Hi!

So It's June 2001 and our yard work has shifted from finishing things to trimming, feeding, trimming, feeding, at times replacing/adding a plant here and there, etc.... As you can see in the last picture below it is starting to look very nice, lush green and full of color in the yard. While unfortunately this picture was taken while many of the roses were picked, the yard is becoming extremely colorful, so we get many visitors, from dragon flies to lizards and all types of birds (Like many finches, but also (unfortunately) gray herons who are eyeballing our goldfish now and then :(). Along with this we get the typical bugs as well. We are avoiding spraying pesticides and let nature take care of itself most of the time (E.g. we might add some ladybugs ones in a while to eat the aphids etc..). Next, I will plan to make another picture from down below so you can see closer-up how things look down there now. I am waiting for a moment most roses are blooming so you can see all the colors. We certainly are starting to be able to enjoy sitting and spending more time lately in the yard, visiting with friend and relatives, enjoying the plants, birds, bees, views, etc. Our beautiful warm (or should I say HOT) weather also helps lately, though we have to give our plant some extra baths once in a while to keep them happy. (We are having many 90+ degree days lately :). well - 'till soon..... 

May 2003:

June 2001:

The pictures above, to the left and below are all taken the same day around 1pm in order to get most even lighting and are closer up in and attempt to better show all of the colors around the yard. The picture above is basically 360 degree view from the center of the lawn area. If you look close in the picture on the left, you might see the water lily flowers. :). The picture to the right is an older picture of the seating area by the pond.

Sorry October 2000 picture for this view is missing..