Saturday, With Variety

Could you ask for better weather down here in South Texas? Dadgum, it's PERFECT! Working outside is quite enjoyable right now, which is one thing I've been doing loads of. Yesterday started out as cleaning the garage — the bane of my existence. I now have 26 40-gallon bags of junk to haul to the road on Monday. What's worse, is that I'm only about halfway through the cleaning process! So today will be another day of throwing out old fertilizer, soils, and getting all my yard tools organized so that I can really clean-up the floor. The best solution is going to be to buy a little storage shed we can hide in our back yard, and that's where I'll keep all the lawn gear — and that will really open-up some space in the garage. We pay to have people maintain our yard, so the equipment hasn't been touched in a few years — but I just can't fathom parting with all my good ol' John Deer wares. I figure the price of a storage shed is less than the amount it would cost me to replace my mower, blowers, edger, and line trimmer if I ever started doing the work myself again. But, we don't want to spend loot on a building just yet, so I have to be more diligent about keeping things organized and clean out there.

After doing that, I spent a good while spraying Cutter's Backyard Bug Control (formally known as "Bug Free Backyard") all over every living thing in our front and back yard. Let me tell you: this smack works, and it works GREAT. I've been using it for 5+ years, and it always does an excellent job of getting us through mosquito season. If you haven't applied this product on your yard — and you'd like to be able to stand outside without being bled dry — go to Lowe's now and buy a couple of bottles!

Next up was tree-trimming, which I still need to finish today.

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As mentioned in my previous post, I'm starting back into my bonsai hobby now that I have a better place to support the trees. When I first got started, we were living in an apartment while our previous house was being built, and I just wasn't able to maintain the trees properly (and I didn't really know what I was doing all that much). Since then, I've spent loads of time reading books and online articles, visiting forums, gathering knowledge, etc., etc., and now I feel better prepared. At our current house, we have an attached, enclosed patio that works perfectly for bonsai, so I've been straightening it up and making the whole room more pleasant to be in — it's really "cute" out there now. It has floor to ceiling windows (with screens) on 3 of the sides, so it gets plenty of air flow and sun without getting too hot.

I'm still letting the trees get acclimated to Texas weather and wind, so I haven't done anything as far as shaping or pruning just yet. Shock is a bad thing for bonsai. Here are the 2 I'm currently working on, a Fukien Tea (ehretia microphylla) and a Baby Jade (portulacaria afra):

This is right after I got them, and since this picture, I have removed all the annoying little pebbles, and the Fukien has begun blooming flowers. These trees are what bonsaists typically call "mallsai" (as in bought from a mall or your local garden center) because they are mass-produced and not really properly trained trees. Sure, they're little plants, but they aren't grown to be true to the art form of bonsai. And so it is with my trees, though they aren't quite as bad as the Target Specials you see during the summer. Mine mainly have technical and artistic training and soil problems — but I intend to change that over the next several years.

I have also begun propagating schefflera and crepe myrtle from cuttings, so it'll be cool to see what I can grow those little dudes into.

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I miss my Dad not being around to talk to. I would love to tell him about the people across the street and down a couple of houses, and how they had all the grass in their front yard pulled off to resod. He would also have some advice on the building I want to put in the back yard, as well as our proposed screen enclosure and big ol' patio we're thinking of having built. I miss not seeing him in his rocking chair when I go over, and I miss him asking how church went. I miss not bringing him breakfast every morning. BUT — I love the memories and how real he is all around me, in everything I see. I love you, Pop.

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We traded-up our treadmill for an elliptical machine, the NordicTrack Audiostrider 990. Sweet fancy Moses, this thing is MUCH better than a treadmill! After not running or walking while Dad was sick, my 6'4" and 230 pound frame just wasn't too hip with running — my old back starting hurting too much! Wanting to make sure we keep up with exercising, though, we tried out half a dozen ellipticals before deciding on this one — and we love it. While it takes time for your quads to get used to it, once they do, you can totally get a better workout without it taking such a toll on your body. I have 15 some-odd pounds I want to lose, and I have a feeling this'll do it better than the treadmill, easy (plus dieting, of course).

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A bird just flew into my office window.

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I'm looking forward to playing my Gold Tone Banjitar (I had them use a white head, not clear) this weekend, even if it's only for one song. He's been asking to get out of the house for months now, as you can imagine.

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That's it for now. I'm hoping to find time this weekend to install a new pickup into my Reverend Daredevil, so keep your eyes peeled...

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/16 at 08:05 AM

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On 05/19 (09:14 PM), .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) said...

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