utube

“The Doll House”

Okay now that that is out of my system, and the tune now firmly stuck inside your head,

I will begin.

front_tooth

I have resorted to singing Saruman’s tune every time he sticks his face into mine and pushes his front tooth toward me at an alarming angle, he knows it bothers me…

“Trol-lol-lol-la-looo

snaggle_tooth

la-la-loooo, la-la-loooo…etc, etc.”

The tune (like his tooth) seems oddly fitting.

cymbal Houston

She had been looking forward to this day for a long time, it was her birthday and we were going on a road-trip to Houston to visit the American Girl doll store (or ‘AG doll place’ if you are YouTube hip).

Creepy-Doll

I really had no idea what to expect,

images

I had heard talk of a hair salon and restaurant,

Chairs

but I had no inclination it was where you took ‘your dolls’ for a makeover and a spot of lunch.

I contemplated the long list of $20 doll hair services, then glanced over and saw the tiny salon seats and I must have immediately glazed over. The next thing I knew I was being dragged over to one of the large doll cabinets – she had located the new doll that she had been coveting,

doll #33 apparently.

Houston

#33 was quickly renamed Avery, Edith, Ruby, whatever…and she immediately became part of the family.

American_Girl_Doll

I was just happy she was new and did not require any hair services…at least this time.

Houston

We stayed overnight at a friend’s apartment on the 24th floor (thanks B) in downtown Houston.

It was an initial shock to the sensory system stepping out onto the elevated patio.

yikes

You can see from my white knuckles how comfortable I am with heights.

Back on the ground:

Houston

Birthday dessert,

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then to bed…

for we rise at daybreak.

night time DSC05046

Back in the Patch:

pond

I found this poor anole floating upside-down in my stock tank and quickly netted him out.

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A few minutes in the sun and it took off into some gopher plants,

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that are flowering right now.

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A couple more Quince went into the Patch this weekend along with another hardy red oleander and some pink jasmine.

I would usually wait a few more weeks to make sure the temperatures were not going to dip again but with an 80 degree day this past weekend, well I broke down and swung the steed immediately into the local nursery.

flowers

African hosta is also on the move:

shoots

Along with datura,

shoots

and the mountain laurels.

early_bloom

The hell strip is also gearing up for some spring color courtesy of poppies and larkspur.

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Oh and I almost forgot,

third and final place for the ‘most aesthetically unpleasing plant after a freeze award’

frost_damage

has been awarded to this buckled, oozing brown aloe…

…fantastic,

applause

and well done!

Stay Tuned for:

 

“Running up that Hill

 

hill

All material © 2014 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Why is the Rum Gone?”

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Eighty degrees one day,

cookies

selling girl scout cookies in teeshirts…

freeze

…then ice, how the temperatures can swing in Texas.

freeze

There was just enough accumulation on this lawn chair to eek out a couple of lame snowballs for an equally lame snowball fight.

ice

Which was probably a good thing.

41LUo6gh80L

This is what we needed!

stock-tank

Stock tanks froze over once again encapsulating lacewings that had drowned on the surface.

popsicle

No, it is not a Popsicle, Bear.

frozen

Loquats also had a cold casing,

frozen_foliage

and I think I can safely say my variegated gingers have seen better days,

frozen

much better days.

Out of all the frost bitten plants in my garden the first prize for ‘most aesthetically unpleasing plant after a freeze’

drum-roll

has to go to

mess

yes…the purple heart.

audience_applause

“I just knew it was going to win Charles.”

“Yes Dear, it really is astonishingly aesthetically unpleasing .”

The_Purple_Heart

Not only is this plant a mess to look at, it will most certainly attempt to cover you in purple juice during clean up as an annoying side activity.

Lets take one more look:

mess

The interwoven dead leaves that this soggy plant apparently ‘collects’ over time completes the award winning industrial spillage look.

Aloe also suffers in the cold,

frozen

the softened pulp on the inside of this frozen aloe arm felt very odd and kept him entertained for all of …30 seconds.

This Mexican lime tree kept me busy for a little longer as I beat it repeatedly with a blunt instrument to remove the dead foliage. This activity had the added benefit of making me feel much better about the upcoming purple heart clean up.

dead_foliage no_foliage Sherlock

“This lime tree was repeatedly beaten around its crown and lower limbs with a blunt object Watson, isn’t it obvious? The exfoliation, the…blah, blah…purple juice on the perpetrators gardening gloves…blah, blah, blah.”

Moving Along:

index

This cactus causes me to do a Sheldon laugh when I walk past it in my Hell-strip.

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It has a very distinctive Jack Sparrow swagger to it, and recently, I noticed, its first tattoo.

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And on that note…

 

Stay Tuned for:

Taking the Hobbits to Isengarden

 

The_Hobbits_of_Hobbiton

All material © 2014 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

 

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