
Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn and Glenda turned 4 today. Happy Birthday, Gwendolyn and Glenda!
Glenda

Nine thousand steps, wow
Twenty eight wheelbarrows mulch
Parking lot is done



Armed with chainsaws, chipper at hand, under a clear blue sky, they made their first assault on the army of elm trees controlling the southern border. Boom! The aerial attacks from inside the bucket methodically cut down the enemy elms. Blasting chips from shredding limbs, trunks turned into mulch. Dumped in piles that will be spread on paths over cardboard the earth will reclaim.

Storm clouds started building in the early afternoon.
The sky turned dark to the east, the south and to the west. Thunder rumbled in the background.
The sky started to clear to the east and west before sunset, but clouds were exploding to the south.
The winds were pushing and reshaping colorful clouds to the south and west as the sun put itself to bed.

A swarm of Painted Ladies descended on our purple salvia this morning. The Checkered Whites have been around for a while.




Rosencrants, Mr. Toad and more at http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2016/7/toad-n-crantz
Last week’s daily photos found some nice surprises, especially with the kittens trying their paws at film photography. Photo of the Day, Etc for the week of March 23rd — 29th includes:
March 23rd: The kittens, especially Spunk, get into old-fashioned film photography — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/when-kittens-take-up-photography
March 24th: White tulips — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/yesterday-today
March 25th: Another personal record and a happy kitty — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/02-48-20-on-the-48th-climb
March 26th: Spunk tries paw, tooth and nail at developing film — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/spunk-does-film
March 27th: Morning Angel — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/angel-of-the-morning-angel
March 28th: Smoke and personal records — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/smokin
March 29th: Spunk has positive reviews of his negatives — http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/positive-notes-on-negative-development
I had the catio closed while I painted the floor, so Mama Manx took advantage of the sunny day to go out and have a roll in the mulch. After a few rolls, she paused to yawn, and then acted embarrassed about the yawn by putting her paw over her face. When she finished rolling in the mulch, she nestled into a dried catnip for a catnap.
Our yard has gone from a parched desert in the beginning of July, when we had less than 9/10 for an inch of rain for the entire first half of 2013, to a colorful jungle since we have received over 6 inches of rain since the beginning of July. I took the photos just after sunrise, before I spent the day pulling morning glories off of rose bushes and other plants, clearing paths, laying cardboard on the paths and spreading mulch on the cardboard. It’s still a jungle out there, but at least we don’t need a machete to cut our way from one end of the garden to the other.