber daisies, ruellia ground cover, easter lilies, ferns, red tip photinias which are so large they block the view of the house from the street. I put in the beauty berry in front which doesn't show up in these pictures).

The northeast corner.

The east side, the most neglected side, also in near total shade except in winter from the cypress and red bud in my neighbor's yard though it does get some morning light...another crepe myrtle, althea, and shell ginger. I pulled out the common cannas that were here and moved the tall ferns there on the left that were originally in the Little Backyard where the yellow butterfly ginger is now. They are just now coming back from winter.

When we moved in here with the exception of the yellow bells and the easter lilies and the day lilies almost every single thing that blooms the previous owners had in the yard was either red, pink, or purple.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of the yards. I'm headed out now to get those azaleas in the ground.  If you missed either of the first two posts you can see them here - the Little Backyard and here-the Big Backyard.

the Big Backyard

As I mentioned, the Big Backyard is mostly in shade most of the year due to the three mature pecan trees and the maple and the magnolia and the new shop barn on the west side. The old vegetable garden lower left corner on the east side, the barn upper right corner on the west side. That fourth tree in the center far distance is a native pecan and our property line is about 5 feet beyond it.

Looking along the side of the house and garage to the magnolia and maple.

The barn with it's little shade garden where the buddha hangs out. I'm still working on it and, in fact, robbed the edgers to put someplace else last weekend. In front of the door on the right is where the little red lilies were blooming but they've gone by now.

The buddha sits patiently waiting for me to finish his garden.

Behind the barn along the west side is the long day lily bed and while I do have day lilies other places, most of them are in here. This garden was here when we bought the place but I have added to it. From the left...the baby blue eyes going to seed, morning glory bush, confederate rose, society garlic, swamp lily, day lilies, bulbine, firecracker bush, elephant garlic, nile lilies, rose, day lilies, amaryllis, spiderwort, daylilies, ground orchid, and dewberries on the end. There's also some salvia and verbena in there. The evening primrose in front is past it's prime.

Beyond the shade on the back south side is this little garden. It started out 4' x 4' for strawberries and has been added onto. This is where the poppies were so gorgeous last year. Right now it has crinum lilies and bush beans and once I clean out the evening primrose on the left end, I'll plant okra in there. Eventually, I'll put the red hibiscus there...maybe.

Beyond it you can see the old old burn pile which is now the wild flower patch. This lies just outside our property line. The bluebonnets and evening primrose are fading and the salvia, the queen anne's lace and clasping leaved coneflowers are now coming into bloom. Past that the green mound is the new old burn pile (we haul most everything over to the burn pile at the shop now) which is sort of a brush pile and surrounded by field sunflowers and beyond that the 12 Acre Field.

The southeast corner has this storage shed and little garden. You can see the beginning of the Wild Space and the rain tree and an oak behind it on the right. There's also a big cedar on the left. We don't use this anymore now that we have the barn and I expect one day we will see it has fallen into the ground as the Wild Space is doing it's best to encompass it.

Besides the native peach tree which was here, I put in bulbine, day lilies, philippine lily (the big shrub), miniature gladiolas, spider lilies, and amaryllis.

Moving inward to the pecan on the southeast side is my planned garden for the azaleas. One is already in the ground and the others in pots.

It looked like that but now looks like this after last Sunday (those are the edgers I took from the buddha's garden).

Next: the side and front

the Little Backyard

When I post pictures of what's blooming in the yard it is always close-ups and I might have given the impression that I have lush gardens all around. That may be the eventual goal but right now everything is spread pretty far apart. The house sits on a half acre and then some as we have pushed the back boundary into the 12 Acre Field behind us. Most of the Big Backyard is grass because of the three mature pecan trees that form a triangle of shade, well, more like a rectangle of shade as the magnolia also contributes. It's sunny back there now because the pecans are just now leafing out but soon it will be in deep shade. Anyhow, I thought I would give you a tour of the yards.

