Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Catching Up

 3 posts in 3 days! It is not a trend.

I just felt I needed to get down a few more things about April before we get half way through May.

Indulge me if you will in some weather talk which is really just noting what I see in the bayou and the neighborhood. Many things are late this year. Now mind you, it was warm in February and things started blooming, and then we got a cool snap here in north Florida that zapped some things. My dwarf bottlebrush bushes were already blooming when that cool snap occurred and it zapped the blooms. Now, I only have blooms on the lower half. Those hummingbirds if they show up are going to have to fly low.

The live oaks have everyone talking. They are late dropping their leaves and especially their little fuzzy wuzzy worms. They have not done so at the same time either. It is full blown mess out front with them right now and the ones in the back by the water haven't even dropped the worms yet. They look like autumn trees. This is all done by the 3rd week of April at the latest around here. 

CRAZY!

The day lilies are slowing blooming, but I feel like they are late as well. 



The lemon tree still has lots of blossoms which smell divine and I feel they like should already be turning into lemons. 

Oh, it all gives me something to observe. I love the spring and we have been eating out on that back porch as much as possible I just wash the pollen off the table, and then we eat.

I am so glad I downsized many of my pots of flowers. I have been left with a manageable amount that I just love to tend. I have only 3 small pots that I change out now. Good thing, because the price of those 3 pots to be redone was noticeably higher. 

On the bayou, the mallards are back and happily floating around for my pleasure and the stingrays were out one morning early. I had gone out to water the plants downstairs and looked out to see them.


Do you see them?

They are hard to see in the water that early in the morning.



The one bit of sad news is the cardinal didn't lay her eggs in the bush. She built a nest, and then didn't follow through. I don't know if she just decided it wasn't a good spot or if there was just too much activity there. There were workers out in the circle as our neighbors all seem to be updating their homes and seawalls and such. I was so sad. Cardinals, bluejays, and mockingbirds are in abundance on my street so I would have loved some sweet little ones. Oh we have bluebirds which are usually here earlier each spring. Like I said, I have had plenty to observe. 

When I was fully sure the cardinal wasn't coming back I told him he could trim the shrub and that is when I found her abandoned nest.


Jeff and I are going to join the neighbors in a few home repairs. We have done one already. This is probably something no one has noticed in any pictures, but our kitchen island had a white countertop with two rather not so pretty features to us. I am sure we noticed it far more than anyone coming in. The counters were made of Corian in 1984 and still look amazing, but on the island they had to pieced back then, and the adhesive that held them together and went down the center had yellowed. Nothing made it better. I had just lived with it. Like I said probably no one noticed unless they were standing right there. It also had a built in appliance which didn't work. It was a mixer, blender, juicer, food processor ---you name it. It lifted up and all the pieces to it were in the cabinet below it. Jeff hated it more than me. I had long since thrown all the parts away. 

We replaced the island countertop with something new. I knew I couldn't match the white, so I decided to just look at other options. I went with just being an accent but blending with everything there. 

Here is the new island top. 


Because of the appliance that was in the other top, we had power. Rather than having another hole that got dirty around the edges, we had a plug put in the cabinet. (sitting on top in the picture below is the floor tile to see how well it match)


Now, this wouldn't have been the top of thing on my list, but it was on Jeff's so I just went with it.

What is first on my list? Getting the last of the carpet out of our home in the master bedroom. I think it has finally been here long enough and with dogs to make it a very high priority.

Then we need a new railing on the second level porch on the back. 

That is the most immediate list. I think we will shoot for getting both of those done over the summer.

To close out, we celebrated Katie's birthday on a night out. We usually do birthdays as home, but we went to a local seafood restaurant last week to celebrate. This is the only picture that we have. Jeff remembered to grab a picture. What is happening with me on that end? 


You may notice that Tucker is next to Katie. I lost out to Aunt Katie. Pooh...

This little munchkin is on the move even when he is sicky.. 


That is a wrap on April. Welcome May and warmer weather and all the sunshine things.


10 comments:

  1. I can see the stingrays! Very cool!! Too bad the cardinal abandoned the nest. It's still cold here in NY, the worst Spring ever!! We had snow flurries last week!! rain, rain and more rain! My daffodils are just blooming now, everything is so late. Love the ceiling on the restaurant!! Cute photo of Palmer!! Enjoy the rest of your week.

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  2. I LOVE your new kitchen island counter! It is beautiful! Perfect for your kitchen! Glad you left the power outlet available. There can never be too many power outlets in a kitchen, if you ask me! Strange that your trees/flowers, etc. are so far behind us here in our part of north central Florida...but I guess you are a bit further north and west and that must make a difference, plus being on the coast...Anyway, enjoy the beauty as it comes! It seems like every week or month has something new to enjoy. Like Stingrays in the water? WOW? I've never been able to see those up close before! Amazing! And your cutie pie grandkids are adorable. I don't know how you manage to do so much when you are caring for that little one! He's so sweet. Enjoyed your post today. Happy May!!!

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  3. Birds do abandon nests, for various reasons. I think you might be right that there was too much human activity for breeding birds to handle.

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  4. Love your choice on the island top!! When we moved here, I could not find the switch for our garbage disposal...well it was just like yours...in the cabinet. It took a while to get used to but it does make the counter top look less cluttered. I would have never thought of that!! We are in the process of taking down a cedar tree in the back yard. I am replacing it with a Japanese maple. It is always something it seems!Off to Huntsville this morning for a teeth cleaning then I plan to visit Patches and Stitches. I do not need a thing but it is my treat after the dentist. I can browse to my heart's content.

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  5. How amazing to see the stingrays! We have seen them at the Gulf Coast and they are the oddest thing! Love your new home improvements and the little guy enjoying the table! lol Have a good day!

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  6. What a beautiful new island top, Sandy! I know you and Jeff will enjoy it. It looks like Katie had a good birthday meal. How cool to see the stingrays! Palmer is a cutie.

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  7. How cool to be able to see the stingrays at your back door! Wow! Your new island top is beautiful! I would love to get rid of the carpets in my guestrooms. I hate wall-to-wall carpet now. Keep us posted about your summer projects!! xo

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  8. Oh, my, that little cutie on top of the table just makes me smile--could he be any cuter? Love your new island counter, Sandy. We have Corian, too, and after 26 years it is getting a bit dinged and faded looking. I've been thinking about new countertops--maybe quartz? It's hard to rationalize the cost, but...
    The stingrays look so neat--I'm sure you see all sorts of wildlife on the bayou! Hope your May is off to a good start (still waiting for spring to make an appearance up here :(

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  9. Yes, I could see the sting rays in the bayou water! How special is that?!

    Your kitchen island counter looks great. "I like what you've done with the place,", as they say.

    The Live Oak trees did their messy thing here several weeks ago and kept my man quite busy cleaning up after them. But they are great for shade!

    I enjoyed your flowers. You know what to plant, where, and how to keep them alive!!

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  10. This was a fun read, Sandy! Love the new island top. There are so many things in our house that need fixing or updating ... I would have a difficult time deciding what would be at the top of my list! 😉

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Sincerely,
Sandy