A Brilliant Day

Although today was just an “at home” day, it was so emotionally and physically busy that I will probably need to write several epistles in order to tell you everything.

But in the midst of all the blessed busyness, I stepped outside for a bit to take out some trash and collect the mail.

It was such a delightful day—the sky so blue, the air so mild—that I just had to linger for a moment before going back into the house and facing the rest of the dust!

So I walked from the mailbox to the side yard. In this photo, you can see the driveway there, at the end of which is the mailbox. (We live on a cul-de-sac.)

See that blob of bushy green stuff on the right side of the picture? That’s a very large sweet olive bush, and there is a whole row of them separating our yard from the neighbor’s (these are the other neighbors, not the white-picket-fence-camellia neighbors). Right now, these bushes are loaded with little coral-colored berries—and fallen pine needles, lots of fallen pine needles. In spring, the bushes will be covered in delicate white flowers that have an odd, sweet smell.

These pictures were taken back in October. October is not autumn here in Tallahassee. We don’t really get “fall” until late November. So here you can’t see how the lawn is positively carpeted in pine needles and leaves.

In this next photo, you can see the side yard. I walked along the sweet olives and into this area here. On the left, on the near side of the fence, is the dogwood tree. It’s already loaded with new leaf buds, getting ready for spring. It gets lovely white blossoms and reminds me of a bridal bower.

That twiggy-looking tree towards the middle is the crepe myrtle. Obviously, it’s dormant now, but in late summer it gets pretty, lilac-colored flowers (which, unfortunately, though they look like lilacs, have no real fragrance). This tree is in dire need of pruning.

I had an “a-ha” moment a few weeks back, when I realized that what I need to do is look at the gardening advice for Georgia, rather than Florida. On all the gardening zone maps, our section of Florida is excluded from the rest of the state, because it gets colder here than it does there. We’re in the lower south, with pretty much the same weather as southern Georgia. So I got myself a copy of Month-by-Month Gardening in Georgia, which Lanier had recommended on her blog. Now, if I can remember to look at it on a regular basis, I should get the scoop on when to do things like prune the crepe myrtle!

The bushy green stuff on the right in the second picture is actually three different plants: the camellia (which should bloom in a couple of weeks) and these two other things I haven’t been able to identify yet. Last year, the leaves were covered with some weird black moldy-looking stuff. There weren’t any flowers or anything. But these must be something interesting, because the previous owners also planted one over by the dogwood (you can’t see it in the first picture) and another one in the back yard. They look healthy now, so I’m hoping maybe I’ll finally be able to figure out what on earth they are and see if they get flowers or anything.

I really, really love our yard. Not because it looks like “Better Homes and Gardens,” but because it has so much potential. And because, even though it is a very simple space, I’m always making new discoveries.

I returned to the house feeling very refreshed, ready to continue with my housework.

More about today, tomorrow. . .!