Getting back on track..

 

In all honesty, it has been a very difficult 2 years down here in Florida. Our financial situation was/is in dire straights due to Covid giving us the 1, 2 punch and having Deb give up her social work practice. The mere fact that we didnt know if she was going to survive sent a shock wave through our existance and as a family we rallied.

Brandon was already living down here having retired from te Marine Corps with Lara also a retired Marine. Both had/have good paying jobs and were financially stable. They purchased a second house with the intent of moving us down here to live and be closer to our grandaughter, etc.

The arangement was for all of our children to "chip in", rent the house from them and free up any worry about our financial situation by providing a roof over our head and a place to call home. The issue begins with employment for everyone. Myself, I am un-employed and drawing Social Security finally after waiting for almost three years and not being eligible for SSDI. Deb having her own practice in Maine is/was having difficulty in securing employmet down here due to lack of references from employers. She has all the credentialing and experience she needs for a good paying job, but nobody wants to hire at an expense if they can get a local newbie in the field. The term "Over Qualified" bears a great weight down here.

The others, having pulled up roots, relocated from Maine and Tennessee were thrown into the mix with employment issues of their own. So basically meeting ends has been difficult and now Brandon and Lara have a second child only compounds the financial burden we have put them in. 

The plus side, Deb has finally managed to nail down an employer and has gained full time as well as a part time position within her field and financially we are and will get back on track and hopefully relieve some of the burden all around. In addition to the above, we have been dealing with vehicle issues this whole time adding again more financial debt and stress. Its been an emotional couple years full of turmoil, tollerance and self awareness, but we are hanging in, pushing thru and ready to take on whatever comes our way once again. Its funny how all this started mainly due to health concerns, me with the heart attack, diabetes diagnosis, and Deb clinging to life from Covid and its lingering effects.

Hitting that magical age.

 RETIREMENT... dear Lord. I refer to it as retirement but have seemingly been retired for awhile now it means that in legal terms I have reached that age. come January this year I will be 62, Legal early retirement age...lol.

Have a great deal many plans and things  I would love to accomplish, yet finances may dictate otherwise as Social Security doesn't pay near enough to sustain a certain lifestyle. So between now and then, I guess I have some sorting and planning to do.

Health sure took me by surprise back in 2020 and I have somewhat been floating ever since then. No real accomplishments, plans, etc, save for family, I probably would have said screw it and given in.

Guess we all hit a time when we have to sit, and think of our legacy and remaining life.. Chapters are yet to be written, so we shall see what the future holds.

She is done..

 Much happier with the blue than that ugly terra cotta look.

Transformation under way..

 

The house is finally getting painted after several months of waiting and pissing off the HOA.. No fault of ours though. Here are all the cracks found along the back side of the house. All patched and ready for paint. Filled a couple on the sides as well but has yet to do the front side which is worse than the back I am sure. Currently repairing some shotty drywall work on the porch ceiling. For whatever reason the tried to screw it up there and completely missed the beams with the screws so nothing was really holding it up in spots other than the existing paint, and of course the cracks started showing up and getting bigger over time, so....And instead of using the appropriate type of drywall, they just used the same as the interior and that doesn't work in the temps and weather conditions Florida has, but what can ya do, Not replacing an entire ceiling so patching as best that can be done. 

More as we get along...

Day -3 paint started:

interior/exterior porch done, Started the above section of back wall then weather halted it.

Day 4 and the entire back side is now done as well the two sides, front is patched and ready for paint. 

Liking the porch color a lot better than that awful terra-cotta orange.

Painter took weekend off as it was his birthday so hopefully tomorrow, Monday it will be finished all around, we'll see.

Front garden started.

 

The former garden area is/was in need of a make-over as the shrubs that were there were overgrown and unsightly so I finally got started on it. Whomever owned the house prior, put a ton of crushed rock down and no matter how deep I go, I keep hitting more and more.

I planted Bromeliads before going north last month, but now in hindsight I wish I had waited as they are a low growing plant and would have been better in the front. I might still change them, just not sure as yet. Depends on what else I decide to put in the area. The original are as you can see was approx. 6 feet in depth and the length of the front section of the house. We are/will be cutting that down to about half the depth as highlighted by the string. The brick work will be brought back to the stone line and we will fill in the area with fresh soil, etc. to give any new plant a running start.

Take a look at that potted Mexican Mint ( Coleus amboinicus) plant, its already become three times its size since bringing it home..

I also started a small area on the other side of the entrance with snake plants.

Repotted sickly mint

 

This poor Mexican Mint was looking rough as hell.. Yellowing leaves, dried tips, etc. and the soil was marginal at best and too compacted to let the roots thrive.

So re-potting time.. 07/12/23 did the deed, gave it a good shacking to clear the roots without damaging any that were still viable, washed the pot, placed in new well draining soil mix and gave it a bit of light. Well see if she can bounce back and be healthy yet again.

