Happy Independence Day!

Be kind and stay safe!  As you have your parties and gatherings, remember the many people who have served our country and paid, sometimes with their lives, for us to have this freedom.

God Bless America!

Hey

After a long stretch of extreme heat and humidity with no rain, today we have a little break.  There was a bit of rain during the night and it was only 77 when we got up.  All the days with a heat index at 100 or higher were brutal.  Needless to say, I did not do any yard work.  The weather forecast does say more rain later today.

But early this morning with it cooler, cloudy, and a breeze, I got out and did a little work out there.  The heat has been really hard on the blooming shrubs and other plants.  They did get watered some, but it's just not the same.  The blooms on the Hydrangea bushes looked like they had been burnt.  I dead-headed all of those.  I am hoping the little buds I saw on the stems will continue to grow.  The Day Lilies are about done except for some lovely yellow ones still blooming, so I took care of those, too.  By the time I finished with all that and cleaning up, it was getting hotter and I came inside.

We've had repairs on our sprinkler system and it now seems to be better.  None of the repairs or work by the landscaper have been done yet.  I was very careful walking around out in the yard trying to avoid the holes and trenches caused by the tree work.

However...... The front is doing pretty well and here's a picture of the new little Liriope blooming.  The new small shrubs are doing well, too.

And here's a picture of the morning sky.

Life is still good.  Be kind.  God Bless America!

Just One Thing After Another

I hope everyone is well and taking care of themselves.  Good luck staying cool!  The heat index here has been 112 and is supposed to be this way until sometime next week.

So...... our tree work was rescheduled a couple more times.  Here is how it went when it finally did happen.

A company that we have had do work for us before is who we called.  They have a great reputation and have always done great work and been considerate and careful.  This time though, the scheduler said they were short staffed and he was getting people in from somewhere else.  I am pretty sure we got some of those guys.  They started cutting the limbs off the trees and just dropped them down.  Dropped one on a smaller young tree and damaged it.  Dropped another on an Encore Azalea and broke out the entire middle section.  Then, instead of roping sections, cutting the trunk, and lowering the sections carefully, they just cut the trees off about knee high and dropped them. That shook and rattled the house.  The yard has trenches and holes all over.  Some are a foot deep.  They crushed a sprinkler head and damaged the system.  I have left messages saying I wanted the owner to come and see the damage because I am sure he does not know how the new people are leaving things on his customers' properties.  So far I have not heard from anyone.  I am writing a letter.

I have already had our sprinkler company owner here replacing the crushed sprinkler and checking the system.  That is back up and running.  He took pictures of the damage to our yard and said to include a copy of his invoice with the bill we will get from the tree company and deduct that amount.

Then our landscaping "guy" came and looked at the damage and was also shocked.  He said his company can fix things, and also said to make a copy of his invoice to include.  Les and I went and paid the deposit on the the landscaping work/repair this morning and we will get a call to let us know when the people will come.

There was a lot more clean-up to do, even though the tree crew were supposed to leave things clean and tidy.  So I did some cleanup and have been working a little bit at a time on weeding and pruning out in the yard.  And then we got this oven of heat here and outside work is done for me for now.  The heat seems to be burning up the blooms on some of the shrubs.  They are getting water, but the heat is just too much.

Finnigan had some medical issues and I had to rush him to the clinic one morning.  He is doing better, but does not care for the adjustments to his food. He tells us frequently. 😀 He will have a recheck in a couple weeks.

Les and I are okayish.  He does what he can.  I don't sleep well, but am up and functioning.  Life is still good!

Take care.  God Bless America.  And be kind!

I LOVE YOU, HONEY

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life and my best friend.  It's been a great 58 years, and I am looking forward to many more. 💕

Then

Just a few years ago.

All my love, G.  XOXO

Just Updates

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe.  On that topic, I saw that there is a new Covid variant and the booster will be available in the Fall.  Our doctor says we should get boosters every six months, so that will work out about right for timing.

Our tree removal work was rescheduled again.  It is now supposed to happen this Friday.  I will let the landscaper know if it actually happens this time, and he will come and see exactly what we need in the back yard.

The HVAC is being worked on as I am tying this.  Will be nice, even though it's expensive, to get this done.  Although it hasn't been bad having the windows open.  The weather has been unusually nice for this time of year here.

Les had a Neurology check-up appointment this morning.  Doctor says no major changes and to see her again in a year, sooner if needed.

The painter - who is the step-son of our regular painter guy, Jeff - came Saturday morning and took care of the porch rail and spindles.  He did a very good job and Jeff has trained him well. 

The yard guys came and mowed, edged, and trimmed.  Hydrangeas are blooming and lovely.  The Geraniums on the porch are beautiful, too. This picture shows our white Hydrangeas and a little of the blooming Mimosa tree, too.

The HVAC is all fixed and running!  Good timing, too, since it's supposed to get hotter the next few days.

Take care of yourselves and be kind.  Life is still good.  God Bless America!

Visitors

I  hope everyone is having a peaceful day.  Stay safe and be kind.

Les and I are okayish.  It rained during the night and is supposed to rain some more today and pretty much all week.  It's cool and gray.  

The painting that was going to happen this morning on the porch rail didn't happen because it is too wet.  We're aiming for Saturday now.

I took this picture a while ago but never got it posted due to "stuff" happening.  I love our wildlife!

And last evening I took this picture, first bunny of the Summer!

I have no other news, no plans for today.  God Bless America!

Hello

Well, it's been another busy week for us.  It actually started on Friday, the 16th, about 1:30 a.m. when our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors went off.  Some very nice fire persons came and checked everything and tested for everything and they determined that one of our detectors had "malfunctioned".  They uninstalled that one and stuck a temporary one up in that location.  I called the electricians we use, and they came on Tuesday morning to install two new hardwired detectors.  They tested those and we're all good to go again.

We also had our quarterly pest control visit, and our annual termite inspection.  All good with those.  

Our sprinkler system man came and fixed zone 5 that wasn't running right.  That's the one that waters the side yard and our beautiful colored Hydrangeas.  I had been watering by hand when needed on those, so I am glad that is all running properly now.

The tree removals didn't happen due to wind and rain that day.  The crew is rescheduled for June 2nd.  Of course, this meant that the rest of the backyard landscaping and new mulch had to be postponed again.  

I did get to the garden center and get the Geraniums for the porch pots.  They are lovely!

Also, someone came to re-repair our fence gate.  When I first reported a problem, a different man came and supposedly fixed it.  He didn't.  It still would  not close easily and latch.  Bill, who came and fixed it, said to just call him directly if anything goes wrong with it again.  It is fine now.

My appointment with my orthopedic doctor went okay.  X-rays were done, he said my knee is good.  I have arthritis in my hip - we already knew that.  He gave me a steroid injection and that has helped.  

Les is doing okayish. I am trying to keep up with things. Life is still good.

Please stay safe and be kind.  Remember why we have Memorial Day.  And God Bless America.