Pampas Grass

We have three pretty small (in diameter) tussocks (clumps) of pampas grass in the corner of our yard.  They were about 8-10 feet tall and have been dried up and dead looking ever since we moved in.  (I've got to remember to take before pictures!)  A week or so ago I noticed new growth and decided it was time to chop them down.  I chopped the new growth back to the same height as the dead stuff.  In just two days the new growth had grown about 6-8 inches!  In this picture (about five days after) the new growth is about 12-15 inches!  Ay ay ay!  In the fall these babies are comin' out completely.

I don't think my HOA would approve of this method of removal, but it looks fun!

Oh, and leaving these things on our property will apparently signal to passersby that the people who live in our home are swingers!

April Showers

Just the other day I posted about how bloomin' beautiful it is here in the spring.  But there's also an ugly side!  Make sure to read the red print.

We survived it all except for this minor casualty, which only happens to be 25-30 feet above the ground!  We're beginning to have a better understanding of the phrase money pit!

It's a bug, it's a bug!

All of the sudden we have gazillions of huge flying insects swarming in our lawn.  They are in everybody's lawn and there's a whirlwind of activity.  They live for a few days, a maximum of fourteen.  They mate and die.  The 'couples' are so engrossed that they crash into walls, people, and each other.  Eeeewww, just eeewww!  It's pretty disgusting.

They're called crane flies but are also known as mosquito eaters (skeeter eaters), mosquito hawks, daddy long legs, gallinippers, and my personal favorite, gollywhoppers.  I was sad to learn that they are NOT predators and, contrary to popular belief, they do NOT eat mosquitoes.  That was going to be my only reason to be able to tolerate them.

And of course, they manage to get into the house.  The other day I tried to vacuum up a big one with my dust buster.  He got stuck in some dust that was clogged in the end of the dust buster.  I could hear him buzzing around in there and he continued to move when I dumped him into the trash can.  Howard decided that he deserved to live if he could survive all of that.  He rescued him from the trash and shooed him outside.  But alas, one of his legs stayed behind in our trash.  I hope he can attract a mate now that he's blemished.  Maybe this will be the best thing that ever happened to him.  No mate, no mating, no early death.  He can have a full life - maybe all fourteen days!

This unsuspecting guy doesn't realize that 

he's about to meet my dust buster!

Bloomin' Beautiful

The spring here has been amazing.  Things have been blooming for over a month now.  Next year I've got to document it better and I'm determined to learn the names of all these plants and trees.  Here's a tiny peek into spring in Nashville.

 

The Way of White Delight (Anyone recognize the reference?)

 

Vanderbilt campus

 

Vanderbilt campus

 These were a pleasant surprise - right by my front door!