Thursday, July 25, 2013

Trespassers and thieves

Hours after we took this picture on 20 July, we went to admire the new pink rain lily again, and it was gone, evidently snipped off, leaving half the stem.

Do these work as cut flowers? We've never cut any of the several kinds of zephyranthes in the yard.

During the past week, we've had people pick wild sunflowers and fennel in addition to this beautiful flower. Someone also stole a survey flag.

We don't know if the rude people doing these things are "hotel" guests or just new arrivals from some California suburb.

These days, we put very little in the front yard and reserve all the best for the back and side yards.

We continue to enjoy the sight of hummingbirds every day. The very largest figs are gone, thanks to the creatures, but they're willing to leave the smaller ones to become larger.

Pennsylvania saw

We bought an 8-point number 226A hand saw from Davis Hardware (downtown on Congress with the giant clawhammer sign) for $8.99 more than 35 years ago. It still does everything it's supposed to do, taking down a lot of pecan and oak limbs to manageable size for the large-brush collection next week.The World Wide Web reports that the manufacturer made saws from 1938 to 1979 in York, Pennsylvania, and was bought out by Stanley. The current eBay asking price for a used saw exactly like this begins at $12 these days. It would be great to have a decent sawbuck. Just as carpenters always  made their own sawhorses, sawbucks were also always handmade within living memory.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Even if pink flowers are not a particular favorite

Who can resist the fleeting beauty of pink rain lilies? Two appeared on the same day next to the front sidewalk. We'd found them on sale at Wheatsville and just plunked them down amidst the roots of a live oak. Hummingbirds may love Turk's cap the best, but we can see them very close to the open kitchen windows, very busy at a rose of Sharon (white with a crimson center) that we could reach out and touch, were the screen not there. Honeybees are paying particular attention these days to the Bright Lights cosmos.