"I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told." -Mark Twain









5.30.2012

Something's Bugging Me...in a good way!

When we moved into our new (old) house
a year ago,
the house had sat empty for over two years.
There was absolutely no landscaping.
Zero.
Nada.
None.
There are seven huge trees that line the 
front and go around the corner of the 
corner lot the house sits on,
but not a single bush or flower.
Looking off the front porch towards our neighbors.
The positives of that are that we don't have 
someone else's plethora of shaggy bushes and 
overgrown "stuff" to deal with.
The negative is that it was just plain bare!
Last year we devoted our time and energy to
1. moving
2. unpacking
3. saving the trees and grass.
We were told by a neighbor that one of the previous owners
had used an industrial farm-strength weed control
on the yard and trees (????).
It showed. 
Ironically, the only thing in the yard were weeds 
and those 
seven trees that line the property
were full of dead branches as well.
The boys and the Hubs trimmed the 
massive tree debacle and got them
back to looking terrific,
and the yard is starting to 
recover as well.
We got the sunny part of the yard looking like
green (bermuda) carpet.
Now we are working on the shady part!
We also started the slow process
of adding greenery, flowers and shrubbery
to the property.
I am a firm believer that this is a process 
and not an over-night fix.
Excuse the randomly placed wicker settee. I had just got it and put
it on the porch and had not 'placed' it yet!
So for the past week or so 
we have been adding.
The boys used some of the stone from 
the garage to create flower beds.
They put it at the front of the house
and around each of the seven trees.
It will take time to fill it all in, 
but it already looks like
someone loves the house.
We found a stone that 'somewhat' resembled
Oklahoma
and Coulter chipped away on it,
till it really resembles
Oklahoma.
So of course,
it had to have a 
prominent spot in the front
(someday beautiful) flowerbeds.
You can't tell because of the way I shot the picture,
but it is actually a big rock
....and very heavy!
We have purchased porch paint
to begin spruce up the porch,
but we have not had a single 'calm' day
to paint the porch
since I have been out of school.
I have no doubt we will have many 
calm and hot days coming up.
Next summer we plan to paint the entire house.
YIKES!!!
Speaking of that Oklahoma wind,
last night we had a huge storm brewing.
I went out on the front porch to look for the cat
to bring him in before the storm hit.
Much to my surprise I saw a man in our yard
"pouring" something out of two big bowls
onto the flowerbeds that surround 
two of the trees.
Yes, I gave him "the stare".
He saw me giving him "the stare" and 
immediately came over to the porch.
He told me that one of my neighbors
was so happy with the way we were 
fixing up the house and yard
that she wanted to send me something.
He was "pouring" ladybugs all over our
elephant ears and begonias,
impatients and hostas.
In fact he "poured" 
over a thousand of them throughout 
our flowers and greenery.
I wasn't really sure if "thank you" was appropriate
or if I should say "get the heck out"!!!!
If you look at this picture...
and the previous three...
you can see some of our new tenants.
I realize the pictures are a little fuzzy,
but dang, it was hard to focus on those little gals.
Plus the storm had arrived and it was lightening and 
the Hubs was not happy I was outside
under the trees
trying to take pictures of ladybugs.
Remember this? That is why.
Anyway, as it turns out, that man was a
"ladybug farmer".
Ladybugs feast on aphids.
Aphids are the pesky little bug that love
hostas and ferns
and begonias
and elephant ears.
So by giving me the gift of a thousand new
little lady bugs
my neighbor was helping to insure
our newly planted yard renaissance
would stay healthy and beautiful.
Wasn't that a wonderful gesture on her part?
So today I plan on using that 
Oklahoma kindness
and pass it along to someone else.
Have a great day....
wherever you are!
Lining up to:

5 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your ladybugs with us :) And I love the Oklahoma rock! Your yard is wonderful!

    Happy Great Outdoors to you!
    blessings,
    karianne

    ReplyDelete
  2. Visiting from Savvy Southern Style. Lady bugs are a gardener's best friend! However, the man should have knocked on your door first and introduced himself and his gift offering! I would have thought he was dumping poison or something all over my front yard -- you know, it's horrible to say it but with the way some people are these days, you just never know! I'll drop by again to see what you do with your front porch. The yard is looking real cute.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous6/01/2012

    Lucky Ladybugs! You have a wonderful neighbor!
    I had an unintentional Ladybug Farm near my pond for a while--or it might have been a Ladybuy Orgy--I'm not sure which, but I loved having all those beautiful evildoer-eaters in my garden.
    Ladybugs rock!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What lovely neighbors you have! Who knew there were such things as ladybug farmers?! I guess you learn something new everyday!

    ... so happy that you shared with us all at our Great Outdoors link party!

    :)

    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, what a beautiful little journey around your outdoor space. That Oklahoma rock is so great!! Thank you so much for linking up to our party!
    Karah

    ReplyDelete

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