We did a butt-load of hard work in the yard on Saturday and it was wonderful and I felt healthy and strong and capable. I kept going and going . . . and then I cleaned inside and did laundry and then on Sunday I ran the classroom and got groceries! It's a miracle that I've been feeling this good.
(Full disclosure: I must've eaten something my body didn't want or gotten a virus, because my GI system has been a bit angry for three days now . . . but it's less of an uproar than it used to be when this happened!)
Here's how thinks looked to start . . .
hmmm . . . lots of junk left over from construction (last May!)
And the trees and weeds were out of control . . .
Happily, the agave are blooming!
These are very popular with woodpeckers and hummingbirds, and I'm planning to separate these and plant some of their babies along the back wall for more color and texture.
Not until we get back from all our travels, though, so I can look after them properly.
We had to cut off this tall guy because he was ramming into the roof of the house!
His tall spires are star-shaped.
We put the trimmed off arms in the sun to scar over and then we will plant them along the wall, too.
And after four or five hours of trimming and carting off lots of branches and bags of weeds,
this is what we have now: a beautiful and serene oasis for wildlife and for US to enjoy!
I hung a little battery-powered lamp above the table for extra color and fun.
The sun was at a poor angle for photos by the time we got done, so here's a bright sunny morning photo:
The other morning, I saw a Gila Woodpecker at the agave flowers,
but he's VERY shy still and this is the photo I got of him . . .
that blurry flapping shape in the lower right-hand corner is him!
All that yardwork tired Allistair plumb out!
But don't worry, he still got his snuggles!
We also wanted to share this box with you:
definitely would buy again!
Juvy ran inside and hid under the bed while we were cleaning outside.
Afterwards, she didn't want to go back out there - it was a whole new world!
Today while I was working, Stephen joined me (on my desk, as you can see!)
and helped me out by purring and batting at the wires and the keyboard.
What a helpful kitten!
And then he took a loud and slurpy bath:
How could I resist smooching that little face?!
He also likes sitting in the bathroom window while I'm getting ready in the morning.
There's usually a nice cool breeze (and the beautiful bougainvillea in the background are pleasing, too!)
Claude has been playful (only while the boys are asleep, though!),
and we played laser pointer. I love her fluffy little backside fluffing off down the hall
and her big tail all proud and tall.
I have been looking for a large barrel round brush that is completely plastic with NO metal. I was getting raised red welts on my neck and I finally figured out that I was brushing my hair with a brush that had metal-tipped bristles - and I'm really much more allergic to metal than I thought because just brushing my hair was enough bristle on skin contact to leave itchy welts behind.
Plastic doesn't do that - hooray!
But plastic large barrel brushes are difficult to find.
My friend Jen found me some small barrel ones, which work great for normal brushing, but during blow-drying they get stuck in my masses of hair.
This one was $3.54 or similar at Ulta and it's wonderful!
Also, it's extra cool because it's hollow:
and the extra airflow means that my hair dried quicker. It works!
Happy Tuesday!
