Friday, October 30, 2009

Our Fall Garden

We are enjoying the cooler weather, as this is one of the best times of the year to enjoy our backyard. After we got past the wedding, there were numerous weeks where it was simply TOO HOT to get out and do any work. Once it had cooled down, Rick and I were able to get out there and knock out some intense weeding operations, removal of the spring crops, and some organization. The banana trees are thriving. We have planted collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and romaine lettuce. I have been craving salad with this pregnancy, thus Rick wanted to make sure we had lettuce in the fall garden. You will see our new pond in the pictures below. Rick found this with Isabella at a yard sale the weekend I was in Panama City for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. He got the plastic tubs, the pump, the plants, and 15 fish for $75! A steal! We have been enjoying sitting out by the pond and our chimnea in the evenings. I hope you all have an enjoyable Halloween! Isabella is going to be a witch for halloween! She wants me to paint her face green! And she wants to be a "bad" witch?! AND she wants me to dress up like a witch as well... we'll see.


View from the back of the yard toward the house...

Our Torch Plants...

The grass is doing great!


The fall brings out the purple flowers!

The Master by his Masterpiece! (With our only female feline, Genjur, in the background).

La Pond...

Big Banana Trees... with non-edible nanners...

Morning Glory growing up the fence...

Aaahhh.
I hope you enjoyed our hard work... we love our garden... it is our therapy!

1 comment:

Frances Rae said...

I have an idea for you. I think that you and Rick should make it your personal "business" to "flip" houses -- by moving into places and totally redesigning the landscaping. You can exclude the gain from the sale of your principal residence from taxes under IRC 121 -- and you only have to wait two years before you do it again. You do the math. You could totally improve the property value of the house and sell it to some snowbird and "pocket" (invest) the gains (up to $500) without paying taxes. Forget sentimentality. You can make any house a home and decrease the junk at every move! Seriously. Luke's parents moved every couple of years -- and now, having taken Fed Income Tax, I can see why. It is also in your interest because you can deduct interest on your mortgage payments -- and you pay mostly interest in the beginning -- so if you are always in the beginning of your mortgage payments, you will be able to deduct most of that -- and it's like deducting the cost of your house payment against your salary. Also, make sure that Rick is keeping receipts of all business-related expenses. He can deduct 50% of meals/entertainment and 100% of travel and lodging expenses for work. Also salaries, rents, etc. See IRC 162. So there is my 50 cents on the matter. You know I am worth more than two!