One more backyard project done - this one terrifies me - I probably killed my crepe myrtles....I hope not, but Mom passed on her green thumb to Ronna - there was nothing left for me.  I've killed more plants over the years.....

Here's the before picture.  I had cleaned up the bases a couple of weeks ago, but ran out of time to do much more.

And here they are after:

I had two green waste runs of branches. but only got one done.  (Those green waste dumps are expensive!  Not the dump fees, but buying AJ lunch when he helps me out gets expensive, lol!!)  I'll get the other one next weekend, and maybe the dump run in too....We'll see!

The trees are beginning to bloom - it's springtime!

 

And it's done!  The next time I say "and we'll just put some rock down" just slap me would you?  We hauled in a yard of rocks (which according to Google weigh around a ton...) in my little trailer (full to the brim....) and "we" unloaded them.  Ralph helped me until he wore out, and AJ helped after that, so it went pretty quickly, but....that was a lot of rock to move!  We went back after unloading the rock and picked up some boulders to add (let me re-phrase that "I" picked up some boulders.....they are way to heavy for Ralph to pick up!).  The landscaping yard has them all lined up by size - $10.00 boulders, $20.00 boulders, etc. and on up.  I got two $20.00 boulders and three $10.00 boulders.  I don't know the weight, but it was pushing my max to lift the $20.00 boulders....

 

And my daffodils are very happy!  For an impulse buy, this is great!

 

Here's (one of) the quilts I'm working on.  This one has a home already - AJ's friend Jeff.  He and Yessica were married almost 2 years ago, and I promised AJ a quilt for them.  Disclaimer - they may have gotten married almost two years ago, but they didn't tell anyone for 6 months, and then I let Jeff pick out his quilt.  Finally, at Christmas time, Yessica was here and approved this quilt.....

This is another quilt - this one is for the quilt club.  So far, I've missed-cut two blocks and have to pick up more fabric - not a good sign!

 

And I was right!  The daffodil bloomed!!  I have a hyacinth and a tulip there too, I think...

 

An impulse buy at Walmart a couple of weeks ago - a container of flower bulbs.  I have a crocus blooming!  The daffodil is next, I think...

 

One of our sunny spring days - and there was an egret down by the creek!

 

Happy belated Valentine's Day!  Alli's helper worked with Alli to put together this Valentine's Day card and M&M butterflies for us.....I don't think she had a lot of help from Alli, but it was very cute.  I took a couple to Kirby and Ronna last weekend - it's always nice to get Valentine candy....

 

A few more shots of my weekend - Koo and Luna kept me company most of the day, and I'd been wondering why this bush didn't look right anymore.....and Koo's been playing in the middle of it....really???

I did have a big lantana in a half-barrel planter here - but the barrel was self-destructing - it was here when we bought the house.  AJ and I dug that out and I put a French lavender plant there...

And one of my happy hummers....

 

And the "Work-in Process" front yard.  The dirt is gone, so now I need to get some more rocks to put back on top.  Then, we have birdfeeders to go there.  I really, really wanted a big rock arrangement with a water feature there, but...just the rocks were going to cost $4,000 or so - and then I would need to hire someone to run electricity and water to the feature.  Bird feeders it is.....pretty and functional!

Here is the dirt/mulch area in the chicken pen.  I got the whole side yard cleaned up, straightened up, and set up for the chickens.  Ralph got chicken wire to put up around the HVAC and generator area, but not until late afternoon, and I was out of daylight, and oomph, to get that put up.

The mound of mulch doesn't look that big, but Sunday I dug out the remains of the sycamore tree in the front yard and moved it to the new chicken yard.  (It seemed a lot bigger when you have to dig it out!)  The biggest problem is that the mulch is sitting on top of the rocks, so, while the top part was easy - nice and fluffy mulch - once I dug down a bit, I was having to dig around and through rocks.

And here's the new chicken yard, before.  I put pavers down by the end by the fence, creating a "yard" of sorts (pavers are in the wheelbarrow in the foreground) and then dug and dumped a lot of mulch!  (AJ did come help for the hardest part - he showed up for the last few loads....)

I did have another helper while I worked - Picot sat in the window and kept me company.

And....the finished project!  The patio set is painted and ready for warmer weather!  I even painted the baker's rack that is on the patio.  I like it!!!

Koo had to put in a cameo - she followed me around all day - and it was a busy one!   She spent Monday sleeping at my feet - only getting up when I went to lunch and when I quit...

Another unfinished project - about a month ago, I started painting my patio set.  We bought the set in the fall of 1999 (the year we bought the house), and it's held up very well, considering, but...it needs to be replaced.   Since we bought this set for $200 (end of season sale at K-Mart!) I have a hard time paying the $2,000+ that is the going price now.  It doesn't help that COVID has affected manufacturing of items either, and that everyone else jumped on the wagon to re-do their living spaces long before I did (I'm always late to the party...)  I figured that if I painted the set, it  might give it a fresh enough look to last a couple more years, and I can find something I like in the meantime.....so I took the plunge and started spray painting.  Then the rain came in.  I hope to do some more this weekend - they are forecasting sunny weather!

 

After quilting Leona's baby quilt, I decided my sewing desk needed an upgrade.  As a "temporary" measure, I had set up my sewing machine on a spare table.  This was supposed to be temporary - until I figured out if the arrangement would work.  The arrangement worked, and the table worked great for standard sewing, but not for quilting - moving even a small quilt around with the machine sitting on top of the table instead of the sewing surface flush with the table makes quilting harder than it has to be.  (The quilt is heavy, and the stitches can be uneven when the machine has to 'pull' the quilt, so you are constantly lifting and holding the quilt up.)  I posted a picture of my new table before....but it was just sitting in the room.

I finally got the room rearranged and got my machine on it - what a difference!  If I had known it would make that much of a difference, I would have done it sooner....my shoulders, arms, and back would have appreciated it.

 Now I'm on a hunt to replace the rest of my sewing table/computer desk arrangement.  I found what I want, but....it's out of stock at IKEA....one of these days.....

Leona requested a baby quilt for her niece - and asked if she could help pick out fabric for it.  I spent an hour and a half at Joann's with her and her sister, while they picked out fabric, with one last minute exchange while I was waiting in the cutting line.  Then I made a mock-up of the quilt on the design board, sent pictures to Leona, and Leona brought over two more fabrics to try out the next day.   Here are some of the designs we tried (I arranged them on the board, sent Leona a picture, she conferred with her sister, and I would rearrange.....needless to say, it took a while....I left the final design up for a week before I started putting together....just in case.)

But in the end, it turned out beautiful.

I'm loving playing with the focus on the new camera.   

These were taken by the B Street pier - the beach is in the background

And on my way back to the hotel...zoomed in - not bad considering the wind.  I'm surprised everything wasn't out of focus.

This is the full picture:

Sunday morning in Crescent City - cold and rainy.  Ralph stayed inside with a book, and my camera and I went for a walk....