Happy Valentines Day!
After the Rain
We’ve had a few winter storms over the past 2 months that brought a lot of rain, but thankfully no major surprises. Last year, when we had just moved in, the rain was already over for the season and we didn’t get to discover if the house leaked….so when the rain started coming down in buckets a few weeks back, it was nice to see that we didn’t have any flooding or leaks. Having the western facing windows replaced back in August really helped, as the old windows didn’t close at all…and our contractor threw some extra tar on the roof where the garage joins the house, as the mastic was shot and would certainly have led to some water damage. (Before next years rain, we’ll need to bite the bullet and replace the roof)
The storms gave everything in our yard a good soak – and the unyielding compacted clay that is our yard – is once again hip high in weeds. I never got to my grand plan of lasagna mulching the yard in December – but am still planning on doing a modified version of this, using newspaper (instead of cardboard) with manure and straw. I’m hoping March will afford me the time to get my experiment going – and i’ve really got to get some fence quotes too and get something built (at least in the first level) – as this will make planning and building raised beds much easier.
Despite the neglect, the yard is still creating beauty. The pomelos, while not full of fruit, are once again about to go into bloom – and our once very sickly orange tree has provided us with a basket full of navels that look awesome – even the overgrown tea roses are thick with flowers.
Casualty of a December storm – a small nest i found in the road, empty – made of pine needles, yarn, hair and bits of fluff.
Our first orange harvest – picked on 2/14/10 – the scent from the oranges and the leaves is intense
My kitchen still-life, with backyard lemons, roses and navel oranges
I know what this must look like to everyone else – but I see 5 raised beds, a multi-bin compost system, fruit trees, a deck and an herb garden. If it’s not there by next spring, then maybe I need to have my eyes checked?
*update on the little stucco house* – late last spring, the owners did some impressive vegetable gardening and shared with J their plans for a new 2 story house, but we’ve seen no one on the property since September – not sure whats going to happen….