Closing a Chapter

Last night was Christopher's graduation from Mount Sacred Heart. He has been going to MSH for 10 years and with Ashley, we have been a part of the MSH family for 12 years. That is a long time to spend at one school. We had reserved space for 12 family and guests. Unfortunately no one who we sent an invitation to was able to make it. Christopher graduated with honors and I am very proud of him. I asked him what he wanted for doing so well in school. He wants a guitar. The one he wants is from Guitar Center. We will see about getting it this next weekend.

Not the MaMa

I was in the back yard and heard the baby woodpecker making a racket to call the Mom, I supose. While I was looking up the baby poked it's head out of the hole and I was able to get a picture. You can see that a red spot is starting to show on the head and it is getting the ladder-back markings. I was wondering if woodpeckers reuse the same nest each year. I could not find much on this topic. One site on the pileated woodpecker said that they make a new nest each year. If these ladder-backs do the same thing, this might be my first and last year for woodpeckers. They are cute but I wouldn't want to loose a large tree, or large branch from said tree.

Third times a charm, I hope

The first grass that was in my back Yard was Tifway 419 Bermuda. That did not go very well at all. The back yard doesn't get much sun and having the dogs doesn't help. Dogs usually just create paths around a yard, that I can put up with. The second time I put zoysia grass down. My foot was broken at the time and I had 6 pallets to toss. And to top that off, the grass was delivered early and I had not prepared the ground. I watered the grass in every other day for the first month and then once a month after that. That grass lasted a few years then faded out. I got to the point that I had just dirt. This last weekend I hope I did it right this time. I hand dug the area where I placed the sod and used Scott's lawn feed to get it started. This time I went With St Augustine grass. It should take the shade better because it has a wider blade. I also learned that if you use a lawn roller to press the roots into the fresh tilled soil the grass will do much better. I searched all of San Antonio for a lawn roller and I finally found one to buy. For those of you who don't know what a roller is, it looks like a poly drum with a handle to push or pull it across the grass. The one I bought gets filled with water to add the weight which takes it to 270 pounds. I also read that fresh sod should be watered 3 to 4 times a day for the first 14 days to get the root system started. I lucked out. This weekend while I was tossing grass it was pouring down rain. It has rained every day. If this grass does well and stays green i will do the rest of the yard. The dogs like the new grass as well.

Woodpeckers in the Owl tree

I went to the back tree to see if I could see any activity in the Owl house. I am sad to report that there is no activity in the house but very pleased that the tree it self has a new tenant. While standing underneath the tree ,I kept hearing baby birds but I did not see a nest. I thought that maybe sparrows had moved into the Owl house. While looking up I saw a woodpecker with insects of some sort hanging out of its beak. That is when I saw the hollow in the tree. I then went to get my ladder and camera to see what was going on. That is when the second woodpecker showed up. I did not want to get too close to the hole in the tree and have the baby's abandoned (not sure if they would or not but I was not willing to take a chance.) I set the ladder up in the back yard near the tree and took several pictures. One of the woodpeckers has a yellow head and the other is mostly grey. I will keep my eye on the nest to see if I can get a picture without disturbing the parents. Very cool!

Pizza, Texas style!

I was going through some pictures from last year and I found this one from work. One of my doctors really liked pizza. Our clinic was center of the year and the practice bought us a pizza for lunch(We had a very nice dinner out for the real celebration.) This picture does not do this pizza justice. It is HUGE. You can look on YouTube for big Lou's pizza and see a video of a pizza being delivered to a table. It's O-Kay pizza for taste, about the same as pizza hut. It's a good thing that we have double doors going into the clinic, both doors had to be opened to get it into the breakroom. The left over pizza was taken by a staff member home to her three teenager boys. She struggled to get the box into her compact car. Very funny!

Front yard wildlife

If you can't beat em, feed em. I tried everything to keep the squirrels from destroying my bird feeders and humming bird feeders. I have had several types of feeders and the squirrels always find a way to get to the food. the flowers are chewed off all of the humming bird feeders and the one that does not have protruding flowers, the bastards pulled the bottom off of it. I have been putting out the corn on the cob and it seems to be keeping them occupied and leaving the feeder alone. The one humming bird feeder that I still use is suspended over the pond on a wire coat hanger. The squirrels looked at it for days trying to figure out just how to get to it. They have abandoned it for now. These are two males that just love the corn. The one sitting on the corn feeder is very "excited" to have the corn. The one sitting in the tree is "nuts" over the feeder. Sorry, I couldn't resist the puns. I will see how long this lasts before they get on my last nerve. Where's the owls when you need them?

Mother's Day

We took Clara out for lunch on Mother's Day and gave her a small gift to hang on her wall in her room. Clara has been living in an assisted living facility due to her Alzheimer's. She has been there since November 1 2008. Melanie sees her at least once a week, usually twice. The kids get to see her about every Sunday. Clara has a roommate named Betty. Every time we go, Clara "introduces" us to Betty. Betty smiles and says nice to meet you. I'm not sure if she is being polite or if she really is meeting us for the "first" time. We took Clara to Olive Garden because it is one of her favorite restaurants. We arrived early and had no problem being seated. She had what she always orders, the eggplant. Then turned to Melanie and asked if she had ever been to this Restaurant before. "Yes Mom you have", Melanie replied. We ordered dessert, I paid the bill and we took Clara back "home". The caregiver had baked a cake and we sat down for dessert. Clara was glad for the dessert because she did not get any at the restaurant. We kissed her good bye and headed back home. It was a quiet ride home. I have to keep reminding everyone to enjoy the memories we have and to enjoy the ones that we are making now while she still remembers us. One day she will be lost forever, but she will still be here. My mother was taken by cancer and all I have is memories. I'm not sure what is worse.

Spring Color and update

It was a beautiful weekend here in San Antonio. We had some much needed rain last week and now everything is green and in bloom. I mowed the lawn and trimmed some of my trees back. Looking around the yard I realized that I had several flowers in bloom. I took a few pictures of the color that is starting to show. It wont be too long before color is throughout all of the front beds. The Koi pond is looking good as well. The lotus has several shoots coming up and the water lilies are looking good as well. I can't wait for them to flower. I have had water lilies before but never had any blooms. If you look closely at the pond picture you can see the Koi by the water feature. I still have 2 Koi and about 8 gold fish. I still can't get them to come when I feed them. One day. I still have a vacancy in the Owl House. After all the work that I put into it,I will be disappointed if it stays vacant. I have read that it can take a while for the owls to find it. Then I was thinking, if I bait it with corn I can get a squirrel family to move in. This way when the owls find it, the pantry is full! Just a thought.