The weather

Although the winter here was a lot colder than we were expecting and we've had more frosts compared with California, today it is a delightful 85F with only 48% humidity. That's not bad for the end of February. I am a happy camper!

Due to the weather, we also get 2 tomato growing seasons. I started of seedlings a few weeks ago but they have been less than successful. They put all their energy into growing tall and not a lot into their roots. I only have 8 survivors but they're looking strong. I also managed to get the grid that showed me which varitey is which wet, so I have no idea what kind of tomatoes I have left!

They could be either of the 2 types of hybrids, black russian, tigerella, cherry or brandywine. It's anyones guess at this stage!

As an experiment, I have these cages that hang from the back fence. The tomato grows from the bottom with the fruit hanging down. We hear Texas is pretty bad for bugs that like tomatoes so we thought we'd try this as one way to keep them bug free. The only problem so far is that the squirrels seem to think the bowl full of water in the top of the cage is their personal drinking fountain! :) We have to get some stronger brackets as these current ones bend under the weight of the squirrel and tomato.

We also have our veggie beds set up. They are down the side yard near the pool equipment. So far we have a couple of basil plants and an 'early girl' tomato planted.

I started some peppers from seed not long ago and they will go in these beds too. Of course, I no longer know which variety of pepper is which but I have started of Pablano, Thai Dragon and the infamous Tepin - or "Atomic" YAY!

We had these in California as well, but with the hotter climate here I am hoping for more heat from them.

We have also planted two dwarf citrus - a lemon (left) and lime (right). We figure with the amount of margarita's we drink, it's best to have our own limes. In time, they will also make a natural divider between the pool and the garden/equipment area.

A Wilderbeast?

We've had some rain in the week (sorry to the Aussies) and it's made the ground a little soft especially at the side of the house where the pool equipment went in and out. The grass hasn't had a chance to fill in the space yet so we have patches of sand (or mud as the case maybe).


Yesterday in the sand I found the tracks of what can only be described as a wilderbeast - or possibly a racoon :)


The back print is about 2.5 inches long, the front ones 1.5 inches


Whatever it is, it was making a run for our backyard! The tracks lead up to our gate and then get lost in the grass.



I wonder what Armadillo tracks look like ......

Some landscaping

Along with the pool, we have been doing some landscaping in the backyard to give it a more natural, woody feel. This is before:

We decided to join these 3 stands of trees together to make one large bed. First task was to clear the grass. As it was just recently laid, the roots had not had a chance to go completely into the soil. Some pieces came up in the rectangle sheets they were laid in. This didn't make it any easier of course - they are really heavy!

We went to a local garden show and bought some plants that are native to the area. Being native, they will have a better chance of surviving, are less maintenance and the big plus for me - they serve as a food source for the local birds and squirrels!

We have a butterfly bush, yaupon holly, a turks cap and a giant turks cap, an american beautyberry along with a couple of salvia's.

And the squirrels have found us! Along with numerous woodpeckers, finches, sparrows and even some doves.The tree that in the middle of the bed was from the pool dig - they found it buried in the backyard. Instead of figuring out how to get rid of it we made it into a "feature". I'm just hoping that the snakes don't decide that it's a great place to live.

The pool saga .... THE END

After the roller coaster of the last couple of months, our pool passed the final inspection last week. MM did some lovely handy work on the side gate and the back fence to make sure they were within code. We should have the certificate and permit in our hands any day. Then we can sigh a big sigh of relief!

As many of you know, our pool builder went out of business so we had to complete the pool ourselves. Luckily we were at a stage where the outstanding jobs were ones we could do ourselves. We hear many others were not so lucky. MM also made contact with another local builder who was fantastic. He chain smokes and talks like Boomhauer from the 'King of the Hill' but he knows his stuff and did us numerous favours that we are very grateful for.

Last weekend we finished the final job - sealing the flagstone. As we have salt water, over time the salt will erode the stone so the sealant will help it's longevity. The water is beading from the recent rains so we must have done something right!

We also tided up the equipment pad.

(that's the AC unit in the foreground).

And now we wait for summer so we can jump in there without fearing hypothermia!

Anthony Bourdain

So it's my birthday this week... and Anthony Bourdain was here for a charity lunch thing. Em got us tickets, I took a day off work and we went to see him.

He was absolutely great - he's a lucky guy but very appreciative of that. He gave a nice talk about how he came to write Kitchen Confidential and about his travels with No Reservations.

I lined up with tons of other people and got his autograph - a bit sad but it was nice to meet him :-)

All in all a good way to spend a couple of hours!

Thanks Em

Lights, Camera...

So we have working pool lights now :-)


These pictures overemphasize the effect a little bit as we had to turn the flash off... but here are a few of the colors:

We love it! The so called party mode and all that are a bit slower to change color than expected but the overall effect is fantastic :-)

Guess what we did this weekend

So... the pool is finally full!... after about 36 hours it is at the right level... it looks pretty good, even in the shade:


The water is really, REALLY cold at the moment because it gets chilly at night and the sun isn't on the pool long enough to warm it up much... that didn't stop us... this the favorite mode of entry at the moment (trying to ease your way into the water is a losing proposition!):

This isn't a great photo but you get an idea of the response to the cold water - it's a shock to the system!... After swimming (a bit) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday I think we're both ready for a stint on the Deadliest Catch - those wussies wear survival suits when they jump in the cold water - we wear bathing suits! :-)

This week we get everything started up - pumps running, chemicals in... can't wait for next weekend!