Back yard Oasis

We bought this house in August of 2001.  We didn’t do much to the yard other than plant a tree in the backyard.  You can barely see the little oak tree.  It was just a stick really.

In the beginning, we had photinias that were huge.  We had a boxwood back there that we couldn’t seem to keep in shape.  We had the same issue in the front.  The photinias came down after a couple of years because they were dying.  

This is several years later.  Our little stick of a tree is bigger but no photinias.  That boxwood was out of control.  We finally removed that as well.

This was our first attempt at a redo of the yard.  These cute little bushes with red flowers died in the winter.  Those green bushes took over.  Now, 22 years later, we’ve finally decided to do something big. With help from our friend Scott at Cross Timbers Design Group we did.

Our back yard was a blank slate.  We had nothing going on back here.

Our little patio had a small table, two chairs and an umbrella that we bought right before the pandemic.  We always thought our patio was small.  It was because we had the smoker and the grill stored there as well.

The front yard was in pretty bad shape as well.  We planted a little Sycamore tree that we got from the city of Dallas but that was it.  All the shrubbery was overgrown and distressed.  I didn't know what to do or who to call.  Then we ran into Scott at a family party.  When we found out he did landscape design, we were ecstatic.  

We were focusing most of our attention and budget on the back yard since that's where we spent most of our time.  Scott had a plan and he promised we were going to love it.  First we wanted to get all the stuff off the patio so we added a shed to our side yard where we could put the smoker and the grill.  Then they added a little gravel area where we can now store our garbage cans.  That's the foundation for the shed.

Day 1: The demolition.  They dug up all the grass from the back and brought in these big rocks and placed them.

Day 2: They came out to "demo" the front yard.  They took down one of the Yaupon trees and dug up all the old shrubbery.

Then they planted this Shantung Maple.  

After they removed all the old shrubs, it looked one hundred times better!  As far as I was concerned, they could have stopped there.

In the back, they build a little wall to section off the yard.  All the beds have been roped off.

Then by the patio where we we originally had that huge overgrown boxwood, they put gravel to extend the patio just a bit.

Then the shed guys came.  This shed it awesome!  The smoker went in there along with the grill and a few other things from our garage.  They added the gravel for the trashcans.

The front flower beds have been started.

We're waiting for a few more plants to come in.  I already love what's there.  

In the back, we have a desert willow that will eventually (in the next year) have a lovely canopy that will shade us from the sun so we can sit out there and chill.

We have two galvanized bins where we can plant a vegetable garden.  

Along the back fence we have more plants.  We're still waiting for some Hydrangea plants.  (Look at me knowing plant names!)

We also have this Japanese Maple which I'm excited about.  

Also part of the plan was big umbrella to give us shade.  This one was just perfect.  It even has lights!

After a few finishing touches, we're pretty much done.  View out to the lawn from the patio.

View of the patio.  We have so much more room!  We have real patio furniture.

Our beautiful backyard.

Another view.  The statue is of the 'bird girl'.  We liked it so much that we bought a replica of our own.

And now, to enjoy!  Scott said we'd love it and we do!

One year later: Everything looks lovely and has grown in nicely.

Another view.

It's our own private paradise.

Tour of Ballparks - Episode 7: National's Park

It's our annual pilgrimage to Baltimore/Annapolis to see the family. It started out a bright sunny day. Then, chaos! We started boarding our flight, then we heard a clap of thunder and saw a flash of lightning. There was a collective groan. Boarding was halted. Anyone on the plane had to get off and the tarmac was shut down for a minimum of 30 minutes.  An hour later we boarded again, left the gate and sat in line for takeoff...for two hours! By the time we got to the front of the line, we didn't have enough fuel to get to Baltimore. So back to the gate and off the plane only to find out that our pilots had timed out so now we needed a new pilot.

Deep breath! Six hours later, we landed safely in Baltimore and our real adventure could begin.

We visited our seventh ballpark this week. Nationals Park!

The ballpark is near the Navy Yard, which looked like a really cool area. Unfortunately, we were late because traffic was the pits so we didn't have time to explore the area. Meanwhile, it was a beautiful night for baseball which was good. It had been threatening rain all day.

Don't you love Emily's shirt? I think both teams were having fun until the Atlanta Braves broke the tie and went on to win. 

Our seats were out in left field but we were in the row right next to the railing so no people standing in front of us. They were great!

I can't go to the ballpark and not get a hotdog. I try. In this case, I didn't succeed. I got the "Nats" dog which has chili, mustard and mambo slaw. The mambo slaw doesn't look terribly appetizing but I assure you it was tasty. The other thing I liked is that the bun was top-split. It was delicious!

You know how some stadiums have the dot races? In Kansas City, it was condiments that raced. At Nataionals Park, it's presidents. Here we have Abe in front, then Teddy (as in Roosevelt) and bringing up the rear is George. Not pictured because he's way ahead of the others is Tom (as in Jefferson). These guys don't just come out for the race. They kept popping out on the sidelines all night trying to get the crowd into the game!

Our visit to Nationals Park was a roaring success. The game only lasted two hours and five minutes and the Atlanta Braves won.

But before we got to the ballpark, we had lots of fun.

We went to the Baltimore Museum of Industry. It came highly recommended by Emily and she was right. It's basically the history of industry for companies that are Baltimore related.

Here's a prime example: Meet the Tulkoff's. In 1926, they started a company that made horseradish. The company is still in business today and it's run by the third generation. Now they make more than just horseradish.

