Mother Nature....

Whew!

Mother Nature's been pitching quite the

Hissy Fit, lately.

Fires in the West and Northwest.

Earthquakes in Mexico.

And, hurricane's....lots of hurricanes.

It's been years, since we were in Mexico City 

or San Juan, Puerto Rico.

But, just his last spring, we were in 

St. Thomas and Dominica.

We took back to back Caribbean cruises.

We went to St. Thomas on each cruise.

It's a fairly dry island.  There are no natural rivers, and it might not rain for months.

Ironically named, Water Island sits in the middle of the bay.  See the big cacti?

Magan's Bay

The island depends on desalinization of sea water,

which supports a bigger population, as well as the 

vital tourist industry.

More people means more buildings.  And, when hurricanes come, 

more things to damage.

Photos I've seen show major damage....and, almost no green left.

Trees completely stripped.

Very sad...

Dominica was on our second cruise...the one where Mr. P had the flu.

So, we didn't tour the island.

We did get off, and shopped right at the port.

Back on the ship, we could see quaint, colorful houses, along the water.

Colorful, but not very sturdy.

I'm thinking these houses are no longer standing.

Dominica took a direct hit from Category Five Maria.

There is massive destruction there.

We were told that it rains somewhere on the island, every day.

This was our view as we sailed away.

These islands depend on tourism for their living.

Let's hope they can get back up and running very soon.

I know they'll give it a great try...

just like here in the States...Texas, Louisiana and Florida.

The fire ravaged West.

And, people in Mexico.

We have hope...and, faith.

We've booked a cruise next fall, to go back to these islands

Mr. P missed.

It's time for Mother Nature to settle herself down.

Have a good, and safe weekend.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Deja Vu, All Over Again...

Last year, we took a cruise to the Caribbean.

We returned to a garden full of weeds....and a LOT of work to do.

Well...we did it again.

 St. Lucia

This year, we took TWO cruises.

Two, ten day cruises, back to back.

The first ten was great.  Our niece and nephew were with us.

We took lots of excursions, to see these beautiful islands.

The last ten...not so much.

Oh, the islands were beautiful.  But, Mr. P came down with the flu.

I can tell you...having the flu, on a cruise, is not that much fun.

We need to do the second cruise again...without being sick.

Oh...I managed to avoid getting sick.  

Yay me!

The return home was pretty much the same as last year.

Weeds, weeds, and more weeds.

Plus, the hard winter freeze damage.

Another year of hard work, getting things cleaned up.

And, this year, replacing quite a few plants.

I'm not looking forward to the clean-up.

But, there is some Spring beauty already...

The old iris....pass-alongs....are blooming.

The new ones, the ones I bought and planted in September, 2015, 

are not doing so well.  

I'll just hope for better...next year.

So, I guess you can see what will be going on around here.

Pulling weeds...cutting back more freeze kill...pulling weeds...

replanting some things....

Oh, did I mention PULLING WEEDS?

Spring is bustin' out all over, here.

I hope your spring is, too.

Now, I gotta get to work.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

November...

November!

Seems, each month, 

I'm surprised the time had gone by so fast.

I should be used to it, by now.

We made it through a Halloween,

without a flood.

So, I'm smiling today...even though we do need rain.

So...what have we been up to?

Well, mostly this....

It's Fall Leaf Season.

Or, more accurately, Fall SEED Season.

See all those seeds?

They're Cedar Elms.

The best germinating seeds ever!

At least 85%.

And, each one will be a little Cedar Elm tree,

if it falls onto soil.

I try to keep as many as possible out of the soil.

Come spring, I'll be out there pulling them all up.

So, every day is seed clean up day.

Next...when the seeds are done...every day,

will be LEAF clean up day.

Such fun.

But, we can at least use the seed-free leaves for mulch.

And, of course...there is always fun with deer.

They took the core out of the Spanish Dagger Yucca.

There is a REASON this is called a dagger.

Sorry to be mean, 

but I hope it really hurt.

There's already a new center growing back, though.

So, on a happier note...

the Big Muhly has really taken off, this year.

And, the Gulf Muhly is trying hard.

They're both really pretty, with the sun shining through. 

Oh, and we went to Oregon.

Tell you about that next time.

Hope your November is starting out good.  

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Happy Birthday, National Park Service....

Today, is the 

100th Birthday,

of the 

National Park Service.

Founded on

August 25, 1916,

by Theodore Roosevelt and Horace Albright,

the Park Service manages the National Parks, most National Monuments,

and National Historic Sites.

My love of National Parks started early.

My parents loved to camp...and fish...and national lands

were a good place to do that.

Mr. P and I, took our children, when they were small.

In recent years, we've been to quite a few.

Ready?

Grand Canyon National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Grand Tetons National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Glacier National Park

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Saguaro National Park

Shenandoah National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

And, National Monuments and Historic Sites...

 Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Mount Rushmore National Monument

Little Big Horn National Battlefield and Cemetery

San Antonio Missions National Historic Park

National Monuments in Washington, D.C.

There are more. But, you get the idea...we like National Parks.

There are more on our list of places we want to see.
Getting there a little at a time.

Do you like National Parks?
How many have you seen?

GO!

They're worth the trip.


Happy Trails...
~~Linda~~

Happy Spring...

And, we're pretty cold here, today.

But, maybe this cold front it Winter's last hurrah.

We just got back from a trip.

Did you miss us?

And, we came home to this.

I've been making some progress.

But, still LOTS more to clean up.

And, because the last Halloween Flood washed away all the mulch,

there will be that job to do, too.

Still...the plants are doing pretty well.

We even have some blooms.

 Mexican Honeysuckle

 Pansies, Primrose and 'Mushrooms'

Unknown Irises

Spiderwort

It's these beauties, that make me keep on working in the garden,

instead of throwing in the towel.

Today is supposed to be cool, but the sun is shining

and it's beautiful out there.

Hope your first day of Spring is just as beautiful.

Now...back to the weeding.....

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

November 24, 1965....

November 24th. 1965 was a Wednesday.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

That's the day we vowed to love and to cherish one another.

Next day, we flew off to Florida,

to have Thanksgiving dinner with Mr. P's brother and sister-in-law,

and then Friday, we left on our first cruise together.

A three day cruise to Nassau.

This year, we celebrated our 50 years on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii.

There will be more years and more cruises.

*****

Happy Anniversary to my best friend and my love.

Today we celebrate our first 50 years.

Now onto the next 50.

Life is Good...

~~Linda~~