I also have one in a large pot out front that is absolutely thriving at this point and growing like crazy, I am hoping this one cam bounce back and then I can propagate from both of them. 

What started out as a single plant has now expanded into 5 individuals. I am hoping to fill this pot with off shoots and new growth this summer and nurse the small one back into a condition where it too will create pups and off shoots.

Found one use..

 

Found a use for a majority of the soap aloe from the big planter, Not all but a good majority of them went around this tree in the back yard. I also put I believe it was 4 or 5 in the front at the edge of the driveway in front of the palm. Still have a handful of pups from that one planter.

Also separated and planted the Blushing Bromeliads in the front under the window and where the front garden will be. I have seven planted thus far and still two pots to go.

Bromeliads

Soap Aloe out front.

Snake Plants and a couple Aloe Vera by front door.

She struck again..

 

The same nice lady that had given me her plants the other day messaged me again yesterday. She was determined that I was going to take more plants from her.lol.

I was going after a couple Bromeliads and a couple snake plant cuttings, and per usual I came home with 4 Bromeliads, this Aloe Yucca, with two adults and a couple pups, 5 Snake plants, and a handful or should I say a potful of Spider plants. She also threw in a couple terracotta pots and plates.. My back porch is being over taken..lol. From the Cacti I received I have already separated a few, and by a few I mean at least a dozen and the process is and will be ongoing for the summer I guess. At some point I need to prep the front area for the garden but I have been to busy dealing with the plants..

We will be heading to Maine for the end of the month for about a week to clear up my medical appointments that have been scheduled, and to do a presentation for PIH..Debs new LLC adventure. We are doing a presentation here in Cocoa today as well. My concern is the plants..lol. Our daughter has anything but a green thumb. So what will I return to.? I will have to baby them and prep them all before we leave and hope for the best, as well hope we don't get any nasty weather while we are gone. We'll see and hope for the best.

Inherited a garden..Oh my!

 The clump of Aloe in the center was my target today as I met with a woman that had sold her home and wanted to rehome her plants. So naturally I snapped at the opportunity and figured I could propagate many from that as there were what appeared as 7-8 adult plants on there.

I swear within 15 minutes she had loaded my car.. My trunk was full, my backseat was full and the passenger side of the front bore two large pots of cacti...lol. Apparently she had sold her home and now lives on a boat with her husband and couldn't take along her treasured plants. She kept offering take this one, take that one, etc. etc. and lordy I came home with a garden...lol.

OK, without any separation or propagation I ended up with the following:

Aloe: large pot with 8 adults, haven't even looked for pups yet.

3 medium sized pots, 

9 smaller pots.

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An Organ pipe Cactus approx. 14 inches tall.

1 lg. pot of cacti at least 10 pups including the mother plant

1 med. cactus with 4 large pups, and several small ones just starting.

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1 medium sized Purple Heart

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1 long sweet potato plant

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2 medium sized Blushing Bromeliads total of three plants.

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1 large snake plant

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1 huge spider plant with several hanging babies already.

1 medium sz. spider plant and 

4 small all with babies as well.

She also tucked two wrought iron stands as well.

Almost forgot within the small spider plants there are also what appear to be tomato plants as well around 6 or 7.

So far I have only divided one of the medium pots of Aloe

3 adult plants, & 31 pups from one med. pot, The adult here had some serious rot going on and I basically lopped it in half and stripped the leaves and will repot it once it has healed. The other two I left alone in the original pot to keep doing what they seem to be really good at.. lol.

I also am propagating 5 of the cacti here.. and I have the battle scars to prove it.. I am sure there will be a lot more down the road.

 Safe to say I will be busy down the road... anyone need any Aloe.. lol.

Guess I should be, and am grateful to this nice lady considering what she offered and gave me. I would hate to put a price tag on these plants from a nursery or big box store like Home Depot, etc.

Never underestimate the kindness in others. I simply posted an ISO for plants on Facebook and viola..

Yardwork and temps.

 Been a productive but tiring few days here at the homestead. Temps have been in the 90+ range with feel likes around the 103-107 range. Managed to power wash all the pavers in the front and back yard, as they were getting kind of disgusting and black and had slime, and algae all over them. Also hand plucked so much grass and weeds from the cracks and crevices that my fingers are sore as hell at the moment. Just finished mowing the yard, figured I would do it in the evening as it wouldn't be so hot and humid... WRONG, guess again. my co0re temp is so hot right now my glasses keep fogging up every three seconds. But It is starting to look a little better around here when its cleaned up.. Still have to do something with the front area were I removed all the shrubs, just has been way to hot for much of anything.. So that might be a prep thing from now into the fall months and an early spring planting chore.

Time for a cold ass shower to remove the grub, and relax a bit before calling it a day. Positive side... I don't have to do it tomorrow..lol.

Front pavers on both sides of the driveway. Grass and weed free for now.

Looks like I forgot the actual driveway though, oops guess I will be doing it tomorrow after all. Grrr also trimming the edge and cleaning that up as well.

