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Venice, Florida




We arrived at our new home on Saturday afternoon and have been keeping busy getting settled in.  We have contacted Florida Power and Light and signed up with the county Water & Sewer Department.  We have been hitting the resale and consignment shops along with Target and Big Lots, but we are taking our time about making decisions.  Although, some of those decision come fairly easily.  Mike found a Lazy Boy recliner at the Goodwill store that is the exact twin of one that was already in the house.  He has put the new recliner in the office along with his closed captioned enabled TV and is relaxing a bit today.

We looked down our street last night after a rainy day and caught a glimpse of the sunset.

It reflected pink off the fence to the east.

In addition to getting the house itself settled, I noticed that there is some weeding to do out in the yard.

This tree was in the morning shade, so I weeded under that.

I'll have to learn the pruning requirements of the trees and bushes in the yard.
This is a different kind of garden than I am used to.

This bottle bush may not need any pruning.
A spritz of Windex now and then?

I am not in love with this cactus but how will I take it out of there?

I'll have to learn what some of the plants actually are.
This one has wicked looking thorns.

The grapefruit tree is loaded with fruit that should be ripe when are back in the winter.
I wish it were an orange tree.  We maybe eat two grapefruits in a year.
Grapefruit is probably to Florida what zucchini squash is to Vermont.
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Comments

  1. LindaSeptember 27, 2011 at 5:46 PM

    I know you're having fun putting together your winter home. I don't like sticky plants. I do, however, think your bottle bush is quite clever. Hope you continue to have fun. I suspect you'll go home with ideas for things to sew before your next trip.

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  2. Meryl BaerSeptember 27, 2011 at 6:47 PM

    A warning about the cactus - I had a lot in my front yard when we moved into our home last year. I wore garden gloves while pulling them out (neither my hub nor I cared for them) and still got thorns in my fingers. Double glove or wear extra-strength,thick garden gloves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wendy AnnabethSeptember 27, 2011 at 11:51 PM

    How fun! I love the bottle bush!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linda ReederSeptember 28, 2011 at 12:54 AM

    That one with the little pink flowers is what is called "Crown of thorns" I think, strictly a house plant here.
    Looks like you'll have just enough yard to putter in a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Arkansas PattiSeptember 28, 2011 at 8:06 AM

    What fun you are going to have putting your house in order.
    Box those grapefruit up at Christmas and send them off to your Yankee friends. With money saved from buying gifts, buy Florida oranges if you can find them. I was always horrified to find the stores full of California oranges. What is with that?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Country GirlSeptember 28, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    Just gorgeous! Enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. TomSeptember 28, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    A winter home in Venice, Fla. -- I am sooooo jealous! Good luck with it, and enjoy your warm Jans and Febs.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Susan AdcoxSeptember 29, 2011 at 8:25 PM

    I always enjoyed getting acquainted with the yard and garden just as much as with the house. I love the Crown of Thorns, in spite of the stickers. With the way the climate is going, it may be a good idea to hold on to the cactus and other drought-resistant plants!

    ReplyDelete

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