The grass has been green, and the flowers have been blooming for months, but the weather has been terrible. Rain almost every day in May and the coldest Seattle-area May since 1948. We don't even get the courtesy of having cool mornings and warming up as the day goes on. It's just cool and rainy all day and night with periods of sunshine that don't really warm you up.
This flower has been here in this spot for years. I used to notice it when I would pass by and take this sidewalk. Now it seems to be mine! I guess it's a snapdragon.
Since the back area by the garage is the only place to get sun, I'm going to see how many plants I can get away with putting back here. It's technically not MY territory, but I doubt anyone will say anything after the neglect these apartments have undergone. It probably will be a step up if we can keep things neat. Wes and Linda upstairs plan to grow strawberries by their garage, so we'll just see. I put out a zucchini last night that I took from Emily's collection and will get a tomato. Except for some herbs and annuals, I might limit my garden to that. It does get really hot there without trees, so I'll have to be diligent about watering. I need to get some mulch on top today.
Emily and Ryan took off for Belize last week, so my front porch is a work in progress. It's so nice though. It doesn't get a bit of sunshine once the trees finish leafing out, so we're leaning towards ferns and hostas with a few impatiens. I wasn't here last year in the spring, so this is going to be great. Noreen came over one day last week, and it was such a treat. We get to see people passing by, especially babies and little kids during the school days, and they're so cute toddling along verrrry slowly. Lots of dog walkers too and just friendly folks out enjoying the good days.
When Ryan has time, he'll hang the ferns and pressure wash the porch and rug. I know I need a bigger wreath, and I'm working on my lavender one which got droopy last year.
There's a lot to do, but I can't do anything with the "flower bed" since it's too hard to dig, and the apartment people have promised landscaping soon. We'll see. A pretty hosta did come back and some primroses. I guess I'll just do containers. It's already looking cluttered. The cats enjoy creeping out and hiding behind the ferns to watch for squirrels and birds, but they're spooked by dogs and people and cars, so they don't venture far off the porch.
This is the area between my apartment and Noreen's. I like the nice gray color of hers as opposed to my dull brown, but that's not about to change! She has a sunny side porch that we enjoyed last year and am sure we will this summer.
Bowie got brave enough to go over and peek at the outside this afternoon. I met a sweet new neighbor, Hannah, who lives in the apt above Noreen. She came over to make sure I knew Bowie was outside. He came right in after that! Or maybe it was the little bulldog who saw past his cover and growled at him.
While I'm fussing about the apartment complex, I do need to add a positive comment about the sweet maintenance guys. I had a maintenance request for my old refrigerator since the ice maker has worked sporadically since moving in, and it roars and moans all the time. After not hearing anything for a month, I re-sent the request and immediately got a phone call saying they would just bring me a new refrigerator. No argument from me, and I'm thoroughly enjoying an ice maker again and a better interior. It's skinny, but it's nice, and there's enough room for my stuff! This pic was taken before buying groceries!
I was relieved to know my little slide-in spice rack fit between the wall and refrigerator. I'm not sure what I would do with all the stuff that's stored in there! Ben and Dylan are the sweetest young guys and seem to be doing a good job.
I just don't have time (or memory) to catch up, but I can remember yesterday. I had not seen the girls in 10 days, and there were big hugs when they came out of school.
It was hot, for a change. We walked over to Swirl and got yogurts again. They do love this little outing, and I like it too, seeing them making their decisions and watching them watching the older kids.
Katherine can't bother to sit down to dig in. She's got her new kitty purse I gave her for her birthday. She had her birthday in Belize, so I don't know anything about her gifts or upcoming party or anything, but she's 7 now and pretty happy about finally reaching that age!
I love my easy-going 9-year-old, who says she's almost 10 - next February! She has her PopPop's eyes and is always so sweet and agreeable. Both of them are.
The yogurt place and a very quick trip into Dollar Tree were all we had time for. They had to leave for track at 5:00, protesting about how hot it was, but Emily said they loved it. I'm going to try to go tomorrow and watch them.
Graysen said she was the center of attention at school after being out a week. She's made some sweet friends and missed them. Katherine carried a pumpkin seedling that she had grown gently home in a stapled paper bag, but it got left here when they let. I'm definitely getting that to the garden before it gets too big.
So much to write about and so little time. I'm going to have to write more often.
