Digging Out Grass and Weeds in Small Flower Garden Bed

September 24, 2025 A while back, I laid down cardboard on the grass and covered it with Bama Dirt’s Pro Mix where I wanted flower beds. I planted cantaloupe seeds in the smaller bed, thinking the vines would look pretty. While we were gone for two weeks, the weeds had a chance to thrive. The […]

Preying Mantis in the Front Yard

September 23, 2025 On September 15 (Monday), instead of working in the yard, I spent most of day inside cleaning. Bruce was outside doing some mowing underneath the pine trees, when he noticed this female praying mantis. She blends right in with the lichen on the pine trees. After taking pictures of the praying mantis, […]

Around the Yard

September 22, 2025 On September 14 (Sunday), during my daily walk around Blackberry Homestread, Bruce moved the burn barrel to see the results of the fire. The stump had burned completely away. After admiring the hole, we talked about filling it. We walked over to the wild passion fruit vines and discovered three passion fruits! […]

Watching for the Cows!

September 21, 2025 On September 13 (Saturday), I was out in the garden. I noticed our neighbor’s cows next to the fence. I got Nox so she could see the cows. I held her up and she was so excited to see the cows. The cows wandered off, but Nox hoped that they would come […]

Bee Bums on Bolted Radicchio

September 19, 2025 One of my radicchio plants bolted while I was gone. It makes beautiful flowers in the morning, so I’ve left it blooming. It is a fairly large plant. I enjoyed watching this common eastern bumble bee buzz around and stop to pollinate the radicchio flowers.

The Sheep and a Donkey Are Watching Us

September 16, 2025 On Friday (September 12), I filled in two more holes in the morning. Around noon, Bruce and I walked down to the mailbox. I looked down into the creek and saw several tiny fish (minnows). I can’t tell what species of fish they are. In looking at minnows on outdoorAlabama.com, Mosquitofish seems […]

Working on Removing the Pink Flags

September 16, 2025 On Thursday (September 16), I filled in two more of the pink-flagged holes in the yard. While I was moving dirt, Bruce set the burn pile on fire. He also lit a fire in the burn barrel over an old pine stump after the burn pile burned out. I have to cut […]

A Busy Few Days after Getting Home

September 15, 2025 On Sunday (September 7), we had a pretty sunset, but no fireflies. On Monday (September 7), I didn’t do much; I mostly napped part of the afternoon away. I did get some pictures of butterflies. I walked out to the orchard with soap spray for aphids while Bruce mowed. I sprayed the […]

How Does Your Garden Look after Two Weeks?

September 12, 2025 On Sunday (September 7), after we got back from breakfast, Bruce and I headed to the garden to see how everything looked. Oh, the tomato plants were eaten. Tomato Hornworms and Armyworms were munching away. Some of the other plants didn’t do very well. Some plants grew well. The basil was spectacular. […]

Driving Back to Sweet Home Alabama

September 12, 2025 On Saturday (September 6), we finished loading up the truck, clipped Nox into her seat harness, said goodbye to my father-in-law, and headed out. We stopped at the Jekyll Island Welcome Center to see if they still had a good selection of glass floats. They had a wonderful selection of glittering glass […]