Almost There...

I was quite surprised when the crew came out with-in two days to finish the construction of the shop. They built the paint booth and put the gutters on, finishing up with everything we had contracted for.

Now it is time to get the water run inside the shop and the electric and lights as well as a small deck for the compressors to sit on outside in the back of the shop. Db is thrilled so far.

A Common Question

People often ask me why we decided to place our manufactured home in the position we did. Actually, we didn't have any choice!

Our ten acre plot is mostly wetland woods. The county engineer told us where we could put the raised septic system and the home. In order to hook up the homes plumbing to the raised septic system, it had to be placed in the manner in which you see it.

Because our driveway is so long; (500') we decided to put in a circular turn-a-round out front. Did I want it this close to our home? NO! Does it have any good qulalities? YES, it is not as far to carry groceries.

In the center of the turn-a-round is a grove of five different species of Phyllostachys bamboo. P. nigra 'Henon', P. vivax, P. nigra 'Punctata', P. vivax , P. vivax 'Aureocaulis', P. aureosulcata.

Across the drivway bordering our neighbors chainlink fence is P. Aurea. I could not understand why the bamboo was not flourising as it is well known to do until I realized the electric company was sneaking in and spraying it right under the electric lines. Of course when I found out I was engraged and promised all kinds of retribution which have never come to fruition. They not only have kept the boo from flourising with this poison, they also totally killed a mixed shrub border that grew there. I have found that whatever they used must have been on the order of AGENT ORANGE because NOTHING will grow there now...not even weeds.

Mankind, in it's complete stupidity, will be the one to destroy it's own future as well as all animal and plant life here on earth. You can take THAT to the bank!

BAMBOO'S LOVING ARMS

This is one of the groves of bamboo that protects our home as well as our small guest cottage. It is Semiarundinaria fastuosa and is about 25' tall.

I have watched this boo literally bend to the ground and snap right back in hurricanes and tornadoes, breaking up the winds and protecting like the loving arms of a mother. It is a Godsend to mankind and needs to be used more for other than it's beauty.

SHOP IS COMPLETED...FINALLY!

Finally, at least the outside of the shop is done; well, almost. Still needs gutters which will be put on in a few more weeks. The inside is still needing the paint booth finished, electricity and lights. Db figures he can fit six cars inside but will not be doing as much as he used to since he is going into semi-retirement. Can any middle class in the US afford to totally retire anymore?

Shop Is Moving Along

It's a shame the way Americans have no ambition to work at manual labor in this day and age. I imagine much of it comes from the terrible drug problems we have in this country. Too many young people have nothing on their minds but getting high or stoned on the many available illegal drugs out there. What a waste of a life!

It has been taking us forever to get our shop built because the contractor cannot get enough qualified help. Because of this almost ten days went by since this pic was taken and today when they finally started working on it again. Soon the rains will be here and then it will be difficult to get trucks in here with gravel for the parking and driveways. I hope they get a move on as it is supposed to start raining the next three days.

As far as gardening goes, I have planted one flat of pansies but need to buy more as it was not nearly enough. I usually plant hundreds of pansies every fall to give us a splash of color throughout the chiller months of the year . It brings such a lift to the spirits to walk out side in the morning and see the pansies smiling faces to greet you. Db, definitely appreciates them and compliments me on them every year.

I have been potting up tons of Agave's for the spring nursery sales. I only grow to sell that which I love myself. I see no reason to grow plants I'm not totally passionate about.

Well, I am pooped out and a nice, relaxing bath is calling me so later gator!...

PS: Ignore dates on my pics as I forget to change the camera's calendar setting when I remove the batteries for charging. OOOOOOOOOOOP's!!!!

PAPER WASPS

WASPS! The very name brings fear and shivers to some who are afraid of these small, soldiers of the garden. Such a shame!

I have a large back porch on the back of our home of about 30' X 18'. It has a high railing and lattice all around so that when our grands were little we didn't have to worry about them tumbling off on visits. Now the youngest is 8 and that is not a worry anymore, but I still love the look of it.

The roof of the porch is white coated aluminum and paper wasps love to use the corners as nesting spots from spring through fall and even beyond. (these wasps will hatch throughout winter during our frequent warm spells) I guess this season I have close to twenty nests all over the porch not counting what is under the porch. "ARE YOU NUTS?" you say? Naw! Just smart!