The back door to the Little Backyard, the small area enclosed by the fence, faces east and this is my view while sitting at my work station. The tea cup bird feeder hangs directly in front of me and I can see the turtle pond through the open door.

Standing just outside the back door facing east, then looking to my right are the small pots with plants, some of which will eventually get put in the ground, the walking iris in a pot, the toad lily in the ground behind it, the white butterfly ginger, roses against the fence, and the turtle pond in the southeast corner. 

Looking to my left are the bromeliads where the little frogs hide, the chinese fringe flower shrub that the birds and squirrels sit in to approach the tea cup, and the yellow butterfly ginger and other assorted blooming plants.

The east side has a huge red tip photinia on the north end and a chinese tallow tree

while the south end has a ginkgo tree and the turtle pond. The area in between is in flux.

The southwest corner...the mock dogwood in the corner, hummingbird bush which doesn't get enough sun to bloom well, day lilies, white butterfly ginger on the right and in the foreground the plumerias which haven't leafed out yet from winter.

The Little Backyard from outside the gate looking north.

This is the in-progress bee and butterfly garden on the outside of the fence. From the left, pink butterfly ginger, two tubs of water plants, nile lilies, montbrecia, miniature gladiolas, guara, salvia, mexican bush sage, day lilies, butterfly weed, penta, white cat's whiskers, and other stuff. The only thing blooming in there now is the butterfly weed and the penta.  I need to take down the trellis as I don't use it anymore.

The water lily pond on the other side with all sorts of stuff in there...althea, day lilies, amaryllis, yellow angel trumpet, white philippine lily, rosemary, heritage rose from the city house, and other stuff.

Here's the full view. You can just see the end of the old vegetable garden on the right.

Turning towards it.

Facing east. All kinds of stuff in here too...bulbine, larkspur, behind that is a pink angel trumpet that isn't growing well, at least not so far, rock rose, and a mexican bird of paradise; gardenia in the ground, cinco de mayo rose and a plumeria in pots, a shrub/herb that makes yellow flowers, the tall orange cosmos on the end, and my red bud tree in the large pot.

A lot of the stuff in the gardens is newly planted and has not attained it's mature growth or is still coming out from the winter. The different plantings bloom at different times of the year. Right now it's just the wildflowers and the very early spring bloomers.

Next post...the Big Backyard

a week of work

Well, I haven't completely forgotten how to do what I do. We've done several quick little sandblasting jobs since November but these two jobs are the first 'real work' we've had since then. This used to distress me, not having any real work for months but now that I consider myself semi-retired, I don't worry about it especially since I have no intention of going out and beating the bushes for new contacts. Some things have seemingly come around full circle though. There is a company that at one time wanted an exclusive relationship with us and promised us all kinds of work. What she didn't understand is that I had already built up my company, and while I would welcome any jobs she brought to me, I didn't see how she was going to put me on the map so to speak. I agreed to bring some samples for her showroom and not sell directly to her customers as long as they were her customers. Suffice to say, we eventually had a disagreement over one customer and I eventually heard through the grapevine that she was using our work in her showroom to sell jobs and was getting another etched glass outfit to do them. I sent my (then) installer pronto to pick up all my work. I shouldn't have been surprised since she had already done the same thing to the previous before me glass etcher. Anyway, my now installer has bought out her company and so once again those jobs will come my way. 

So, this is the first week in many months that I've put in a full week's work. Most the work we've been getting just required a day or two or three here and there. I made a big effort to finish the residential job this week and I still have another two solid days on it but all the sandblasting and cream etching is done and the glass is waiting to be cleaned off and sealed. The door panel still needs the applied clear textured glass (3 pieces) but I can't do that part until I get the adhesive I need which I will do on Tuesday.

