Start of September

The start of September is really welcome to me this year. It's been a long, hot summer that I'll be happy to see the back of. I've had some struggles both with mental health (set off by a change in medications that had to be sorted out) and ongoing family issues. Things seem to be improving now, though. I've been working hard on taking better care of myself and it's finally starting to pay off. A change of seasons will be nice for moving on.

And I can't wait for better weather! Today is still warm and humid but starting tomorrow we're supposed to have nice temperatures for more than a week--mid-80s for highs and 60s for lows. I'll be spending more time on the back porch as the weather cools down. The past couple of mornings (before it got too hot) Gregg and I spent two or three hours out there watching the birds at the feeders and the butterflies around the zinnias. Marco and the dogs are usually out there when we are, enjoying some fresh air and sunshine. Here's a short clip I took the other day of Marco climbing his porch play gym. Everybody loves to see Marco, I think.

It's Labor Day weekend so I'm off work tomorrow. I really appreciate the three-day weekend; the extra day feels like a luxury. 

Happy Labor Day to my fellow Americans, and happy Sunday to the rest of you!

Home improvement

The past few days have been exciting, because we hired a guy to partially remodel our screened porch! The bottom third of it is now enclosed and painted, and there's waterproof plastic "wood" on the bottom all the way around, to solve the problem of lots of moisture and pooling water at ground level rotting the old boards. He also installed a new, sturdier door with a doggy door already built in for George and Poppy. He just finished this afternoon and is currently cleaning up and getting ready to leave. He's done a good job, and we love it! It's so much better than before! We got a really good deal on the work, too, because Gregg's known the guy for a long time. There's several more projects that need doing around this old house, so we'll definitely be calling on him again!

The dogs will have to get used to a new doggie door in a new spot. They're not too sure about these changes (and have been less than thrilled with the building sounds going on outside over the last few days).

Of course, treats held on the other side helped convince them to give it a try! :)

From the camera roll this week...

The zinnias in front of our school are blooming again this year. They reseeded themselves!

George and Ginger playing with one of the toys Parsnip sent! They play like wild beasts every single night after supper. 

Did anyone else see the beautiful July full moon last weekend? It was almost as bright as the sun when it first appeared in the East.

Heirloom and Hybrid tomatoes at the farm stand.

More vegetables from the farm stand being transformed into dinner.

Banana Pudding: a delicious, cool dessert in the summertime.

A friend sent me small banana tree shoots he dug up from around his pond. They're growing like crazy in the large pots I put them in. They're bound for the sheltered South-facing wall in the back yard, next to our Pomegranate tree. You can also see the large leaves on the fig cuttings I'm growing out in this photo. By next spring I'll have a good size Brown Turkey fig tree to plant in the back yard, too.

My orchids are still happy on the back porch.

The ficus tree is also growing well on the porch. It's going to be difficult fitting it back in the house this winter!

Our five Crepe Myrtle trees are finally blooming!

Porch garden

The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous. Cool, sunny, blue-sky days are followed by crisp, clear, starry nights. You couldn't ask for anything better. Being outdoors all day has been a joy and the best part of all this time off at home.

The yard has never looked better.  Everything is neat and trimmed, weeded and mown. The porch has been thoroughly cleaned. I even mopped it with Fabuloso (of course I thought of Mary!) and the tile floor smelled nice afterward and feels good on bare feet. All of our houseplants have gone out there to spend the next few months, and I added two beautiful hanging baskets of Boston ferns, purchased at the small open air farmer's market where I go to buy fresh vegetables. The porch is definitely my happy place these days.

The fig tree that I started from my friend Carol's cuttings last summer.

 I may plant it in the yard this fall. 

The orchids seem happy outside.

Handsome Georgie enjoys the porch!

Ginger thought I was holding a morsel of food. (I wasn't.)

The little ornamental pomegranate given to me by a friend. 

If you look closely, you can see tiny little fruit buds popping up all over it.

Speaking of pomegranates, I had one that I grew from a small seedling in a large pot for years

 prior to moving here. A year ago, I planted it in the ground beside the porch. It's shot up to about 7 feet tall, and it also has fruit (or are they flower?) buds for the first time. 

We've had this ficus for longer than we've been married. It was largely neglected for years when the little sparrow Chip lived in it, but it's always managed to hang on. We're hoping to grow it out some on the porch this summer. It will go back in our den late in the fall.