A while back I finally got around to planting some bulbs that had been in my pantry for way too long. They'd been in there so long that I wasn't sure if they would even grow, let alone what what they actually were. Well they did start finally start growing. Turns out they were lavender calla lilies.
As a (slightly early) birthday present for Miss Lee, Mamoo and I picked up two hibiscus plants and three grapevines to replace the ones Miss Lee killed. Yeah, I said it. She totally killed them. It turns out she only killed two of them and even those I'm pretty sure were savable because their roots were pretty decent. But anyway, the main point being that we bought five new plants for here. And since Mamoo is still nursing a sore arm from something or other, I knew I was going to be the one actually digging the holes.
Now, I've lived in Arizona long enough, and dug enough holes for new plants, to know what to expect. We have caliche here in the southwest and it's an absolute bear to get through. For those that don't know, caliche is what happens when various minerals leach from different layers of the soil and create a solid layer. Sometimes it's just a thin layer, sometimes it's several feet thick. It really depends on the exact location. But either way, it's ridiculously difficult to dig through. And dig through it you must because if you don't, your plants won't grow properly. Put it this way, caliche is used in the production of concrete for a reason. So if you don't dig through it, your plants aren't going to be able to get their roots through it for nutrients and growth.
Several weeks ago I helped A put together her landscaping extravaganza and the biggest time sucker that day was getting through the caliche layer. Some of the holes took FOREVER to get through. So while I was looking forward to getting Miss Lee's new plants in the ground, I was dreading having to dig the holes.
I brought the hibiscus plants around to where they were going and raked back the rocks where I planned to dig the first hole. Mamoo came around the corner and asked what she could do to help so I asked her to move the three grapevines from the front patio to the backyard where we would be planting them. By the time she returned from that task I had the first hibiscus planted and had started digging the second hole. Five minutes later I had the second one planted. It was really quite easy. And then I moved to the back.
The backyard bakes in the sun most of the day so I expected it to be much tougher to dig through. Amazingly, it was even easier than the front. The soil was loose, dark and smelled wonderful (don't mock me, earthy is a good smell.) It was like she Midwestern topsoil in her very arid Arizona backyard. It was wonderful and I was done planting the three grapevines in record time.
Now I don't know if her soil has always naturally been that way (probably not). I don't know if maybe the land her house sits on used to be one of Phoenix's agricultural areas (maybe). I wouldn't even rule out the possibility that previous homeowners have amended the soil over time to where it's at today (most likely). But whatever the history or reason, Miss Lee has some damn good soil in her yard and with a little bit of water and patience she could probably grow about anything she wanted. And it sure made planting her birthday presents a whole lot nicer as well.
This is the only picture I could find of the two of us from around the time we got married, probably about six months in. 
Note the bluish eye shadow on just one eye, evidently this was taken at the end of a long day.
Happy Anniversary Mister C!
Just a few pictures of some of the flowers I saw on our recent trip to Carlsbad.
Mister C requested that I trim back my hibiscus several months back. It had been beaten down by the strong winds in some of our recent storms. I cut back about a third of the plant, the part where the flowers are.
About two weeks ago, Mister C requested that I trim it back again because he felt it was still too big. I refused, because I wanted to see it bloom again. We went round and round with this discussion on multiple occasions. I kept stalling. The truth is, it makes me happy to walk out my back door and see the huge blooms.
How could it not?
The bird of paradise plant outside my front door looks especially nice after a recent rainfall.
It's been kind of gray around here the last few days. Grayness makes me not feel as chipper as I normally do. It drags me down. It reminds me why I live in Sunshineville in the first place. While I dislike the few gray days we get around here, I also recognize that the majority of my friends are dealing with much worse weather than I what with the blizzards and generally crappy weather they've had the past few weeks. So this post is for them as well as for me. A little bit of color from last spring at the Desert Botanical Gardens. This is as close as we'll get to the blooming season for a few months, so enjoy...
Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers...you know what I mean. Mister C ordered me some beautiful flowers that arrived yesterday afternoon. Master J put together a little book and a laminated sheet of love at school this week.
The book he wrote explains how I am 6 feet tall with "tan" eyes and that I really like fiestas in Mexico. I'm not sure, but I think my child may be confusing me with Hank Aguirre celebrating cinco de Mayo. I have no idea where he comes up with his stuff.
I'm not sure if you can read the sheet or not, but there's a lot of talk about feeding my child in it. Apparently that's very important to him. Considering he's a boy who already has been known to eat the cold lunch I send followed by whatever hot lunch the school is offering, I think I may be in trouble in the next few years. I may need to sell a house a month just to feed the boy. Also, please note at the bottom where he mentions that I help him to be nicer to the other kids. Is it possible that he's listening?
Additionally, Mister C put up my clothes line for me. How exciting is that? Aside from being more economical and "green", I love the smell of line dried clothes. I've wanted one for awhile now and he finally did it this morning for Mothers Day. As you can see, I've already hung my first load on the line.
I'm sure both Mister C & Master J will be thrilled to know that their skivvies have made their debut on the internet.
And lastly, Master J won a trophy for being one of the top two readers in his class. He actually read more than any other second grader, but they give two trophies in each classroom instead of one for the top grade level reader. He's so proud of himself. And I couldn't be more proud of him.
The rose bush that Mister C and Master J picked out for my birthday last week got a new bloom. I kept meaning to take photos of the original blooms but then I would get distracted by something shiny and forget all about it. I finally cut the dying blooms off the bush and waited for a new bud to appear. And it did.
