Our nice neighborhood

[bill_schubert]

Today, so far, has been a nice day in the neighborhood. I got out fairly early to fertilize the grass as we have a bit of a free sprinkler system today. We are not allowed to water outside so a bit of rain is the only chance we get to kill the spring weeds and get the good grass going. This was the perfect morning for it.
One of our next door neighbors was out trimming the shrub in the front of his yard. Both of our houses have a pretty nice curb appeal with trimmed lawns and cared for shrubs. Dana has done a good bit of planting and we've got a couple of small beds that are going to look lovely this spring.
I then went for a bike ride. Forty minutes or so. I realized that I'd been putting it off partly because I don't like the new shows I bought six or so months ago. I needed new shoes and these are excellent ones but they are too tight. I thought they would relax some and make more room but that has never worked and didn't in this case. I wore my old shoes today and it was MUCH better. They'll do for a while.
The bike ride took me past our end of the street neighbors:



These two families are always doing something fun at the end of the road. This time they blocked it off and created a pickleball court. It reminds me of the 50's and 60's when families used to meet outside and do things. Up the street was another family outside making bubbles for their kid with one of those huge wands. And down the street from them was another house with a newly planted bottle tree. Mostly growing wine bottles.

It is a really nice neighborhood.

Our backyard roses continue to amaze me:



And the flowers on our walk are out too:



This is a nice time of year for our walk. After getting out on the bike I took Zoe and toby out for their walk. My morning looked like this:



Blue is walking, green is riding.

I don't have a color for napping which is next.

We're getting a close by thunderstorm cell. Not a huge one but it did roll out a few banging hellos.  Good sleeping weather.

Comments

[msconduct]

I'm surprised you didn't race over and crash their pickleball game. Maybe save that for after the hardware upgrade.

[bill_schubert]

Yeah, I probably should have done but I was cycling and am trying to stay away from jumping up and down for the moment.
Might change my mind one day, though.

[taz_39]

This sounds like a really lovely neighborhood and a really lovely day :)

[summersgate]

That is a nice neighborhood! Lots of places to bike and walk with people outside doing things. Reminds me of the neighborhood my sister lives in in Florida

[mollywheezy]

Beautiful flowers!

Seems like a very nice neighborhood. My neighborhood in Dallas was like that, too. I knew all my neighbors and we'd do outdoor stuff together sometimes.

Glad you had a nice day. :)

[beautiful_dreamer_02]

Gosh, your flowers are beautiful!

And are those Lady Banks roses, and do I remember those from two years ago, when you were wanting them to get more serious about blooming? If recall serves, you also wished for the roses to cover that wall completely with blooms, and it does look as if they're on their way to doing just that.

[bill_schubert]

You remember correctly. They should climb further down the fence this year. Eventually they will take over the entire fence.

This was a good year, though. It was really nice to see them.

[beautiful_dreamer_02]

Do I also recall correctly you having said that you're being water-restricted, so no watering of lawns, shrubs or flowers?

Can you salvage some grey water for your roses? And if so, could you use your tree stake gadget (without the garden hose), a flexible funnel and grey water to make sure your roses don't suffer unduly?
Ooh---and are you, or will you be, allowed to water vegetable gardens? Even during our worst heat waves and drought (I'm thinking of '88 but also more recently), which are nothing compared to what you deal with where you are, we've been permitted to water flower and vegetable gardens although lawn-watering was very strictly verboten no matter how one did it. (Some of my fellow gardeners were almost hysterical over their lawns turning to straw, but it would take more than the six to ten weeks of drought we get, when we get it, and pale, crispy Kentucky blue to fret me: I trust in the perenniality of the grass; grass always comes back.)

ETA: Looked up gray water in my state and it turns out permits are required, as is some specialized equipment for gray water collection. Obviously I haven't needed to implement gray water usage. I apologize for having written, ah, precipitately.

[bill_schubert]

Yeah, gray water is in the future but not now. We'll water the rose bushes other than the Lady Banks. It is big and deep and will be OK. No idea how long the water ban will be but not much to be done.

[beautiful_dreamer_02]

But...you have to have some water to use, no? I mean, water to drink, to cook with, to wash [yourselves] with, to do laundry with...?
It sounds extreme, when the word "ban" is used.

At least one fellow in my part of this state went on his hands and knees through his vegetable patch with a bucket for water and an emptied tin can for a measure and because his community was rationing water, he made every drop count. Got his vegetables through the heat wave (this was back in '88) and the drought.
I'm praying for you that your water ban/restrictions won't be that severe, nor yet that long.