7 of 8 cabinet lites (not in order)

door lite and 8^th cabinet lite

I've also been working on the renderings of the line drawings I made from the photographs they sent me for the A&M job. These help me figure out how to translate the drawings into the glass...which areas will be carved, which will be shaded, which will be airbrushed and all sorts of combinations. These are small, the size of a regular piece of paper. The next step is to make similar line drawings from the photos enlarged to 2' x 3.5'...about half size of the finished work. I'll be able to me more concise and detailed with my levels of etching though some of it won't be decided until I have full size drawings. That's what I'll be starting on next week, that and finishing the door lite.

Tomorrow though, it's work at the antique store and then Sunday get the azaleas in the ground.

my weekend

I had two days to be in the yard without interruption, to do whatever I felt like doing out there, just being out there. No project, though there are several to start, I don't have enough dirt at hand to build a new bed which is what I plan to do next Sunday, I'm going to work on the one I started around one of the pecan trees with the azaleas. Now that the bench seat is gone I have no excuse and the azaleas need to go in the ground. And I have to get the one over at the shop ready for the zinnias that have sprouted in the starter trays.

I've been putting most of my efforts over at the house though, in the Little Backyard and outside the fence and now the old vegetable garden, which I, at least, got the rest of the weeds out of if not reclaimed the back edge from the grass. That whole thing is in flux as I have no real clear plan for it. Things are just getting stuck in there now because it's the second sunniest spot in the yard. Eventually it will fill in and look nice I think. And the small garden at the back of the property which is one of the sunnier spots and is easily three times as large as the original bed I built there years ago for strawberries. I decided to turn the section of flower bed along the fence to a bee and butterfly garden with native perennials and some bulbs, also just stuck in there because I needed to get them planted but have no plans for any of the gardens. It's kind of unbalanced because a plant I bought late last spring and put in a bigger pot for temporary got tired of waiting and so it planted itself right in the front through the pot and has grown to 3'. I won't be able to move it now until fall as it will bloom nearly all summer. Already I am seeing more butterflies including monarchs one of which was laying eggs on the butterfly weed this weekend. 

I've been totally neglecting the front yard though which needs some serious attention. I have two huge clumps of yellow butterfly iris that need to be moved as they don't get enough sun to bloom and are choking out two of the roses and there's all kinds of weeds that need to be gotten out but the easter lilies are growing tall with buds protruding from the crown. I should move some of those to the back. 

I watched a crow hector a red shouldered hawk flying after it and pecking it's rear end. It was quite persistent, following that hawk way up into the thermals.

The frost we had the middle of March killed my little cucumber plants and this late in the season, they are scarce but I did find two and got them planted and got the rest of the package of bean seeds in. I got my one seed potato cut up and planted in two pots, I fertilized, I watered the yards thoroughly as it hasn't rained in weeks, I repotted two of the plumerias which had outgrown their pots, I cleaned out the debris from under the day lilies, potted more stuff up for the garden club plant sale.

Saw this tussock moth caterpillar on the car

and the biggest green frog I have ever seen. It was easily twice as big or bigger than any of the others I've come across.

My giant clump of ox-eye daisies is giving me one flower.

Last week I got this pic of the bluebird eggs and Sunday I saw there are three little open mouths in the birdhouse.

I'd take this whole week to work out in the yard if I didn't have two jobs to work on.

eye OK and sketches

Thursday, my eye felt so much better that I decided I must have just scratched it somehow and it was now healing. It was still irritating but not painful like it had been the previous two days. Yesterday, while not as bad as Tuesday and Wednesday, it was much worse than Thursday. OK, grumble grumble. I called the eye doctor's office and they got me in right away. Turns out out I had not one, but two, eyelashes on my bottom eyelid that had turned themselves inward and were poking me in the eye. He plucked them out with tweezers and the relief was immediate.

I did get all my full size drawings done for the residential job and made line drawings of the photos for the panels for the small animal hospital, each panel 4' x 7'.

 

Next week I start on fabrication for the residential job but until then, it's the weekend and as this is my Saturday off from the antique store that means I have two full days to putz around in the yard...

which is where I'm headed.