Four hours of heavy rains

After a week of a reprieve from the monsoon, we were hit hard last night, starting at 7:20pm and raining past 11pm. It was a slow-moving storm from the south. The rain gauge said we got an inch.

The oldeanders and photinias are still looking good with their red and pink blooms. Several of my flowers in the front yard are on their second bloom: the pincushion, salvias, heliopsis and lantanas are back in color. I also discovered a new palo verde seedling growing not too far from the parent tree. Three more Yellow Birds of Paradise are also growing. (They probably won't make it through the winter, but I will try to keep them warm enough).

The front yard is slowly going through a change. There will be more trees and shrubs in full growth next year at this time. I will let the flowers and shrubs that don't make it die a natural death and replace everything with more native shrubs. I will most likely still recycle my shower water for the foxglove and daisies.

The grass in the backyard is also coming along. I de-weeded another hour this morning, threw down more Bermuda seeds in the bald spots. Sadie and Sara like to dig in the fresh soil, though so I have two holes I will eventually have to redo before the fall hits.

Nonetheless, my hard work in the back yard is paying off. The yard looks good and cultivated!

Next year we will finish off the northeast corner of the yard where all the rocks were strewn by the previous owners. There are heavy weeds there as well: silver nightshade, tumbleweed, morning glory, burclover. My big focus is the pricklythorns. I've made a noticable reduction in the amount of goatheads the dogs bring inside. I rip out every plant I can find, especially those in yellow bloom. The tumbleweed will be next, but I will do better once the plants are a few inches taller and are easier to pull out by the roots.

This rain should revive the beans, peas and the seedlings growing in the containers. If only the tomatoes would flourish! We will be eating beans for several weeks.