4 posts tagged “yard”

Much of my journaling over the last 3 years has been about growth and major life changes. Changes in my circumstance, attitude, plans, reality and career came fast and furious for a while there.

These days, with the exception of the ever-changing landscape at work, things have mellowed out quite a bit. But change is still everywhere, all the time, and you notice it even more when you have a chance to catch your breath and observe it.

Like this:

Me In The Yard

Lee took this picture of the tree in our front yard just a few weeks ago. It was much thicker and fuller and grown last summer, but we cut it back because a large portion of the leaves had grown in brown and sickly-looking. Cutting it back was our attempt at saving it. And so far, that attempt seems to be working:

Our Miracle Tree

A few weeks of springlike weather, including lots of rain, makes a big difference!

And then, of course, there are changes in the animal life around here. Remember this, from sometime in April?

Baby Sly 3

That little ball of fur now looks like this:

Sly Hanging Out

Sometimes, change is overwhelming and scary. But sometimes, it is just plain beautiful.

Just a few shots of what's going on in our little corner of suburbia:

Flowers

These little guys are growing quite nicely at the foot of the deck.

Stairway Garden

As are these, by the stairs that lead into the yard.

Garden Flag 2

The neighbors put that flag up as a surprise on Lee's 40th birthday, and I love the way it looks with the flowers. And no, that Scotch Broom isn't the one I got for my mother ... but I fell so in love with it we ended up getting our own too.

Front Yard

The front of the house.

Veggie Box Beginnings

The beginnings of what will be a vegetable garden. And as you can see, the other neighbor has put in a second pigeon coop. He hasn't put any pigeons in it yet, so I'm not sure if he plans to move the ones he has or get more. I really like having the little guys here ... but it would be nice if they didn't poop so much.

Nuts

That's the peanuts that are growing in the yard. Yeah, you heard that right. Caroline feeds the neighborhood squirrels all the time, and it seems they've been burying the extras. Weird, huh? We're going to replant them to see what happens ... just call us the Carters.

Happy Sunday!

Okay, these aren't exactly pictures of holiday cheer, but I'm too amazed not to post them.

Remember the storm that tore through the upper eastern states a week or so ago? Maryland, and the Baltimore area, were sort of on the "who knows if it will do anything in this area" region of the storm. They told us to maybe, but doubtfully, expect some snow. They told us to probably expect yucky ice and sleet. They told us to definitely expect heavy winds and lots of rain.

There was no snow, thankfully very little ice, and a decent amount of rain. But the wind definitely made itself known around here. One of the casualties was a tree that has been in my parent's yard forever. They still haven't gotten it removed yet, so I was able to go out and get these shots of it on Christmas Day.

After The Storm

After the Storm

It amazes me the way the roots, and that whole hunk of grass and dirt with them, were just torn right out of the ground. And the fact that you can see Mom's birdfeeder still sitting there attached to the tree makes me a little sad.

All in all, though, I'm just really glad that the tree fell AWAY from the house!

In spite of the fact that I have an 8 a.m. meeting this morning (what ARE they thinking, anyway?), and I had trouble sleeping last night and didn't want to get up this morning, I'm in a surprisingly good mood.

That's because I got something cool in an email. It had nothing to do with penis or breast enlargements for a change, either (seriously, the SPAM gods really want to cover all their bases, don't they?)!

Earlier this fall, I entered a few writing contests. I've been trying to get more serious about composing things other than blog entries, and this was a way to motivate myself. I haven't heard back from one yet - a short story contest I was pretty sure even when entering was out of my league at the moment, but said what the heck anyway. The other doesn''t even close until after the holidays. But the third one, an essay contest, wrote to let me know I'm in the top 10 that are being moved on to the final level. They won't announce winners until January, but still, being a finalist rocks enough for me at the moment. I figured I'd have to do a lot more of this before even getting this far.

On a totally unrelated note, I thought this was kind of neat:

Snowpigeoncoop

Pigeontomato

Those photos were both taken from my side deck, within 3 months of each other. Amazing the difference a little wintry weather can make, huh? The pigeon coop belongs to my neighbor. They're the only things I've ever seen him talk to. They're kind of fun to have around. When you're in the backyard, you can hear them make these weird, whirring and cooing noises that are kind of soothing.

Then again, I'm the one with weasels. I like odd choices in pets.