a view from the yard

 The baby birds vacated the nest earlier in the week.  I had been watching and first one disappeared and then the last one was sitting on the edge of the nest, like it was too afraid to take off.  A few hours later, I happened to be looking out the kitchen window and spotted it flailing around in the bed at the base of the Rose of Sharon bush.  I sure hope it gets the hang of what to do with those wings or something like my dog is going to get it.

So this morning for about an hour while I still had some cloud cover,  I finished taking some of restof the branches off the gardenia bush.  Two wheel barrels full of brush for the burn pile.  This was all the further I could take it down with the large pair of manual loppers.  It will take the electrical version or a chain saw at this point.  I don't know that anyone should trust me with electrical appliances other than the ones of the kitchen variety like blenders, mixers, panini press, LOL.

This mess at the base of the Rose of Sharon needs to be dealt with.  It is the remains of two types of lilies--angel trumpets and day lilies.  DJ would take all that thatchy stuff out over the winter months and we would start all over again in the spring/summer.  That didn't happen this past year.  Robert did take some of the low lying branches off so he could use the riding mower recently but that is all the attention it has had.

Then  we have the lilac bush that has a big hole in the center of it.  Those are not native to Alabama and this was DJ's pampered princess bush, having to augment the soil and all that.  I don't want it gone but I do need to get that dead part removed.  Robert and I talked about it .  Again, I don't know that I can saw it out of there.

I pulled some weeds along the "fence" row before I called it quits this morning and came in to cool off and shower.  Enough yard work for the day.

Looking back to the south of the lot, you can see the variety of crape myrtles.  That lilac/light pink one needs that weedy stuff cut away from its base too.  That might be were I head next actually as it is near the burn pile.  That little heap you see near the pole.

I was dismayed to see that there is some kudzu vine mixed up in the holly bushes between the white myrtle bush on the left and the myrtle tree.  I pulled some of it out but those bushes are huge and I doubt I will get up on the ladder to get at it.  Years ago this happened and DJ and I reclaimed that myrtle bush from the vines one fall some time back, cutting it back and pulling out the old canes.  This is the best I have ever seen it flower. DJ would be proud of that!  Then too, the dark pink one was just a small, small planting when we moved in and growing quite crookedly at that.  He figured out a way to stake it up without damaging the trunk and it looks great now.

Still no rain.  Dark clouds over head in spots and humid but I think this is one of those rain events where some get it and some don't.   You can probably see how dry the grass is looking in some of these pictures.  Robert ran the mower through that side of the driveway but just to knock the weeds down, more or less.

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The happy news I have to report is that Baby Girl R is here, my little great-niece.  My sister the baby's nana was messaging me off and on throughout the day.  When I went to bed, there was a possibility of a c-section and then the phone sounded at about 1:15 in the morning.  She was born with 15 minutes of Wednesday the 9th to spare.  6 lbs and 14 oz. 19 inches long, looks like a lot of dark hair.   There was a pre-natal health concern that showed up on the ultrasounds that will need to be addressed with surgically tomorrow.  Please keep the family in your prayers.  I get to meet her and love on her next month!  Little Girl is the first great-grand so we are all pretty excited!  While I do have a picture of her, I do not have permission to share it at this point.

Think I might sew for a bit if I can remember where I put that little bag I was working on.  I think I know.  Other than maybe boxing up some books for the home pickup I have scheduled next week  I do not want to do anything more labor intensive today.  My arms and shoulder blades are already squawking a bit about the pruners!

THX for stopping by-------maybe one of these days I'll actually have something sewn to share.