There and Back Again

Yesterday morning, D gave the final verdict of our old lawn mower. It was kaput, dead, finito, ready to go to that great Lawn Mower Heaven.  In short, we needed a new one. Since the weeds were already up to my knees, I agreed. After a bit of a discussion, we decided to run over to Santa Fe and visit Home Depot. The idea of going to a DIY store that boasted a garden center thrilled me to no end.  

Just this side of Rowe-Pecos area...Home of Greer Garson's ranch and Pecos National Historical Park. 

On our way there, we had to stop so I could grab this picture. We still have snow on our mountains. Nothing like they have in Colorado and other places, but it's still covering our mountain tops in May and that is a very good thing for us water-wise.

D says that my eyes lit up and got huge when we entered the store. He said he's never seen that look on me--not even when presented coffee. I deny that, naturally, but it could be true.  Not necessarily accurate. 

Anyway, we picked up the new mower and several new plants. I also picked up more seeds. Today, I informed my darling husband that we needed to make our garden bigger. There wasn't enough room for the fennel, the corriander, the carrots, the pumpkin or the pea seeds. And naturally, I needed more room for the bell pepper plants and the basil plants. Here's a picture of our garden now.

 

  

 Yes, those are straws and barbecue skewers sticking out of the ground. They discourage the ferals from using the garden beds as litter boxes and scattering the seeds I'm trying to grow.  I also use tongue depressor sticks for marking what's been planted where.   

This wonderful surprise greeted me this afternoon. When we first moved into this house, wild roses were growing rampant every where. I've pretty much left most of them alone--I like them. This was just a pretty sight for my eyes.  

 Some of the plants I bought were flowers. I realize that flowers have no other value than aesthetics, but I like them. I put those in the ground this morning while Ava, Topaz, Chile, Merlin, Buddy, and Arby took turns being outside. I looked for flowers that were heat tolerant, drought resistant, and perennial. I have two different yucca plants and an Apache Plume. To the far right is the plumbago I planted nearly years ago--it's been spreading beautifully. This morning I added the blanket flower, African daisy, european daisy and the fire witch. I love the way fire witches smell--and I have not been successful in getting one to grow yet. Hopefully, this one will like this spot in the full sun.   

Finally, before I go take a well deserved nap, here's a composition.