BA's Garden for Wedding

The before pictures are in my blog entry below. These three are from Chris' and my work over the last couple of days. We have taken out 10 leaf bags full of perennial "overgrowth" and now the garden is ready for Melissa to do her magic - that is select the right plants and color for the 8/22 wedding. We'll also fill in the gaps with fresh bark or wood chips, whatever BA and family select. We're right on schedule to finish it well before the wedding.

Our Wedding Gift to Michelle and Jason

BA, Michelle, and Jason accepted our wedding gift offer to shape and update the front garden for the wedding on 8/22. They are doing a lot to the house, inside and out, and this will be a nice complement to what they are already doing.

After we made the offer, we found that M and J had changed their minds about where to have the ceremony. It's going to now be in the front, as in the 2nd pic, with the guests standing or sitting on chair on the lawn, sidewalk, and street. Oh no, the pressure is on to do a great job of cleaning up, shaping, pruning, and adding colorful plants and bark. These are the "before" pics. Chris and I will start next week after MK and I go to Seattle for the weekend to see Duncan and Betsy.

Several years ago, we did a family project and put in the garden. They have maintained it over the years, but for this special occasion, it needs our special touch. I certainly wish all of MK's children were here to help re-do the garden they helped put in. I'll keep pics coming on my blog.

David's House

The back yard and covered patio (and New Braunfels Smoker) is where they spend their time. Many a brisket and rack of ribs have already come off that smoker. The front view shows the recent yard work and trim painting done by a young painter who has worked on our house. The overall result, painting, yard work, and inside work have given David and Laura a wonderful, functional, and comfortable home. Fenced all around in the back and quite private. Now that David is retired, I'm sure he'll find no end of "projects" to occupy his time (and drain his wallet!).

Anniversary!!

Today, we celebrated our 14th anniversary. Who'd have thunk MK could ever put up with me for that long? We had dinner at the Sun and Moon up the canyon, then came home to a bottle of bubbly. What a life we have! A loving, accomplished wife, some cats who put up with me wanting to handle them, a house that's perfect for us, a son doing great at the "U," MK's kids with SOs - all doing well, a brother with a new old home which is becoming a showplace, a sister who is settling into Central TX close to her grandsons, -- can it be/get any better?

Kayla, notice the wonderful necklace Melissa is wearing? Have you ever seen that before?

More Tulips

In my last blog (4/26), I said I was concerned that our trip to Brazil wouldn't allow us to see our tulips at their best. When we pulled in the driveway Friday from our trip, I found I was wrong. We may have missed the true high point, but these pics show there's still lots of color. Also, see MK's blog for Brazil trip photos and updates. These are a bit fuzzy, but one can see the colors.

Tulips Everywhere

I decided to take these before we left for Brazil on Tuesday. By the time we get back, tulips will be all but spent - terrible timing on our part!

Finally -- Spring

We think spring is here, just in time for us to leave for Brazil on the 28th. Also see MK's blog for additional pics.