June In The Garden

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read845 views

Though we are still in the midst of Spring, temperatures are beginning to soar.

Animals, birds, and critters alike are very active. A few weeks ago, we’ve noticed an increase of pigeons in the neighborhood. We are not sure if they suddenly got here, if someone perhaps is breeding them and/or intentionally feeding them; but I sincerely hope they do not become a nuisance.
We cleaned and refilled all the Hummingbird feeders and we set up the Seashell water fountain in a semi-shaded area in the backyard to provide fresh drinking water for wildlife.

Fish Fountain with Scallop Shell Bowl.

The gardens are lush and the plants are thriving; so there isn’t much to do in the garden, and the soaring temperature makes it a little hard to spend time outdoors as much as I would love to.

Most of the plants are covered in flowers such as the Wisteria Vine, Creeping Myrtle, “Madame Galen” Trumpet Vine, Gaura Lindheimeri, Daylilies, Calibrachoa, African Iri, Dwarf Cup Flower, Dwarf Myrtle, Mimosa Trees, Green Feathery Senna, Silvery Cassia, Snapdragon, Yellow Bird Of Paradise Bush, Salvia Greggii, Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass, Tulbaghia Silver Lace, Breath of Heaven, etc.

Desert Willow (Chilopsis Linearis) Flowers.
Lavender Phenomenal.
English Lavender.

We added two more rose bushes to our collection: Perfume Delight Hybrid Tea Rose and Love At First Sight Hybrid Tea Rose.

Perfume Delight Hybrid Tea Rose.
Love At First Sight Hybrid Tea Rose.

Gophers and Ground Squirrels have been very active, digging, gnawing, and causing damages on plants. We’ve set traps and I’ve been patrolling the entire property daily, and so far we’ve caught one Gopher and one Squirrel. At the far back of the property I’ve notice signs of Gopher activities around the Gopher plants, and we will be setting more traps in a day or two.

Trapped Squirrel. Didn’t dig enough and got stuck …

We finally replaced one of the wired doorbells.
Something cool about this doorbell is the fact that the button illuminates for evening visibility. If you removed the push button, it sits beautifully over the door’s peephole.

Frog Doorbell.

Happy gardening!

Mother’s Day Wishes

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read768 views

Because I feel that in the heavens above,
The angels, whispering one to another,
Can find among their burning tears of love,
None so devotional as that of “Mother,”
Therefore, by that dear name I have long called you,
You who are more than mother unto me.
— Edgar Allan Poe

Madonna and Child.

Happy Mother’s Day!

DIY: Shoebox Diorama

Rachel By Rachel1 min read1.1K views

This month’s project was to create a shoebox diorama of an important scene from a book.
I chose a scene from The Sisters Grimm series. This is a very simple and fun project that requires a lot of cutting, assembling, and gluing.

Shoebox Diorama.

Materials/Tools Needed:

  • Shoe Box
  • Pencils
  • Markers
  • Craft paper
  • Cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Elmer’s glue
  • Spray Paints
  • Precision Knife/Blade

Step by step:

  • Get a shoe box, spray paint the interior if you wish and set aside
  • With a scissor or precision blade, cut out small pieces of cardboard and craft paper to make mini books. Use Elmer’s glue to hold the pieces together
  • Repeat step two to create picture frame. You can draw the picture on craft paper before or after gluing it onto the cardboard. We found it easier to draw the picture and then glue it
  • With the precision blade, cut out cardboard pieces to make tables, couches, side tables, etc.
Shoebox Diorama.
Shoebox Diorama.
Shoebox Diorama.

I had a lot of fun working on this project.