Day after Christmas

The weather has been mild here so we took advantage of it and went out for a walk.


Got something to eat and browsed around.





Did some shopping too



Everyone was happy



......... "Can we go home now?"

Halloween

Ok I am going backwards now. Back to Halloween that is. Dan and I dressed up for a party

Yes that is Dan the Luchador



Me........ I went as a Cereal Killer.




We made some "Mummy Pops" pops for the kids and here is Elise enjoying her pop.

And her little brother Gage sinking his teeth into one.

They were cute

Day after Thanksgiving

This picture says it all - one man and his dog. Yup, both of them soaking up some rays. And sure why not, the weather is wonderful here at the moment.

The day after

As the weatherman promised, it is a warm sunny day here in Raleigh. Went out for a walk with Kerbi and the only signs of the storm I could see were leaves and twigs strewn all over the place. No apparent damage done to our home thank goodness









More good news. Charlotte is still here! I went to our rose garden at the side of the house to see if I could spot her and there she was. She has built her web on a rose bush this time. Currently her web is about one and a half feet wide. If it is anything like her last one, it will expand rapidly.
Welcome back Charlotte.



Oh this day keeps getting better. We didn't have any luck with the new tomatoes we planted this year (the ones we planted 6 years ago are still going strong) but I did notice something orange growing. Bent down and was excited to see it was a Habanero. Yippee.... you know where that is going...... into our chocolates. That is so cool. We have used pears and herbs from our garden in our chocolates and now we can use our own Habaneros. .......... Sweet!

Charlotte is gone........ and so is Irene, well from here anyway.

The storm has passed so I went outside to check if I could see any damage. The only casualty I saw was that Charlotte the Spider has gone and her web destroyed. Guess it couldn't withstand the strong winds. With any luck she didn't get blown away and so will rebuild it. I will miss her as she kept me entertained.

Well it is the quiet after the storm. It is 8:00pm and I have windows open to let the breeze through and Kerbi is outside sitting on the front porch for the first time today. It is dusk now and I can see the trees sway gently in the breeze ...... nothing like they were earlier today.

Here is a photo at 8:00



Our big Bird of Paradise plant in the blue pot got blown over but luckily the pot didn't break. All the furniture staid put during the storm which is great.


Finally here is a picture from the kitchen window as the sun goes down.

Charlotte's Web

Don't know why this spiders intrigues me but she does. Our Scribbler Spider is still at the side of the house and her web is expanding. Yesterday I tried to shake her web and accidentally tore it. Checked back later that day and it was already repaired.



Here is my illustration of the spider up close.

More from the back yard

Well I'm on a roll so why stop. Saw this creature move across the back yard and it wa moving quickly.



He was moving quick and as soon as we got close to him he hid inside his shell.

On the way back to the house, saw this black and yellow argiope - a scribbler spider. Checked again today and he is still there. Luckily they are harmless.





We were going to make truffles from this Dragonfruit but ate it instead. It was delicious.

Just your typical Friday

While I was siiting in our kitchen writing the prior post about the Possum, I looked out the window and this is what I saw.



We don't usually see the deer in our yard during the day so this was a real treat.
I watched him for about 20 minutes before he disappeared into the trees.



Armed with my camera I went down to the garden to see where he had gone. I now know who has been eating the pears off our tree! No sign of the deer but I did spot this little lizard.



It;s an Eastern Fence Lizzard that loves to eat spiders and insects so he scurried off.




As I got back up on the deck, I looked up in the sky and saw this hot air balloon. Evening balloon rides must be popular these long Summer evenings.



SATURDAY
This final photo is looking out our kitchen door onto the deck. It poured rain Saturday but we badly needed it. Maybe not so much all at once!

This little guy

The other day when I came home from work, I was greeted by Kerbi barking for my attention and leading me to the front door. She was hopping up and down to get out. Dan knew what was up and so held her tight. When we opened the front door, there was this little guy asleep by the stairs leading up to our door.



Well, needless to say Kerbi was obsessed with him the whole night. She had us up 4 times during the night to go out and check that spot. Thank goodness possums are nocturnal so he was gone. He hasn't been back since but Kerbi keeps checking just to be sure. And Dan can now get a nights sleep

Long hot Summer ...

Nothing like chillin' on the back deck in this hot weather. Mind you, couldn't sit out there for too long, had to go back indoors to cool off.

Family

Pete and Lisa, Michael and Ryan were in town and so came to visit us. Gosh the last time we met Pete and Lisa was at our wedding!!!!!

Not quite.....

I told Dan I had bought a Red, White and Blue flag for our garden. Not the American flag but it did have green in it to represent the Irish side of our family.



Weather was great for the 4th, so we had a good time playing all American lawn games, like Croquet.



Of course Kerbi couldn't be left out........ she ran off with the ball and hid it somewhere!



Last game we played was "Hey look at this bug. What is it?"



We went all out on our deck decoration too. Picked up this expensive bunting at Lowes.




I just liked this flower growing in our yard so ......... it's my blog

Aerator for hire

Need your garden aerated?
Well I know someone who will do the job.
I can vouch for their work.
They're hard working, diligent, relentless and their fee....... you must give them a bath.




"MMmmmmm...... think I need to go a little deeper."





"I need a break"





Now that is one happy dog!

April showers bring .....

To all who called and emailed us as to how were we were doing in this Tornado sticken part of the country, thank you for your concern.

In spite of all the tornados some flowers have managed to bloom.
Daffodils were not in abundance this year but the few we did have were gorgeous. As for our tulips, they too did not bloom profusely as usual but our black tulips made a striking appearance.





I have always loved Lilacs. They remind me of being a kid with the tree in our neighbours yard spilling over into our back garden, their fragrance permeating the air. Ah Happy memories.
Unfortunately, lilacs don't do so well here, I guess it is the humidity. This tree is about 5 years old and is only about 3 feet tall. That is all right with me, so long as it keeps blooming.




It was Earth Day on Friday. didn't get to do much outdoors as Mother Nature had her own plans with the rain here. Today was awesome so we've been out in the yard planting herbs, vegetables. flowers and trees which we will enjoy later.