Still need to weed out the back pavers anyway, but they are already pressure washed and ready to go accept the last coupe rows as my hose wasn't long enough.

Mondays project is to remove the white stone, get rid of the weeds, and put down a barrier, and recover with clean stone. This is were I intend to place a couple tall plants to bring a bit of color and life to the back patio area outside.

🍃🔪 Desert Rose trimming and propagation

Looking kind of rough, only seen one flower this year as apposed to several last year. Its either time to repot or maybe give it a trim.

Think I will attempt to trim it, especially the tall branch. By trimming I am hoping it will encourage it to grow a few new branches and kind of fill it in some. It need some new growth regardless.

I will take the cutting/s and attempt to propagate them as new plants as well.

I tied back the branches last year to try and shape it some, so I will release those as well and see if they stay put or just bounce back to where they were.

Wish me luck, I have never trimmed one of these before so hopefully I don't kill it off. 🌺

UPDATE:

Trimmed  off the upper branch from the tall stalk. The caudex was looking sad and somewhat soft in a couple spots which usually indicates the plant is dying off, so I trimmed off the bad/soft spots treated with a fungicide.

Grafted the cutting to see if I could save it and generate some new growth in a different direction. We'll see what happens. I was really hesitant to do any cutting at all, but in order to give it a chance, I figured I better try or loose it anyway.

I will update again if I see any changes over the next week or two.

🌾 Week of Yardwork

 

Been a really hot week and I have managed to get a lot of yardwork completed despite the temps and rain showers everyday.

Everything from Palm Tree trimming to lawn mowing, shrub trimming and even removal of a large unwanted one around the a/c units. Sure took it out of me though, I think I lost about 2-3 lbs. each day in just sweat.

Still have several projects on the back burner and will keep plugging away as time permits.

Thankful decision..

 

Last year as some may remember I almost through away a single potted plant that looked like it had seen its last days, But having considered it I decided to keep and nurse it back as best I could. Well I am thankful I did not.. It has now been one year and the plant is thriving again and has produced many off spring already and they too are flowering on a regular basis.1 has now turned into 7 individual plants. Hopefully I can keep the line going and produce another 6 or 7 in the next year.

Will it grow.? 🍍

 

Decided to try and grow a pineapple plant. Taking a store bought pineapple, removing its top and going through the process of planting to see what happens and if I can actually grow one from a store  bought item.

 Started an album with pics as I go.. apparently its a long process up to a year and half or more to actually bear a fruit depending on conditions, etc.. But going to see what happens.. lol.

Follow the Pineapple:

Top removed, simply twist and pull, comes right off.

Removed lower 1/3 of leaves to expose the skin and future roots.

Let air dry for two-three days to heal and encase the roots. Once dry and a whiteish color, its ready for transplanting. This is following day after removal. You can see the roots that are exposed and eagerly awaiting growth.

Once dried/healed you can either water grow or soil grow, depending on your choice. The idea is to get roots established and healthy for transplant, but can be transplanted directly as long as the ball is healed and dry.

Pineapples do NOT like wet soil, they are actually in the succulent family, so watering about once every 7-10 days is plenty.

Tracking progress: Day-1 in water jar 6/14/23.

While establishing roots, avoid direct sunlight, place on a sill or somewhere it can get indirect light until roots are established and healthy, afterwards, when ready to transplant, place in direct sunlight as they require about 6 hours/day to be happy and fruitful. Water was changed every two days.

UPDATE: 6/26/23

Roots have developed and into the pot it goes...

                                                                   Potted today 6/26/23

                                                                   We'll see what happens!

Well it has been 6months now and here we stand...

It has survived and is still growing nicely. It will not bear any fruit this year but with any luck at all next year I should see a nice one forming.

So proof that yes you can in fact grow them from just the tops of the plant.

🧱 Today's mission..Reclamation

 

To reclaim the patio and the pavers out there. The weeds and time have taken over recently. I haven't spent enough time trying to keep up with it and now I have too..If I ignore it any longer, they will disappear within the weeds. Sooo, I guess my day and possibly the weekend will be dedicated to cleaning up this mess. Unfortunately a simple run through with the Weed Wacker is not the solution, wish it were, but they just keep coming back, so I need to get to the roots and remove all that I can and possibly add some chemicals to deter growth. I'm trying not to have to use stuff like Round-Up or similar. Would rather keep it as natural as possible. Might consider also doing a harsh power wash to try and clean up the individual pavers and bring 'em back to newer looking condition. Will post the after pics to compare.

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Day 1 progress, all pulled by hand..grrr. that was a lot more weeds and grass than I anticipated, but its done for now. Might still hit it with some round up and pressure wash the pavers, just to make it a bit cleaner and tidy looking.

Still looking for the right plants to put into the white rock squares I made. Looking for something that grows about 3-31/2 feet and red...easy maintenance and can tolerate the amount of rain we get in the early summer.