Color for the Snowbound

From mid May to mid October, we all question why in the world anyone would want to live here. About July, when the temps. hit 115 degrees and the monsoon humidity hits, you really wonder if you are seriously missing some of your marbles. Then about the middle of November, you sit back and enjoy the good life. Yesterday it was 80 degrees and sunny, today is rainy with 75 degrees.

So for those of you who are tired of looking at nothing but white snow, here is the 2009 tour of my backyard to give you a bit of color from AZ.

This is today's pick from our Sweet 100 tomato plants. They grew really tall, then we had a windy day and they bent down. We had to cover them a couple of nights due to frost and that bent them down even more so they are thick and dense. Picking tomatoes is a job as you have to really get inside the vines. Hey, I will bend and twist whatever way I need to so we get each and every one. I made salsa yesterday and have enough in the fridge for some spaghetti sauce.




Lemons from my back neighbor's tree that dips into our yard. Think I need to make a pie!



Grapefruit from the tree in the side yard.



Oranges from the side yard.



These plants were on clearance at Lowes, three for ten dollars. I decided to follow Belvie and Amelia's example and give the clearance plants a home. I have my fingers crossed on these.......and NO idea where we are going to plant them. So, I was not thinking ahead that day in Lowes but love the flowers anyway.




Now in case you think all is good and wonderful in the growing aspect of winter in AZ, here is a example of what grows the very best of all. Winter weeds sprout this time of year and in a few days can take over everything. They grow in gravel and in the sidewalk cracks and they grow fast and furious. It takes diligence with the Round Up spray just to keep a few steps ahead of them. Some folks don't.....so if you have neighbors who don't, you have twice the problem because they spread like crazy. Guess what kind of neighbors we have on both sides? Need another jug of Round Up!