Rainy Sunday

I'm happy to say that we're getting another day of rain.  You'd almost think I like rain, to listen to me.  We're so far down in the water balance this year though, that I'm still glad to see it.  This last week I drove down through the south metroplex area, and the bluebonnets are spectacular.  Solid purple-blue rolling hills along the highway.  I was afraid they wouldn't bloom much this year, but they have. Sooooo pretty.

And you can see from these pictures that the little azalea is fairly happy too.  It's also blooming well in it's new place.  And all the trees are leafing out.  Yay!  I'm so glad Spring is here.  My rose bushes are all growing gangbusters and starting to put on buds now.  I'll have roses in the not too distant future.  And my grass is finally starting to come up.

I've now seen three hummingbirds, two little black-chinned males and a little female.  They all frequent the feeder, the two little males not happy with each other's presence of course.   The little female likes to just sit out there on the feeder, hanging out.  I'll have to keep sugar water made up.  With only the three of those tiny little guys, the stuff goes bad before they get through it when days are in the 80+ temperatures.  Growing fungus.  Yuck!

I've also seen two pair of cardinals out there at my feeders and more than two pair of house finches.  The massive horde of sparrows came back from wherever they were also.  And this morning I saw the male brown-headed cowbird for the first time.  I've been seeing the female randomly for the last week.  And the white-winged dove is back!  I haven't seen him since that first ice storm last winter - only the mourning doves.  And actually I only ever saw one white-winged dove, or only one at a time, even during the ice storm, which makes me think there just was one.  There are two out there under the feeders this morning, so now there's a pair, or returning young from last year.  It's really fun to watch all the birds, especially the little flitting hummers.  
Actually, I think this little tiny yard and patio are is the perfect size for me.  Enough of a place for me to putter around in and put out plants and grow things and trim things without requiring a massive amount of upkeep and maintenance.  Of course, I pay a lawn service to do all the heavy work - mow, edge, clean out gardens, trim shrubbery, deal with leaves in the winter.  That allows me to play at gardening while the place looks great and is kept in shape.  Perfect for me, as I said.  It makes me enjoy living here even more.  I'm really happy with the place again now that all the repairs are done.


The ophthalmologist said the same thing the optometrist did.  It's okay to have a vitreous lining pull away from the retina in your eye, as long as it doesn't create any holes or tears when it does it.  They're concerned about that because if a hole or tear is there, fluid can leak out and get under the retina and cause the very bad "retinal detachment".  So if they find a hole or tear, they seal it with a laser in about 10 minutes.  Luckily I have no holes or tears and all is good.  I'm glad to hear that. 
 
The wandering jew I put in the hanging basket outside seems to be making the transition okay and will probably survive.  The verdict is still out on the airplane plant or spider plant, whichever you want to call it.  It's looking pretty bad, but considering how bad some of my other plants have looked and pulled through, I won't give up hope yet.

Not much to say today, so I'm ending this post with the most current picture of the resurrected pine tree.  It's already put on about two inches of new height and seems quite happy out here on the patio.  I'm pleased as all get out to see it growing and thriving.