Some of my smaller boxwood bushes didn’t survive the Winter freeze. I cut them down in hopes to try to salvage something from them and I see some new sprouts. I have three more bushes with heavy damage and at least one of those is my favorite bush! I’m pretty bummed. I’ve watched it grow well over 10 years and now I’m not sure it will survive.

I need this! Why is it so cute? It’s the lips! They’re all puckered up. I have to control my spending because I still want to buy the crocodile garden statue and it has a hefty price tag on it. I’m definitely going to wait on this one but I wanted to share it here in the event I look back on it one day and decide to buy it.

Found here: LINK

About three years ago I planted some purple iris bulbs my sister had given me from her yard. They started blooming for the first time last year a brilliant violet hue. They've already bloomed and wilted this year. However, a couple days ago I noticed one extremely tall plant with buds that had yet to bloom. To my surprise, the irises that appeared were yellow! I only planted violet... what a nice surprise! I was so happy I ran to grab my real camera as opposed to using my phone camera! Hurray!

Yesterday we practiced traversing rough terrain in preparation for future explorations. We don’t know where we’ll go or even when but we will go! Things are looking up this year. I have a few places in mind that are all outdoor and look pretty fun! I hope we can make it out to at least a couple of them depending on how safely we can plan it out. 

Outdoor sightings ~~ Photos from March 2019

My freshly turned 3-year-old son is in love with digging for fossils. We started digging in the gravel in our drive-way as soon as he could walk. I wouldn’t think that he would recall digging for fossils but I guess we did it often enough that he remembers. He loves it!

We found this amazing fossil because after our walk today he wanted to dig. So we did. We’re very lucky to have driveway gravel with interesting little fossils but this is the 2nd larger fossil we found together.

Since we’re still in quarantine we haven’t been able to actually go to any fossil sites or the beach to look for seashells. Our driveway is keeping us sane! We can still search for fossils and stay home. It’s a win-win! 

I originally thought I wouldn’t decorate for Christmas but I changed my mind. After discovering all of my lighted Christmas yard stakes were broken I searched the net and found these cute LED trees at Lowe’s! I love them! More pics soon!

Our Crepe Myrtle tree we planted about 2 years ago is doing better. It had a rough start initially and we didn’t think it would make but it’s hanging in there.

This is actually the best and most it’s ever bloomed! I definitely want the branches on the bottom to grow up and fill out the tree a bit bit that will take time. I just love the crimson red color! It stops me in my tracks every time and I love to gaze at it and get lost in thought. I can only imagine it fully grown.

A visitor we encountered while putting out Halloween decor. 

These photos from my Aunt’s birthday party last year popped up on Facebook while searching through old photos. We had a Mexican theme and I made these paper and tissue paper bouquet centerpieces. I love how bright they are! They add a wonderful pop of color to each table. I actually have some more paper creations in the works and some planned as well that are all plant-inspired. I’ll share some progress on those later!

Photos April 2019

I saved and planted lemon and orange seeds in this same pot. Don’t ask me why I put them both in the same pot. I was half expecting them not to ever grow I suppose. Well, something has sprouted! I can’t tell what it is yet, though.

Progress on my cuttings! Most didn’t grow which was not a surprise. I believe I left too many leaves on some of the cuttings. On some I completely removed all the leaves to experiment which ones would do better. I think they both equally didn’t do well on tree cuttings. However, these cuttings were successful! I have about 4-5 plants that have developed roots! The problem is I have no idea what this plant is. I actually don’t really know which place I pulled it from at this point but I will figure it out when I move them. I’m going to leave them in the pot for a few at least another week before I move them to a bigger pot.

Baby's first zoo trip!
Photo taken April 2019, Tyler, Texas

I actually took quite a few pics I love looking back on but I'll post more as time passes. 

There is nothing wrong with your eyes. Do not attempt to adjust your glasses. I discovered what appeared to be a wolf spider near me as Robert and I were watering my plants. I actually bent down near this tree in my yard, looked up and saw this irl. I almost can’t even see it in the picture myself. Eek!

UPDATE: The seeds have been identified as Marigolds!