There were three steps to the process of making the horseradish. This crazy looking machine is what they used to wash the roots (step 1). There was another machine that ground it (step 2) and yet another that filled the bottles (step 3). The museum is filled with histories of other companies just like this.

Canning was a big industry here. Companies made the cans. Other companies used the cans. This machine was the "cooker". Once the food was in the cans, several of these baskets were lowered into the pot and the stuff in the can was cooked. John is demonstrating how easy it would be for someone to fall in.

Move over Elon Musk. Here is a photo of an electric car built in the '70's. It was built based on the lunar rover. It was called the Commuta-Car. 2,200 of them were built and until Tesla came along, this company had sold the most electric cars. 

There were tons of other cool exhibits. If you have a chance to go, you should.

Did you know Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore? I did not! So we paid a visit. The museum is on a little side road. Inside they have the rooms of the house as well as other exhibits.

Here, Babe and I are watching the ball he just smashed for a home run. I was doing dumb stuff like this the whole trip.

This is the room where George Herman "Babe" Ruth was actually born.

The Sultan of Swat and the Iron Horse (Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig)! Those damn Yankees!

Yankee Stadium: The House that Ruth built!

It was this series that Babe Ruth called his shot. It was in Game 3 at Wrigley Field. He was down in the count. The Cubs fans were heckling him the whole game and he'd missed a catch that allowed the Cubs to tie the game. Before the next pitch, he pointed to center field. Then he hit a home run in that same direction!

Every one of these plaques represents a home run. There are 714 of them. Each plaque has the place where the home run was hit, the date and who was pitching. 

Afterwards, we met Emily for dinner and she took us on a tour of her neighborhood. We ended up on Federal Hill. Federal Hill was given it's name in 1789 following a civic celebration ratifying the "Federal" constitution of the United States.

These are some great views of the Inner Harbor.

Then there was the neighborhood Strawberry Festival! We stayed in a VRBO cottage in Courtney & Dave's neighborhood so we got to go to the festival. There was a parade, a strawberry princess, arts & crafts booths, food and fun!

Emily, Dave, John and I waiting for the parade to pass us. Courtney, Maeve and Rowan were in the parade as part of the Girl Scout Troop.

Rowan in front and Maeve in the back. As they came down the street, they were handing out candy.

Back at the house we all hung out and caught up. Here, there is a deep discussion going on about Celine Dion.

We all went for a walk. I'd say this is John walking Haggis but I think it might be the other way around. 

After the walk, Haggis is worn out.

Then there was a cookout at Courtney & Dave's. It's always so fun to visit them. Also there were some friends of theirs, David and Dayna. They were visiting from California and were also on a quest to visit all the ballparks. This is me, Aunt MaryAnn, Courtney, Curt, Dave, Dayna, David and Emily.

Dave and John were playing with the bug zappers. They look like pickleball racquets! When you push the button, don't touch the strings or you, yourself, will be zapped.

We planned ahead and got tickets to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It's part of the Smithsonian and it's free but you must have a timed ticket to get in. It's a cool museum and it's big! You start on the bottom floor where you learn how Africans were captured and brought over and enslaved. Then work your way up three floors of history.

They have exhibits on a lot of famous people. Harriett Tubman, the conductor of the Underground Railroad. Did you also know that she was a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War?

There's a whole floor on Civil Rights. John Lewis was a Congressman from Georgia but before that, he was a Civil Rights Activist. 

John Lewis and the marchers as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and are met by police.  The next floor is more current. Famous musicians, actors, activists. It ends with Barak Obama. But then there are three more floors above the lobby. There's so much to see and absorb in this museum that we'll have to go back. 

The next day was low key. We hung around the cottage and then met up with Aunt MaryAnn for a leisurely lunch. We had a fabulous time. She looks great!

Right in downtown Annapolis is the William Paca House. It was built between 1763 and 1765 for William Paca, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland (there were four). The house is huge and has two wings. The one on the left was used as his office (he was an attorney) and the one on the right was the kitchen.

This is the parlor. The blue paint is a sign of wealth. The restoration folks had a photo of this room, which they showed, and this is what it looked like. The furniture in the house didn't belong to the family but it was "of the period". One thing I liked about this tour is that you got to see several of the rooms in the house.

Behind the house was an amazing garden. This is a view from a second floor bedroom. That building in the back is a summer house. The house was sold a few times and then it became a hotel. From there it fell into disrepair. It was slated to be torn down but the historical society stepped in and they were able to purchase the property and save it.

This is the kitchen (in the right wing of the house). Lourdes, our guide is telling us about all the contraptions they had back in the 18th century. That gold thing on the wall is a timer. That's right a timer! You set it up and the bag on the right drops and turns the rotisserie. She also described how the enslaved people that worked in the kitchen probably slept in there as they were on call 24/7.

This is a view of the house from the gardens. It's on a HUGE lot right in the middle of downtown Annapolis. They are restoring the James Brice House, which is on the next block. It's taking a while because of the research required for the restoration. That's a project I'd love to be on.

The Annapolis City Dock. It's so cool down there. There are tons of bars and restaurants. I love being downtown Annapolis. Driving down there, not so much.

We spent a couple of days in Baltimore and didn't begin to scratch the surface of things to do there. This is the Baltimore Museum of Art. It's on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. The Museum is FREE.

This is a Georgia O'Keefe painting that I liked quite a bit. There are tons of paintings (my favorite).

The building itself is a work of art. This is the main hallway. It's beautiful.

They also have sculpture. This is The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.

This table and chairs belonged to Samuel Chase, another signer of the Declaration of Independence (also from Maryland).

We were there for a week and had a great time. There is so much to do and so much to see that you know we'll be back.