Back in the Valley, Meeting Goals & Having Fun

Hi all, Dianne here.  We've been back in the Rio Grande Valley for a week now.  First goal was to finally get some extra planting areas started, so that we could get lemon tree into its permanent spot.  Roger is very happy that we won't be lugging lemon tree all around the country in the RV for another year. 

Look how healthy it looks!  It obviously likes it here in Texas.  (As I always tell people, "I knew it when it was a seed.")

As soon as the guys finished our planting areas and rearranged the drip irrigation system, Roger and I made a trip back to Home Depot to find some Texas-style plants and some fun-looking cactus. 

The Retama landscaping crew planted my lemon tree and a prickly pear cactus for us, and we tried to plant the rest.  The reason I say we tried is that we had never experienced hardpan  Texas dirt before.  It's like concrete!  

I wish we had a video of Roger and I planting this false saguaro (without gloves) by deftly using the plastic flower pots to maneuver them.  It was definitely a comedy routine in the making.   We finally resorted to propping them up with rocks.  

In the area where we will try planting purple coneflowers and black-eyed susans next fall, we spent $1.50 each for our very own little Texas bluebonnets to surround our anacua tree.  We also moved our birdbath to the area for our resident gang of mockingbirds.


I apologize for boring my readers with photos of our new plant specimens, but because we use this blog as a virtual scrapbook for ourselves, I want to see how they grow while we're gone, and if they'll survive the brutal summer.  Lucky for lemon tree, it now has a drip irrigation ring surrounding it.

One more photo, just to show how pretty our front area looks right now.  The rose bushes are covered with blooms, and the purple verbena is creeping far beyond its boundary.

Our second goal was to get back into an exercise routine.  What we've discovered works best for us is for me to head out early for an 8-mile bike ride  around the state park next door.  The heat of the day arrives early now, so beating the heat is my obvious goal.  Yesterday a roadrunner ran across the road right in front of me, and today I saw a number of hawks.  

Roger varies his exercise routine between the weight/exercise room, an 8-mile bike ride, and swimming laps.  On his bike ride the other day, he saw a bobcat!


Having fun has always been our goal.  We certainly met that goal by attending a "tail-light party" at the Retama clubhouse Thursday evening with Bob and Linda.  This was the final party of the season before the tail lights come on and folks head their RVs north.   Bob and Linda each wrote a much better description of this party in their respective blogs (Because-we-can and Because-we-can II), so I won't try to compete with their clever prose.  If you're interested, scroll down to their prior party blog.  They even have a photo of Roger and Bob performing the YMCA song with a bunch of guys.

Here are some brief descriptive words and photos of the evening:  lasagna, wine, good friends, jello shots, karaoke, conga line, and man-in-the-pool.  Who says a 55+ community would be boring??

 Spring came and went, and now it reaches the 90s most afternoons here in Mission.  

Remember as a kid the free feeling of riding your bike to the local swimming pool to hang out with your friends?  Roger and I are discovering that it's just as much fun in your 60s.  The guys bob around and talk about sports, and the women bob around and talk about much loftier topics.

The pet photo of the day shows our handsome boy posing with his spiffy new name tag.

Flower Photos + New Blog

Dianne here:  This is not really a blog update, but the flowers in our yard are so pretty right now, that I just want to share!


Also, one of my readers recommended a new blog and it is so fun and delightful, I have added it to our sidebar.  It's a young couple just starting out on their fulltiming adventure:


http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com/


Check it out!

Garden Tour - Free for you!

Hi all -- Dianne here.   The Pendleton Garden Walk on Saturday was a big success.  Weather was good, and the final tally was 112 people walked through our yard!   

The timing of it was perfect, because as I type this on Sunday, our realtor is having another open house, so even more folks can see it and maybe even want it for their own!!

On Friday evening, Roger and I met the other garden tour participants, and we drove around and visited all eight gardens that were scheduled to be on the tour.   It was a good variety and interesting to see what others have done.

The 112 people who came through our yard had to pay $5 each, but we will give you a free tour, using photos Roger took after all the weed pulling, mowing, leaf blowing, weed eating, dead-heading, and watering, but before the actual tour began!   I will upload the photos and let Roger take it from here.

Roger here...  There is really not too much to add other than we seemed to have picked the hottest and most humid week of the summer to do all this work, but it was definitely worth it.  The yard has never looked better and it was gratifying to hear all the positive comments from our visitors and from the tour organizers.  

We are done pulling weeds for a couple weeks and moving tomorrow from Summit Lake State Park to Brown County State Park, just outside of Nashville, IN.  

We have camped at Brown County on many occasions over the years.  It has always been one of our favorite parks.  Lots of hills, hiking and interesting things to do in the quaint little town of Nashville.  Since we will be a little farther from our house in Pendleton, the temptation to drive over to work in the yard will be a little less.  Our daughter will be watering the plants on the days that it does not rain, and we will be making a few trips back to mow the yard and check on things.  It will be nice to have a few days of rest.