Working in My Yard

Today is so great for working out in my yard. There are clouds and the sun was ducking in and out. Very pleasant for working and planting.


First of all I want to share with you my bird. There are more but I only was able to capture one on the feeder. The other one was camera shy. 

Isn't she beautiful? I think this is a girl because the one who flew away scared was a darker yellow.

This feeder was hanging outside for at least 9 months. My DIL Anne told me to be patient because it takes time for the birds to feel comfortable to come eat. I have Thistle in the feeder for finches. 

So here is my achievement with my raised garden beds.

This is the overall view, above. Below are what each garden box looks like.

And

So the first box is full. You have to leave space between plants because they will grow so much bigger than they are now. In this box are several tomatoes, hot peppers and bell peppers. There is some cilantro too.

The lower box is only half full. I want to put in some strawberries or maybe some herbs.

Right now the lower box has zucchini, tomatoes and a cucumber. 

This year I am trying some new varieties of tomatoes. I have planted my favorite red tomatoes, Early Girl, Celebrity, and Roma. But I added a purple tomato and a yellow one that has a lemon touch.

I have a Mexican Lime tree. This silly tree seems to think that it can only bare fruit every other year. This is going to be a fruitful year.

Can you see the little limes forming? I am so jazzed.

You say all limes are the same? 

I say no way. The Mexican lime is smaller and the flavor is more concentrated. It really does have that flavor that you get in a Margarita or in a tasty mexican meal.  They are riquisimo!!! Ole !!!

My tangerine and orange trees are not doing as well. The tangerine has some little tangerines forming.

See if you can see them?

The baby tangerines are on the left side of the photo.

When I worked in the dental lab, my boss had several trees and would bring bags of tangerines to work for us lowly technicians. I would eat them all day. 

So that is when I planted my tree. It's been 2 years and she is not growing so good.  I do live in an area of California where citrus is grown. Behind my house is acres and acres of orange groves.

We do have the bees to pollenate the blooms.

In the month of April the fragrance of orange blossoms is so strong.  At first when you get up in the morning you say "ahhhh how wonderful", then after an hour it can give you a headache because it is so strong.

Well another thing left to blog about was a tasty dinner I made the other night. It was fresh baked salmon, mashed potatoes and organic string beans. Also there is a berry smoothie I made with organic frozen mixed berries, organic vanilla soy milk, and pineapple.

I like eating simple like this. It is also easy to prepare.

Do you see the pretty silver fork? Well after my husband died I decided to use my silver flatware all the time. We were married 28 years and only used it for special occasions. I figured that he got to use it maybe 56 times.  Isn't that outrageous? Why have pretty stuff if you only let it sit in a drawer? That is crazy I tell ya.  So when I moved to my new house one year after he died (2001) I vowed to use everything and not keep anything tucked away and sacred.  Hence, the silver fork.

One more thing on my mind. First the photo.

This is Babe. She has been my dog for about 12 years. She is 16 years old as well as I can figure. I rescued her from the local animal placement center.

She was Richard's and my dog. And now she is getting so old. Her hips are very weak and when it is cold she can hardly get up. She still eats, drinks and can go find a private place to go poddy.

She is partially deaf.  Alexis and I keep her in our prayers.  She is too old to play with Alexis and she is too weak in the hips to go for a walk.

I know her time is coming. She is a good dog and a sweet dog.  Here is a photo in her hay day.

Isn't she cute?  She is a mixed breed.

My dilemma is when will I know it is time to put her down? I guess when I see her in pain. 

Poor girl. I think I hate to see her go because it is another thing that Richard and I shared that will leave.

Time changes things. More and more everything around me is not how it was when he was alive. I wonder if he would approve of what I have done with my life? Would he be proud of the woman I have become? Would I have become so involved in the word of the Lord? I'm not sure he would have gone to Calvary Chapel or to bible studies. I love going. I love listening to the pastor explain the chapters in the bible. I really love the worship music. Is it so upbeat and everyone stands up, claps and sways to the beat.

A lot of people sing with up raised hands. Why do I feel uncomfortable to do that?  I like when they do it.

That is something to think about.

Would I be this strong in my faith if Richard were alive and didn't want to go to Calvary Chapel?

Tonight I will go to church with my sister Susan. We love going. Alexis goes to the children's class. She has a good time too. Then after church we come back to my house and Susan and I will watch a movie or a designing show. Sometimes we just sit and talk.

Last week we went to Penneys to buy Peanut some shoes. Peanut & shoes is a whole other blog.

I bought some summer shirts. Yeah.

It was fun. When we got home we said that we should have stopped to buy some frozen yogurt. Maybe tonight we will.

Ok, so that is it for today. Enjoy the nature that God has given us.  Hugs and God Bless.