I grow many, many, plants on my porch every year as part of my nursery operation and for my own gardens and pots/baskets. The railing is a perfect place to place large flats of seedlings or cuttings as well as the floor itself. Because of all these young plants, insect damage would normally be a big problem, but not for me. Why? Because I allow the paper wasps to live in peace on my porch and their favorite diet is BUGS!

While other people are ordering Lady Bugs and every other insect eating bug out there at $$$, I am sitting back and letting the paper wasps take care of my plants. They do a better job of keeping my plants bug free than any insecticide could ever do and for free!

People ask me, "Well, aren't you afraid of getting stung?" NOPE! Those wasps are just busy taking care of business and have no interest in messing with me. I sit out there and talk with my daughter in GA once a week with nary a problem. I had my grands all summer and they would do crafts out there without the wasps bothering them in the slightest. I have taught the kids that if they don't bother the wasps then the wasps won't bother them. It's true! All they want to do is live in peace and do their thing. Too bad humans couldn't be so easy to get along with, eh? Later gator!

FALL

Fall may be here but the heat is still on here in southern Alabama. Hot and humid days in the mid to upper 80's but is still better than our usual mid to upper 90's. I just can't take the heat anymore due to health problems.

Db's shop is finally going up but it is a slow and frustrating process due to the contractors labor issues. Just like Db, he can't find any good help anymore. No one wants to do any physical labor in this day and age. Of course part of the problem is out there in the news every day and I won't go there in this blog. I do have another blog where I share my own personal political opinions, but not here.

I am in the process of moving tropicals inside now as once in awhile the temps drop to the mid 50's. Some of my tropicals are so tender that they would not be able to even take 50's, so I'm just doing the move now. It takes about a week to get them all situated inside for the winter. I basically do a "six months in-six months out" rotation even though many could stay out a couple more months.

I have started the fall/winter veges in pots that I grow outside. Leaf lettuce of all kinds, some root crops such as Turnips, radish, etc.. then other greens such as Mustard, Collards, Spinach, and of course Garlic.

My hot peppers are still producing and I am collecting them daily and putting them in a baggie in the freezer to use in my cooking throughout the fall/winter. There is nothing that will spice up a pot of soup, stew, or chili like a hot pepper of any kind. I grow Jalapenos, and Chili's, all in pots.

Db is getting the Annual Rye Grass seed today so that I can start sowing it as soon the rains come. It's useless to sow it before then as the birds will just eat it all before it gets a chance to germinate, (3-5 days) and at 25.00 for 50# bag... (usually around 500 lbs. total ) I do not want to see it used as bird food. I love the birds and grow many, many, plants here on our homestead for them as well as keep feeders filled with sunflowers so I don't feel guilty at all. :-)

I am going to try and write more in this blog from now on. I realized that I can use my MSN calendar to send myself a daily reminder to write about what's going on here at The Bamboo Jungle. Later gator!

The Summer

This has been another strange summer with mostly droughty conditions and now Tropical Storm Fay on top of us. Hopefully, before it's all said and done we will get the pond filled back up to the normal level. It didn't take long at all for it to drop to last years lowest level this summer. My poor fish!!!

The bamboo groves have kept us from getting any damage from the winds and we are happy and thankful for that. It takes these storms in stride; bending, weaving, and whipping about with nary a leaf drop.

It is hard to believe how fast this summer seemed to fly by. The end of August already? Goodness! Everything did quite well despite the drought with all the mulch I used.

Having my two grand kids for two months probably helped to make it fly by but now they are back home and in school along with their mama who is studying to be an RN. God bless them!

Memorial Day Weekend

Where has the time gone? I can't believe that I haven't kept up with this blog since January. I need a way to get reminders so that I can keep this up-to-date. If anyone knows of a reminder service for blog writers, please let me know.

We have gotten plenty of rain this spring so the jungle is growing by leaps and bounds. I need to get out there with my camera and start snapping some pics. If the darn battery door wasn't broken and required taping for each session, I would have hundreds by now. I need to buy a new camera but I am not financially able to do that right now.

My daughter, her best friend, and the grands are coming in tomorrow. I will be watching the grands for six weeks this summer while my daughter starts her nursing clinicals. She is making me very proud as a recently single mom with all her struggles, yet always staying forward looking and positive thinking. God bless her and the kids.

