Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, October 10, 2016

The GOOD, The Not-So-BAD, and definitely The UGLY

The GOOD:  Our Front Yard:  (10/3/16)
My sweet hubby posted the picture above recently on Facebook.  By the looks of this picture,  one would never know that we were in a HORRIBLE DROUGHT here... You know that I have mentioned it MANY times since June...  For 'yard workers' like us (who love our flower, shrubs, plants, etc),  this has been hard...  It has even been harder due to the unusually HOT summer temperatures we have had...Also, financially,  it has about killed us--with very high water bills the past couple of months... AND--there's no end in sight for us since we are now in the 'dry season'.... BUT --we have tried to save as much as we could afford.

We are watering what we can (and our front yard truly isn't bad at all)... George keeps the roses watered --so they are fine.  The front yard grass and plants are okay since they do get some water.  The biggest problems are the BIG shade trees,  shrubs --such as our Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  and Forsythia,  and grass--everything except the front yard.... Even the English Ivy (which usually does fine in dry conditions) is struggling in sunny areas of our yard.   AND---if you want to laugh,  even the WEEDS (which usually thrive in ALL conditions) are struggling!!!! ha

But---it's not all DOOM and GLOOM... There's a lot to be thankful for.  I'm thankful today that the weather is now a little cooler --which helps tremendously...  AND--I'm thankful that we DO have the extra money to water the yard as much as possible...   I'm thankful that we are not in a hurricane zone --since I feel so sorry for people who lost lives and whose property was damaged due to another Mother Nature situation...Prayers for all of them....  After seeing what has happened on the East Coast,  I have no right to be complaining about this!   I tell myself this over and over.

Today---I put together a post so that you could see our yard in October...  Hope you enjoy the pictures.... Click on them for enlargements.



The Not-So-BAD:  We do have a little color on some of the trees... Hope we get lots more color --and have a pretty FALL here.  (10/7/16)



The UGLY:  Our sweet little Forsythia Bush (even though we do water it some) is really struggling.  We bought that bush about 4 years ago when it was tiny.  It grew and this past spring,  it bloomed and was so happy.  NOT sure of its future... Sniff Sniff..  (10/9/16)



The GOOD:  Cantana IRIS  (10/3/16);   We love having our Re-blooming Irises bloom in the Fall.  We don't have too many so far this Fall --but what we have are pretty.



The Not-So-BAD:   The workers at the Golf Course behind our home are having to work very very hard to keep the fairways and greens in good shape this year.  I'm sure they have spent money above what is in their budget just to keep the course in good shape.  BUT---they have done a great job!  (10/7/16)



The UGLY:  This is our lower side yard.... The Periwinkle has done okay through the drought,  but the GRASS has not.  Hopefully,  the grass will come back when the rains come back!!!!  (10/7/16)



The GOOD:   ALL of our Beautiful ROSES;  This one is St. Patrick's Day...  SO pretty!!!!  (10/3/16)



The Not-So-BAD:  Our pretty VINCA;  George built me a small flowerbed in front of the big Rose Bed--and the Vinca (and our Pansies in Spring) have enjoyed this area.  (10/2/16)



The UGLY:  Our poor little AZALEAS;  We have 4 Azaleas in the backyard  which may not make it.. We also have 3 Rhododendrons --which we are trying hard to save.. Believe it or not,  but this Azalea is getting watered... It just needs DEEP water ---which only comes from lots of RAIN.    (10/7/16)



The GOOD:  A new Iris in our yard this year --and it has bloomed a lot this FALL.  Its name is  "My Friend Jonathan"... (10/3/16)



The Not-So-BAD:   Our Autumn Joy SEDUM has been GREAT for several months.  It started out almost white in color, then changed pink,  and is now a rusty/red....  (10/2/16)



The UGLY:  Our beautiful back yard!!!!!!  YIPES...  (10/7/16)
WELL Friends---that is enough.  You get the idea!!!!  None of the "Not-so-Bad" pictures are bad at all... In fact, they could be in the GOOD category... SO---out of the 12 pictures,  only 4 are what I'd call BAD...  Again I say that we do have so much to be thankful for... Weather is something we all have to contend with  sometimes...  (Remember the horrible Ice Storm we had here a couple of years ago????? Yipes)....  This too shall pass!!!!!

Blessings to all of you.

Hugs,