Finally we have rain

Hello all and Happy Father's Day,

It has been a few days since my last entry. We finally got some much needed rain after weeks of 90+ degree heat and no rain until finally June 15th. The last rainfall was May 20th, I believe. Much to be thankful for- remembering our dad's on this special day is all important. I am remembering my dad in spirit. He passed away in 2003.

The rain situation. About 75% of Georgia is in a severe drought alert. Our drought situation is pretty dire. It is almost like living in a desert except we have humidity. Before the rain came, I noticed that our mature, older trees in our yard, the leaves began to look droopy. Our magnolia trees have been dropping more leaves than usual. I don't remember them dropping this many leaves this time last year. Every night, I have been watering our newly planted flower beds with  Mediterranean Vinca, Marigolds and Lirope. I use soaker hoses for the beds and part of the yard is getting watered too. The Vinca is spreading and looking beautiful. I applied mulch around the lirope also. John just needs to put in the edging on the other side of the front steps so that I can complete the mulching and the flower beds will be 100% done for the season.

John finished sanding/priming both sides of the front porch steps/ railing and the main section of the porch. He has some minor repair work to do to one of the porch ceiling support columns. It appears to be moisture not terminate related damage. There is an area in between the foundation supports that John also primed.

Friday (June 17th), we got some more rain. More of the steady kind not the soaking downpour we got on Wednesday (June 15th). The yard should rebound soon. Just as we were enjoying our evening meal tonight, (June 17th), I happened to look down and noticed ants, circling the area rug. As I investigated further, I found the source of the attraction, a dead bat! This is the second dead bat found in the bedroom this week and the third in the front part of the house, near the front door. The first dead bat was found on the bed, near Max, unbeknownst to me and John until I heard the squeaking noise that bats make. After seeing the dead one Friday night, that grossed me out. I don't know where they are coming in from. I thought we eradicated the bat situation, at least in the front part of the house.

John went back into 'The Gone With The Wind' room to continue caulking the corner and top moldings he put up as well as priming. He has just a small section left to do and the room will be completely ready for painting. He needs to add a couple of weights to the west facing window. Finally! We had to put the room on hold for several weeks because John was very busy with other things. Soon, we will revisit color choices for the walls..Yeah!

So that is the most recent update of the never ending renovation going on at the Capt Hardy Smith House. Thanks for visiting my blog and continue to check back for updates on the house restoration. Again, Happy Father's Day!

When will the late spring heat wave of 2011 end

Hello all. It has been awhile since my last entry. I wish I was at the beach, right now. Those who read my blog probably thought I was. In truth yes, I have been to the beach a few times. Dublin and the Southeast have been stuck in a unrelenting heat wave with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s since about mid May and now we have been flirting with 100 to 102 degrees for the last week with little rain. The humidity has been bad too. We are finding ways to stay cool! I got a little misting thing that attaches to my garden hose to keep my Boston ferns from dying and to keep me cool while I sit and take a break from working in the yard, siting on the porch with the ceiling fan going. Summer is not officially here yet! My family and friends to the north have gotten all the rain we so desperately need this spring. The grass up in Indiana, where I traveled to about 2 weeks ago, is green, lush and beautiful. They got some pretty bad weather a few days after we left the state to return to Georgia.

All the grass in the yard has been planted but I am afraid we will have to replant areas of the east side of the house next season because it got hot sooner than we anticipated. The grass needs water so desperately. I have been watering the grass the best I can and it is actually burning up in places. For the past several weeks, we have been focusing on the yard, the flower beds and moderate landscaping. The driveway will hopefully have gravel in it before the season is over.

John removed the back stairs near the garden recently which will have to be rebuilt. They were getting too dangerous to climb up/down. The area where the stairs was is now occupied by our grill. The basic elements of my garden are complete. I would like to buy some stepping stones to put in there too.

A little fountain may be nice. We could probably rig the water source from the well for a constant flow with a nightly glow of solar powered lights. We have a couple of Tiki oil lamps near the Pindo Palm for the tropical feel when we grill out. We will need to put up a 6 ft privacy fence to surround the garden area when we entertain outside. A white picket one would be pretty with Confederate Jasmine or English ivy cascading all over it.

We planted 4 Confederate Jasmine, two between the magnolias on the shady side of the house, put cedar mulch and river rocks around them. They are thriving, growing quickly and the little white flowers give off the most beautiful, fragrant smell. They grow so quickly that you can almost see them grow right before your eyes! It is pretty amazing. Maybe I won't kill those plants. They sure love the shade. I can look out my bedroom window each morning and enjoy them.

John is working on the front steps. Sanding, priming then painting. The steps will be painted white as before. The Gone With the Wind Room is on hold for now because John was so busy with work and we need to finalize the colors for the walls.

The front flower beds are done. I planted Mediterranean Vinca, Marigolds and Lirope on both sides. We have to water at least once a day because the heat will kill them. Our selections are direct sun, heat and drought tolerant for our area but I don't think 95+ degree temperatures for weeks at a time was what they were bred for. The Med Vinca are ground cover perennials that bloom all season long which in middle Georgia goes through end of October before any hint of a frost occurs. I planted pinks, reds, whites, peaches and a mix of those colors. The combination is quite beautiful. I will have to nip the dead stuff in the fall and they will come back next season. They are also low maintenance.

That is all for now. Keep checking back for updates. Thanks for visiting my blog.