Gab from Gael

 When I moved from the Dallas area to Houston last August with my companion Libby (a darling chihuahua/terrier), I felt like a vagabond. My van was loaded with all my clothes and essentials, with no empty space. I had packed everything I had boxes for in the home I left, with a heavy heart after losing my husband of 36 years. He had succumed after 20 years of various health issues, then finally to Covid. I was looking forward to being near my son and his family.So when I had the offer to move to a house fairly close to my family, I took it as quickly as I could. Weather was great until I neared Houston, then a light rain followed me to the house.  The house had been unloved for awhile, but as quickly as I could make the simple changes, I did just that.  I am still going through boxes. I have always enjoyed gardening, but the previous home had little good space or dirt to accomplish that, so  I was excited on the day i planted my first batch of seeds. My son's gardene...

 What a wonderful week ahead, it's going to really rain all week.  The flower beds and veggie garden are going to love it.  On the other side of the iron fence is a retention pond.  When it pours, water can't soak into the ground or run down drains fast enough. So there is a wide pond that will take the runoff and drain into a very large drain pipe.  Once it rained a couple of hours today, the area was filled with a strange buzzing noise.  I am guessing it's frogs, but I guess I need to do some checking.  It's like living in a small swamp area in a Louisiana bayou.  The water may all be gone by morning. I love to hear the throbbing sound produced by the creatures, like hearing a soft rain or far away rumbling that can put you to sleep. The storm made several large crashing sounds this afternoon, sounding as though all the walls of the house would come tumbling down.  The resounding crashes were all too near my home.  Tomorrow I have to g...

 I have never had such a wonderful garden. In spite of the sporadic rains in Houston, and often cloudy days, my garden is thriving. There are 3 kinds of tomatoes, onions, lettuce, squash and some parsley. Other plants are trying to develop. I'm going to try some watermelon out in the front yard against the fences where sun is more likely to .shine. Some bad bugs have been nibbling on the large leaves of some other plants, so I have spread some bug killer.   Means I have to wash everything well that I pick. I picked my first yellow crookneck squash this week. Too bad I can't frame it. The tiny salad tomatoes are growing like crazy,  I have eaten 3 or 4 already. Can hardly wait for the next batch for a sandwich. The squash plants are taking over the the small garden and tomatoes are over 4 feet tall.  Each morning I go out and check on the plants and see what is going on.  It's such a joy to see the progress. My gardener helped me set up the perimeters for th...