Tuesday, April 22, 2008

New Fence...

No, that's not the new fence. That's T-Bone! Isn't he pretty? We're in our neighbor's yard taking photos. I was on the phone with Cecile this afternoon and she mentioned some posts she's currently read are "boring." I asked if mine ever are. She started to laugh. I said "Is that a yes?" She laughed harder. She never said my posts are boring in actual words, she just kept laughing, which of course means yes. This may bore some of you. Be warned. Don't go beyond this point. DANGER~DANGER~DANGER. As most of you know, our fence was replace a number of weeks ago. Here are some photos. Let the snoring begin. Remember, you can inlarge any photo by simply clicking on it.
Honey, you need some water? And look how those two new pieces of sod perfectly fit his feet!
Looking from Betty Ann's yard into ours.
Looking into our "Southern Neighbor's" yard (Betty Ann's to the North. Jim's to the South). Yes I know, the grass looks like hell. After losing the tree I've been in a funk. I haven't fertilized. When I took this photo the grass was still "greening up," (it's basically green all year, but some parts croak) but if I'd fertilized it would have looked a whole lot better. The back yard without the tree is so odd. I'm not used to it yet. I was way in the back garden the other day and looked at the house without the tree and started to cry. Everything looks so out of sorts. It's been months, as most of you know since losing her, but I haven't adjusted. As I write this I have tears in my eyes. Obviously I don't like change or losing a valued tree. I know, other people move on so easily. I don't.
The trash/recyling area. Planted that garden about a year and a half ago and it's just beautiful. When the fence was taken down the contractor and his assistant pushed the climbing roses over and tried not to cut too much, but they cut. Broke my heart. Anyone who grows climbing roses understand that pain. The purple is Spanish Lavender. I swear to God, it's in bloom year round. I love it. I should be cutting it back about now, but don't have the heart! I planted mostly herbs in this area and they've rewarded me 10 fold. Oh, and we have so many bins because we have two for recycling and two for yard waste (one for trash). Yup, California is pretty progressive and so are we! They're usually more organized, but the contractor pushed them into a little ugly group!
I'm unable to get these two photos apart to write inbetween, so screw it, I'll write about them both here. The first one is of fence panels. I asked our contactor to please save two or three of the best ones for projects. He selected keepers. I was going to make birdhouses with them, but now, realize I want to use them for an arbor. I know, you can't quite see it, but I can. I'll show you what I mean in a later post. They'll be beautiful surrounded by climbing roses.
The second photo is looking into Betty Ann's yard after the fence had been completely removed. It felt lovely. I almost wished the fence didn't have to be replaced. It was such an open feeling and T-Bone loved to run on her new sod! All we needed was the other new fence down and Bobby would have been happily running with T-Bone. Betty Ann an our neighbor Jim have the most beautiful trees. Betty Ann had the Ash nearest our property removed last year and broke our heart. It was enormous and beautiful, but sick. It changed the whole complexion of our yard, and then we lost our Ash. Holy moly. A double wammy.
Another view of Jim's yard with a big old bag of cement tucked in just for fun. Oh and three lilac's still in containers. I bought them about three years ago for almost $50 each and have yet to find a place for them. I know, I'm pathetic.
As the fence was coming down I had to take this photo. The neighbor in back has Wisteria on an arbor that is to die for. This photo doesn't do it justice. Trust me. We've never seen the neighbors behind until Betty Ann had all her shrubs and little trees removed a few months ago. We freaked out! Seriously. Rob was on the phone with her trying to convince her to STOP!!! She didn't. Now we have a clear view of our neighbors to the back. I can't say we like it because we don't, but that Wisteria is stunning!
I love aqua and love the contractor's little helper. Our path used to be wider, but plants have a way of saying "I want to plunge over the edge and move to the next plot." I don't have the heart to say no.
Our dear contractor, James. We love him and so does T-Bone. This was taken in Betty Ann's yard. Yup, that's our house and the roof and gutters that are about to be replaced. Yes, I know, the storage shed is ugly and here when we bought the house. It's going to be replace, but for now it's useful. I plan to put the new one on the other side of the house, so when you walk though the gate you don't see a storage shed.
Supervisor ~ T-Bone. He was in his element on this project.
I realize I didn't take a photo of the new fence! I'll do that! Until next time, love to all.
XO

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, I've got a deal for you...you come to my house to get some "sleep" (yea, right!) and I'll go to your house!!! I just want to come over and sit in your garden...drink lemonade...and talk about life in general. ahhhh, that sounds sooo nice!

T-Bone is so cute!! That name fits him well!