I sold some rare tropical plants this spring and am soon putting up some tropical fruit trees for sale. It has been a weird weather pattern causing me to actually move my plants back inside four times in late spring! Even last night, at nearly June, the outside temperature was only 58 at 4 A.M. !!! Unheard of in southern Alabama!!! It is saving us on the cost of air conditioning 24/7 so I shan't complain.

The Day lilies are starting to bloom. I think I grow more passionate about these easy to care for plants every year. The leaves stay nearly all winter long and they are no trouble at all. I wish I could say the same thing for my Bearded Iris that a friend in IL gave me some years ago. They bloomed wonderfully that first year that I had planted them in pots, but now that they are in the ground they just put out great leaves but no flowers. I think I am going to put them back into pots. There is no telling what is causing them not to bloom.

The bamboo of which I am famous and for which I was nic-named many years ago is going fantastic this year....well, all but the Moso which got hit by a late freeze and killed all the beautiful, fat, tall, culms in front of my kitchen window. Db and I have decided that a thick, mulch is in order this winter to keep it from shooting so early. It is in front of my kitchen window and faces East so it gets early morning sun every day and I think the ground warms up to quickly. It started shooting on March 3rd. which is way too early.

The Semiarundinaria Fastuosa which is planted on the side of our guest cottage has taken off like a rocket this year and is doing just what I hoped it would. It's here, there, and everywhere! I can't say enough good things about this bamboo as far as beauty, fast spreading, the ability to hedge out unwanted views or for privacy issues. The leaves will go from top to bottom but you can trim them to any height you choose. I have some that I leave alone and some that I trim up in order to walk through or under. Check it out if you are in the market for a bamboo for privacy cause this is the winner hands down in my book.

We put a screened gazebo up on the dock some months back and that is where the girls and I will be relaxing when they come in Saturday. I have a southeast Asian theme going inside with hanging plants, potted plants, and candles. There are metal Tikki torches that surround the pond and it is a site to behold. We also have an oscillating fan on a stand, music, (Exotica Cd's) and a round table with a tablecloth made from Sari's. It is very relaxing and a favorite spot for my hubby and I to enjoy on Sundays or Saturday evenings when he gets home from his shop. It was all done very cheaply, but looks grand.

Well, I have a million more things to get done before tomorrow so I will end here for now. Have a blessed and safe Memorial Day weekend from all of us here at The Bamboo Jungle N Gardens....

Messed Up My Blog

I just noticed that my blog is all screwed up so will have to get into the template and fix it soon.

Rainy day so just staying inside on the comp. Later gator!

Winter Sowing

Now is a good time for me to start my winter sowing. The temps have finally dropped for awhile and I can get out there and begin to sow seeds under mulch or on top of the ground and my pots for winter sowing. I do this with only the seeds that are cold hardy like many different greens and lettuces, radishes, carrots...there are quite a few that you can do this with including tree and flower seeds.



I also like to begin taking hardwood cuttings about now for rooting. Some I will root right on the tree or shrub. I remove a ring of bark and place damp sphagnum moss around the wound then wrap with plastic wrap or foil. I leave this on till around mid March and then I remove and cut off the well-rooted branch which gets potted up in a quart container and set in a lightly shaded area outside away from winds. I especially like to do this with my blueberry plants. Can one ever have enough berries?



I will have to start publishing some of my favorite berry recipes here that are tried and true like my cobblers and muffins or my daughters killer blueberry/blackberry cheesecake that my husband actually has dreams about, it is sooooooo good!



Well, gotta run for now. Dr.'s appointment this morning. God bless all of you in the northern part of Alabama , Georgia and east who may be socked in this morning from the recent ice and snow. Later gator!

Cold January Day

A cold week ahead. I hate the cold but at least it is sunny so that helps. My daughter in N.E. GA is supposed to get snow on Wed/Thursday so she may have to stay home from college those days even if they don't close the schools. Her professors said just call but don't try and come in if you live on the mountain back roads....which she does.

Here I am planting more lettuces and spinach in pots. My son and I really can eat up the home grown greens! YUM! I am also getting pots planted up with herb seeds and will plant them out in raised beds this spring. Fresh herbs from your own garden taste so much better than the tastelss dried herbs from the supermarket. There really is no comparison.

Went to Super Walmart on Sunday and bought some Caladiums to plant out in pots for the greenhouse. That is one plant that you never have to worry about and just gives you consisitant color and beauty all season till nearly frost. For we here in the deep south..that is a L O N G time!

