We now have grandchildren coast to coast! Beckett Wade Landis was born May 6 in Los Angeles, but lives in Joel and Mikaela's new home in Pasadena. They moved from an apartment to the house on Saturday; Mik was induced on Tuesday (three weeks ahead of their expectations) and they came home Saturday in shock, all the baby things still in boxes at Joel's office. We had the pleasure of visiting, holding, cooking, fixing a window, holding, changing diapers and weeding for a week while Mikaela unpacked and Joel went back to work after 2+ weeks off. Private message me for photos.
When we returned to Double Oak, daisies sprinkled the field near the house. This goddess of the earth from Uganda is not attracting birds, but gets her share of compliments. http://mahaja.webs.com/
Weeds also sprang up, even in the sandy soil. Somewhere in this mess is the perennial bed I planted last year.
Breezy agreed to help search out the flowers and lay on any she found. (It's impossible to take a photo of a black dog with black eyes. She is much happier since our return, wagging her tail and licking us more.)
I found flowers in the middle of the garden, but the surrounding areas were mostly without.
I did find this glorious turtle. We have lots of turtles, so please watch when you are driving in. I found one smooched by a truck carrying 24 tons of rocks. Not pleasant.
Here is the truck dumping boulders that will hold back the sides of the walkout basement. Dennis and Breezy watched them roll off the truck until they hit the ground. The earth shook and Breezy streaked off.
This pond accumulates in the back yard whenever there is significant rainfall. Since we are on sand, we hadn't thought we'd have puddles, much less wading pools. However, that turquoise pipe sticking up is a drain that will be cut off when we do final excavating, possibly this week, and then we will be puddleless.
Sidewalks might be laid today or tomorrow, cutting down on the sand I bring in the house. You can see the wooden forms the cement layers created and the hose where Dennis and the landscaper had planned for the front sidewalk. Sigh.
Soon we'll lose our back parking spots. Perhaps, just perhaps, there will be room in the garage for a car. We have many boxes yet stored in the garage, awaiting either our unpacking or space in the basement for storage.
But there is always room and time for a visit from you!
Susan
(Boulders are Dennis' photos; the rest are snapshots from Susan's iPhone)