Take care!
xoxoxo

P.S. And I don't think Zack's posts were boring...I think that's who she was talking about...yours isn't either.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

LOL! I have to say I have NEVER found any of your post boring!! They are all either fun and delightful, or informative, or heart rendering....

Keep on keeping on Suzanne!
Penny

Leah said...

What fun to see all these photos. T-Bone is quite a looker.

I'm really really sorry about your tree--I can understand why you're still having a hard time with its loss--I don't move on from things quickly either--and who says you should? Everyone's got their own pace for coping with loss, and anyway, profound loss never does disappear completely, only becomes less raw and immediate...a tree like that is a loved one, it was a constant presence in your life...

sorry, Suzanne, I didn't mean to be a total depressant, I just meant to tell you I understand.

I also wanted to ask whether you think I could grow a little Meyer lemon tree in our house--I saw them advertised, and they said it's possible to grow them indoors. But what do you think? It seems too good to be true...

p.s. Hedgehog loves the sidebar photos of your cats and dog interacting.

bindhiya said...

Dear Suze,

Hope you had a beautiful day!
T-bone is a cutie!
Your garden is so beautiful!
For me rose cottage is the first place I visit in blogger land...that much I love your place...
♥ & ((hugs))
bindi

Suzanne said...

Random Chickie~

Come on over baby. I have a comfy white wicker chair in the yard with your name on it. Oh, and we have tons of meyers lemons on the tree, so lemonade is no problem. Drink and sit till your hearts content!!! And because your house sounds calmer than mine (believe it or not!), I'll stop by and try to catch up on my sleep.

Almost all our animals are named after Seinfeld characters. Yup, it's true. Even T-Bone. Remember when George wanted his nick name to be T-Bone, but it was stolen in the conference room by another employee?! And everyone sat around the table saying "T-Bone, T-Bone, T-Bone..." I swear to God, when that episode is on and T-Bone hears it he goes all nutty! Why? Because he knows everyone's talking to him! Suddenly he's Mr. Popular!

Love ya ~ XO

Suzanne said...

Hey my favorite Lavender Lady, thank you. My heart sort of swelled and so did my eyes. I love that you come here and enjoy yourself. That's my intent, oh and also to get some crap off my chest!!! Apparently it's working because I feel less burdened!

XO

Suzanne said...

Leah, Leah, Leah,

You are such a dear friend. No, you aren't a depressant. You said exactly what I needed to hear. That tree left such a huge void. I don't even know how to explain it really. It's so odd when something or someone dear leaves you and all your left with is a memory. Maybe when the new tree is planted I'll be able to move on, but for now I just seem to wallow and morn. 60 feet of absolute beauty, gone. Where do you bury something like that?

A meyers lemon tree in your house. That's an interesting concept. I hope it's a dwarf tree. Our's is huge and I can't quite see that growing in a house! However, anything can be grown indoors if given the proper light and care, but if you have a space outside, I'd leave it outside during the warm months, then bring it inside before a hard frost. Is that a possibility? That would definately work. If your only option is to keep it inside, then it absolutely must go next to a window that get the most sun. It's citrus...it requires a great deal of sun. Let me know what you decide. It'll be fun to keep tabs on the little fella!

Oh, and by the way, I'm a huge fan of Hedgehog after she drove the vehicle with all those bleachers for us!!! She's welcome to covet my sidebar all she wants! We have an amazing collection of wee ones and love them to death. I'm happy to hear someone else enjoys their company too. "Hi Heggie!"

Love you my dear, and thank you for your kind words. They helped more than you know.

XO

Suzanne said...

Leah, why the hell don't I proof before I post.

Okay, "you're," not your. And I left an "s" of something, can't remember what, but I know you'll catch it you little word hound!

Suzanne said...

Bindi,

You matter so much in my life. The fact that you bless this blog is an honor. You are the constant voice of reason and kindness and you are so beloved by all of us. And you have a wicked sense of humor! You're smart and funny and all the things that make a dear friend a dear friend. I love you.

XO

Lavinia said...

These photos are so pretty...of course I *had* to enlarge the one with the birdbath....cuz I'm the "birdbath lady".

I'm a little unclear on whose yard the birdbath is in. Is it yours? That birdbath is just lovely.

You have a lot of land. I am on a city block and I have a small backyard. All that open space looks like a dream to me.

Best regards...
Lavinia Ladyslipper

Suzanne said...

Lavinia~yup, that's my birdbath! We have a beautiful yard. We had a horrible storm a few months ago that took a 60 ft. tree and most of the fences and changed the complextion of our yard. It's been difficult as you might imagine. Everything has changed. Life is hard.