I also bought a bread maker but was surprised that there was only one to choose from and only one on the shelves. Are breadmakers now passe'? Is the thrill gone? I use my other breadmaker that my daughter gave me for Chrismas many years ago almost every day till I wore it out! I hope this one lasts a long time. I guess I over-use them, but there is nothing like homemade bread as well as making your own pizza dough with it. I can't knead anymore and found my Kitchenaid mixer does not do doughs as well as they make you believe they do soooooooooooo, thus the breadmachine.

We have company coming in next month so I am trying to get some deep cleaning done around here. Guess I best get to it again. Later gator!

END OF 2007

THIS YEAR SHALL NOT BE MISSED! It has been nothing but drought and misery for plants and animals alike...and I include we humans in the "animal" sense. Southern and western states fighting over water rights, farmers going bankrupt as they attempt to make it big with "bio-fuel" and instead watch as everything burned up in the fields. GREED! It will be your un-doing every time!!!

Every year brings new hope and this coming new year is no different. I am making plans for more raised beds for fruits and veges as well as planting the two big Trachy Palms that my hubby gave me for Christmas. Right now they are sitting in their pots outside, patiently waiting for their holes to be dug. I'm still debating as to where to plant them. Our place is laid out so strangely due to the necessity for a raised septic system and our overly long (90') manufactured home and then a 125'X50' retention/fish pond fifteen feet on the other side of the home, that I am in constant turmoil as to where to plant things. As the bamboo groves continue to expand and spread hither and yon, it will all soon be a "moot" point, anyway.

Db's shop has the foundation finished, but that is all for right now. I hope we can complete it before summer. I want to get the landscaping completed around the building before the heat sets in and I will have no energy or will to do it.

I won some succulent and cactus cuttings off of EBay the other day and really lucked up! Thirty cuttings (two of each species) which arrived last night when hubby brought in the mail. Since I had no mix to plant them in other than my tropical mix, I just wet some Sphagnum moss and stuck the cuttings in there until I can get some, hopefully this weekend. I'm really getting a passion for these now and have found myself becoming a collector....just what I need...another plant collection!!!!

Well, enough for this go-round. I hope you enjoy the picture of the Tree Dahlia bloom. Later gator!

End of a Season

It is the end of a season after tomorrow night. We should get our first frost and all the tropicals I keep outside year round will hit the dust. I will mulch them well and wave by till spring comes round once again.

The drought has been horrid! I can't even describe how bad it is to those who have never been in something like this 100 year happening. I'm lucky as I live on a wetland and even though it is much dryer than normal, the trees have been taking it all in stride. There roots will just go down further to seek the water they need to survive.

The pond is down by 3' but all the fish are surviving. The last rain storm brought it up about a foot once it was all said and done and I was very surprised. If we don't start getting some rain soon, though...it will start to go down again. We have only lost two fish through it all and both were due to Great Blue Herons trying to spear them and dropping them due to their size and weight.

I have started my winter garden and have garlic, lettuces, and spinach growing well. They are in pots out front and on the back porch for easy snipping while cooking. Just the thing for a sandwich or quick salad.

I am now getting deep into Square Foot Gardening (TM) and bought some lumber to make my first 4'X4' raised bed. I will enclose some pics as soon as it is up and going, but that may not be until spring. I will probably just over-sow it with annual rye grass till spring with some pansies here and there for a spot of cheery color.

Speaking of pansies; I have four hanging baskets full and about ten more to plant up so I better get on the ball with them. How i would love to have the health and energy of youth! Ah, well....I must just take life as it comes and rejoice in my good days. Later gator!

DROUGHT AND SUCH

This has been the worst drought in over a hundred years for we here in most of Alabama. It has been devastating to the farmers, but of course you don't hear much of that on the National news...who cares, right? It's more important to talk of war and elections. You S.O.B.'s !!!

The shop is ready to be poured now. Just waiting on the cement guys to get out here. Hopefully today because it's supposed to rain tomorrow.

Db has changed the layout of the shop and will have only two garage doors on the outside plus one entrance door. It would require too much fill to have the other two doors on the side as that side is low and would have to be raised up by about 12 truckloads of fill dirt...mucho $$. He is going to put a garage door on the inside of the shop where the paint booth will be.

As far as any gardening goes, I have been potting up the Trachys I started this winter from seed. They are growing quickly and will be ready to pot up to gallons come February for the nursery.