On a recent trip to the store I was a little desperate for some seeds but due to social distancing only my husband got off at the store. He was to get things we needed such as milk and other essentials. Since it was Dollar General I also told him to toss in any garden stuff from the list I gave him which included seeds and pots among other things. He brought back a box of seeds, 2 pots, and some butterflies stakes. Not bad! I was desperate for something!

I planted the seeds this week in rush while out in the yard working and I honestly have no idea what they are. Now I have unknown seeds growing in the pots. I’d like to know what they are but I remember they’re supposed to be red/yellow/orange. I’ll just have to wait and see!  

Between social distancing and quarantining I have not had an opportunity to buy any plants. It makes me sad but the less people at the stores right now the better. I don’t take this situation with COVID lightly. 

I decided to try my hand at propagating plants for the second time in my life. The first time I had cuttings and used a rooting compound on them and out of about 20 or so cuttings I actually had two grow roots! One of those was a tree. However, the tree did not survive where I decided to plant it. 🌱 That was about 3 years ago.

This is this years batch! I hope they grow! I’ll update periodically as I check for any root growth.  

I was sincerely shocked that I found this larger than a typical sized specimen in my driveway. It was burrowed deep and only a portion was visible but I was pushing my son in his car when I noticed it. I don’t know how it got there! I’ve lived here for just about 10 years and have skipped right over it. I don’t know how any of these got there in the sense that I actually went to a river bed and found nothing there yet I’m finding these at my house. I did post my previous finds to my amateur geology/rock collecting group and they were quite happy for me to have found these out and about in my yard. Some people said they have found similar things on their property but I don’t know just how typical it is for Texas! 

It does make me wonder a few things such as, did the people putting gravel in our driveway bring them from another place before we moved in? Or are they just there? Since I have found others while digging, I can’t really say for sure. 

A few of the fossils and imprints we discovered in our yard. We find something new each day! When I went down to a river bed I found nothing but impressions in clay so I was surprised to find these while digging or just in my driveway. It’s Robert’s new favorite thing to do and he asks to go outside everyday and use his “shobel.” 

I finally bought him some new water shoes since we water the grass together. 

They’re so cute! I read decent reviews about them and I’m liking them so far! We get muddy or wet just about everyday lately so they’re great to throw on and toss off and spray clean. 

I bought a whole bunch of rocks and minerals and didn’t have a spot for them so I threw them in my garden area with other rocks. They got all mixed up with the soil. Robert and I have been out looking for rocks and fossils daily so I’m thinking he either found it there or that it fell out of an Easter egg I put it in for him and he discovered it.

The closest thing I can see that it looks like is sodalite. I even asked on an amateur rock group and they agreed. Someone mentioned lazurite but I have learned that is somewhat rare so I’m going to say it’s safe to assume it is sodalite. I’m so proud of him and excited that he already loves searching for rocks.

From yesterday:

Here’s Robert’s haul from today (below)

I don’t have the heart to throw out annuals if they still look green. These seemed to be doing well in my pot since last Fall! I decided to move them because I wanted to plant some ground cover in the pot instead. I moved the mums to my trail area I’m working on near the side of my house and they’re actually blooming! Who knew mums could survive all year. 😊 I think I just got lucky and picked a good spot for them.

Earth Goddess sculpture / Atlanta Botanical Gardens

One of my favorite memories from visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens was seeing this sculpture in person. I believe it turned dark before I was able to see it in the daytime but I still love to look back at these photos and wish I was there again to explore more. I hope I can see it in person again with my son one day!

Link to collection: https://atlantabg.org/art-collection/earth-goddess/

Recently spotted in my garden area! A perennial which I purchased and planted last year. I believe I bought two pots and currently have three total sprouting somehow! I actually forgot I planted these and was so surprised when my husband (Char) pointed them out the other day. These are a variety of Hostas, but I'm not actually sure which kind.

Photos of my neighbor's rose bush on my afternoon walk with my son.

Took Robby for a stroll on his wagon today up and down our road. Got a fun shot of the bubbles we were blowing along the way!

I'm relatively certain I won't be able to take new photos this year due to the restrictions we have in place now, however, I did want to share some of my photos I captured a year ago today!