An important tree we lost in the Drought of 2024 was a Bottlebrush tree, genus Callistemon, which attracted bees and butterflies, so I had it replaced. But first, clearing out the ferns . . . This is a weeping version of the Bottlebrush tree, planted a bit away from the fence and the house . . . . . . isn't it a beauty? And heavy . . .
SOMEday, we hope it will look like this and attract hummingbirds, too . . .
The other tree is my "experimental speciman" - a Redbud Tree [Cercis canadensis], planted here by Frank & Adan . . .
. . . which will, we hope, someday look like this and attract bees, butterflies & hummingbirds . . . At this point, Neal took over watering duties; he bought two soaker hoses & a hose splitter so he could water everything newly-planted from the same outdoor faucet (of which this house has many, even tho it has only ONE outdoor electrical outlet). Adan arranged the hoses to stretch all the way along the fence, thus watering the Crape Myrtles &the Bougainvilleas. So far, we have had rain, as promised, on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, but Neal watered early each morning anyway.
23 September On Monday, ALLEY CAT was green; on Tuesday, she looked like this . . . . . . and on Wednesday, every leaf had fallen, almost giving Adan a heart attack when he saw the sticks a few days later. Floridians have no experience with deciduous trees, so I told him it was ok for the tree to look like this. I have the feeling neither he nor Neal believes me; I guess we'll have to wait until spring to find out. We have been impressed with the work ethic of the Burysek Tree Service crew; they arrived when promised, worked efficiently and well together, and left everything cleaned up. Kudos to Charles & his crew! Well, this brings an end to the saga of Hurricane Milton, exactly eight months after we awoke to the devastation. Just in time for Hurricane Season 2025, which began on 1 June and continues until 31 October. And what is the name of the first hurricane this year? HURRICANE ANDREA! Let us hope any and all hurricanes this year stay offshore. Please. Thanks for taking this journey with Neal and me . . . it's been a frustrating and expensive one; we're glad it's concluded. TO SEE THE BEGINNING OF THIS JOURNEY, OUR PREPARATIONS FOR HURRICANE MILTON, THE AFTERMATH AND RECONSTRUCTION, THE SAGA BEGINS HERE

I FIND A RISING SUN REDBUD TREE HERE!