I also dug and potted up some of the Alocasia 'Borneo Giants" I was growing in the ground around our home. They seem to be happy with the change and are taking off like a rocket! One of them by the front porch had toppled over and when I dug it up to see what was going on, I found the beginning of rot from the nibbling of a mouse or vole. I cut out all the rot, let it dry for a day and potted it up. It is now happy as a Lark and growing like mad in my master bath solarium where it will over-winter along with many more tropicals.

My Dahlia 'Imperialis,' also known as 'Tree Dahlias', are shooting up like weeds and should bloom come November if we don't get a frost. I am going to dig them after they are finished blooming so I can divide them. I want to pot some up for sale this spring either at the nursery or on EBAY.

I have a ton of work to do today so better get off and get going. I will endeavor to write in this blog more often in the future for anyone who happens to keep up with my musings. Later gator! deb @ The Bamboo Jungle N Gardens

More Shop Talk

The shops construction is under way. Since I last posted it was graded again, a special fill brought in and leveled. Next, the foundation forms will be built next week and the concrete poured. Db showed me a plan on paper last night and it will be very nice at 30' X 50' with four bays and an entrance door. Two in front and two on the long side facing the highway. What you see in this picture is my greenhouse and office/gift shop. We are having the buildings all painted green to blend in as we did with our guest cottage by the pond.

I am going to take some pictures today so I can keep a running pictorial journal for Db and later, present him with a collage of the process for his office wall. Speaking of offices, he will be moving his present office out here after the building is completed. It is similar to the one in this picture only smaller and he has had it for about 18 years. The one you see here is around 15 years old. As you can see they last and last if kept up like any building.

With all the outbuildings we have now, we have a "sort of" Compound and I will be landscaping it in such a way that all are connected with paths and small courtyard gardens. The courtyards will be enclosed by hedges, gates, arbors covered in the many wild vines that grow in abundance here with no help from me. Muscadines, Passion Flowers, Honeysuckle, Ivy...just to name a few.

We recently had to cut down a natural arbor that had been produced after one of the many hurricanes we experienced a few years ago. A tree had toppled part way over and Muscadines clamored over the Oak Tree and latched onto a Willow tree on the other side. Db loved it so much that he left it be and would prune it only enough to keep it passable by vehcles. It just killed me to see all the un-ripe fruit tumbling down to the driveway as he sawed and pulled away at what nature had made with no help from man. We will let it grow over again as soon as the big trucks are through with their comings and goings.

The drought and 100+ degree temps. have pretty much put gardening to a screeching halt, other than keeping everything watered sparingly...just enough to keep my rare plants alive. Praying constantly for rain and relief from the 100 yr. drought- record- breaker. Later gator....

Rainy Week Means Smiles Here!

We have had rain every day this week except for yesterday and that is good new! I guess the drought is over, but we still need much more before we can make it official.

I was fortunate enough to find someone on EBAY who lives in SC and sent me some Water Hyacinths. They have been outlawed in AL but this woman obviously was not aware of that as she sold me a big box of them. I hope they grow in my fish pond and help shade/cool the water. There were no roots on the plants and I am not familar with how they grow, but I assume they will root.

It is ridiculous how they will outlaw any plant that is beautiful, grows well and needs little assistance from mankind to keep free of insect and disease. Instead, they need to find a good use for the plants. Look at all the uses found for our nearly native Kudzu !!!! (by the way, I am a Kudzu fan from way back) If you wish to flame me on this in the comment section...don't bother; I've heard it all. I am not alone in my thoughts on this.

Some of the plants I grow that I have been flamed on are, Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus , Arundo Donax, Kudzu, Japanese Honeysuckle...just to name a few. I've been growing them for years and keeping them in check. It's not hard if you aren't the lazy type.

Well, since it is cooler today, I am off to pot up some more plants for the nursery. Have a ton of Trachys that need to move up as well as Papaya and Tapioca trees..later gator!

DOCK GAZEBO PROJECT

Db and I have been working on the dock gazebo for the past month and today we will finally put the screening in. When that is completed we will celebrate with a little champagne toast tomorrow night. I am trying to think of what to put inside the gazebo as it has four corner shelves and four hooks to hang "whatever" inside. With my penchant for a "tropical" theme, you just have to know that it will be exotic! Ha! Ha!

I will take a picture of it tomorrow night and post it here. This current picture is when Db began work on enlarging the dock to accommodate the gazebo's larger size. I will say one thing...it was definitely an experience with just we two putting it up!!! One time it almost fell on my head and bent a few of the metal hinges, but Db managed to straighten them out with his hands; then we ended up having to take one corner down in order to get the second roof on correctly. It's been an interesting journey; one of many in our twenty-two years together! Later gator...

