And Today

A three man crew came this evening and cut up our tree. It took them about 2 and a half hours. They did clean up nicely and even blew all the leaves I had so carefully put out 2 weeks ago as mulch into the pile. They were going to haul the wood away but had underestimated the volume of the tree. So Richard and his trusty pick-up will get to do that.

This is what remains of our tree.

(Pictures aren't great since they finished up just as the daylight was finishing up.)

And this is where it was.

Now to decide what tree to plant and figure out the damage to the roof.

Lightning Strike?

This is what our front yard looked like in January.

This is what it looks like today.

A thunderstorm came thru San Antonio last night and apparently lightning struck our beautiful Chinese Pistache tree. Though it is hard to believe it didn't wake either Richard or me. Richard remembers the storm; I slept thru it.

A section of the tree landed on our roof appearing to have only damaged shingles with no structural damage














A close-up of the tree trunk.














The view from our front door.



















There ARE stairs under there.

We will miss our beautiful tree, the shade it provided, and the gorgeous fall color - even if it didn't arrive until November. Maybe the deer aren't so bad. (They came through again last Saturday/Sunday. Enjoyed the geranium blossoms - had waited long enough for a nice selection - and our newly planted impatiens.)

BIG Flowers - and a pretty basket

There are five blooms on the Hardy Hibiscus this morning - thought you might enjoy. Per Dennis' suggestion I've included one with a measuring tape so you can better visualize the size.

Also including a couple of pictures of a tropical hibiscus so you can compare.

And last but not least - my pretty hanging basket of petunias. The plant is much happier in its new pot - my oh my does it like water!