More Rain.

5-16-11 SHORT HILLS: Sorry about the silent period, dear reader, I guess we were busy. Judy’s party for her friend Carolyn who is retiring from St. Huberts Animal Shelter was yesterday and apparently a success in spite of the rain that kept most everyone indoors. Our San Diego weather spell ended Friday, and we are back in Seattle. It has been cold and raining for three days with 0.95 inches so far. There has been occasional thunder.

I trimmed paths of scraggly ivy growth and weeded some beds. I found more dog holes to fill from the endless pile of compost at the town dump. I added a lupin to the bed by the holly tree and a couple columbine, Aquilgea, to the bed by the sunroom door.

New blooms: pink rhododendron.


Red Twig Dogwood. The flowers do not look much like dogwood trees, but that four petal pattern is present. The twigs are green in growing season. I showed this bush in winter a few months ago when the twigs were red.

Red Bud Trees. The one on the left has dark red foliage coming out around the pink flowers, and the one on the right, in the sun, green leaves.

Here's our 'freedom lawn', with anything that can grow under three inches, including some grass. No fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, no weeding, no raking. It gets water and lime in the spring. It doesn't look bad considering heavy shade, tree roots and four active dogs.