Alabama Drought '07

The on-going drought here in some of the southern states is absolutely devastating! My fish pond is down by two feet and I worry about all the many stocked fish we have. So far no fish kill, but my dh tells me fish are dying in ponds in Montgomery now. I pray for a tropical storm or tropical depression daily...in fact off and on ALL DAY! Since I live on a wetland, it's not as bad as some have it, but I am starting to see leaf kill on some of the plants on higher ground.

We have a new puppy. His name is Little Boo and he is twelve weeks old now. He is a PekeaChi. Have no idea if that is a recognized breed now or not and really don't care. He is a doll. Am having no problems with house training him but am exhausted from going up and down the steps so many times a day to make sure he doesn't have any accidents. He is black and white and looks more Chi than Peke.

Our son left for Florida on Monday where he and a buddy have moved. He loves the ocean and this was always his dream so now that he is 21 he decided this was the right time. He wants to eventually become a police officer and has had to wait till he turned 21. He wants to make sure that he is happy there before he joins the police force, though. Only time will tell, but so far so good.

Now that I have a completely empty nest, I find myself in a bit of a slump. I am so used to taking care of others that I feel lost. You would think with all the critters I have to care for that I wouldn't feel this way, but you can't cook for your critters and find yummy recipes to try out just for them. Well, I do make my own healthy puppy and kitty snacks) I'm sure this will pass as I have sent off two daughters into the world over a decade ago and I survived, but then again Chad-E was just a little guy then and I had my hands full.

I bought that tonic that is supposed to be so great for plants with all the vitamins/minerals/hormones. Well, guess what? It's not what it is cracked up to be at all. I have noticed absolutely no difference in any of my plants since I started using it. My own secret plant tonic does, though, so I will just continue to use it instead.

The banana plants are taking off like a rocket with these super hot days and I am keeping them well-watered so they keep it up. I must remember to water the Butia palm that Db and Chad-E gave me for Mothers Day. It's out back by the chicken coup and clothes line and I tend to forget it when I get busy out there. These 100 degree days are murder though, and I can't forget!!!

Well, It's 6:20 and I want to get out in the gardens before it gets too hot so I will quit here for now. Later gator!

Where has time gone....?

I can't believe how fast time is slipping away from me. It is so depressing to get on this computer with my slow modem. The internet is so far advancing and not considering the hell we folks on slow modems have to go through just to read our email, let alone try and surf anything on the web!

I live out in the country on a main Hwy. that is fast growing with homes for the rich. You would think that they would get DSL out here. The more the area grows, the harder it is to use the internet as the phone lines (old as it is) just get too much traffic on them. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Can't something be done about this? No, not interested in Satellite. Have heard nothing but complaints about it from folks around here.

Well, as far as the gardens go, the drought is bound to take it's toll eventually if we don't receive some blessed rain soon. The sport fishing pond is down by two feet and losing more water every day that passes with no rain or measurable rain. My water bill jumed twenty dollars last month from having to water despite using as much mulch as I can get my hands on. Guess I will have to go out into the woods with a tarp and start raking up leaves for more mulch. Unfortunately, I need to make more borders around the beds/trees in order to keep them contained or else the night wildlife just rakes it out everywhere by morning in their search for bugs.

Db has been working on the dock since the water is down. We bought a really attractive screen room at Lowes last month and had to enlarge the dock by about six inches all the way around for it to fit. We did that Sunday so now all we have to do is paint the new boards and then put the screen house up. That will be a wonderful place to get away from the nasty mosquitoes that drive us in every night.

I stopped selling plants and still have a goodly amount of Tapioca, Papaya, and some Tree Tomatoes left (Tamarillos) Guess I will pot them up to one gallons for next year and raise the price a few dollars then. Too hot to continue shipping, unfortunately. I could put up some more Yucca trunk cuttings. They would make it through the heat with no problems.

The area was cleared for the shop this morning. The gentleman was out there for about three hours bush hogging and grading. It will really be nice to have Db back here on the homestead, just like the good old days. He is really excited and has drawn more layouts for the shop building than I can count! My job will be to landscape it all, which I, too, am looking forward to.:-)

Enough for this go-round. I need to get out there and take photos of the progress from start to finish and now is as good a time as any. Later gator!