The house cooled down below 80 degrees overnight. As I drove in from a trip to Jackson yesterday afternoon, I saw that the intake pipe of the fire prevention pond was out of the water. I opened the spigot, and sixteen hours overnight filled the fire prevention pond to a reasonable level.
I am back to my routine of an hour and a half work before breakfast. Yesterday the trip to Lowe’s featured four bags of Preen mulch and a container of of Repels-all, allegedly an effective animal repellent that irritates and deters animals without harming them. When I opened the container, the contents smelled suspiciously like cayenne pepper.
I treated the photinia this morning, scattered the animal repellent and lightly watered it in, as instructed. Last night I chased off a jackrabbit that looked a bit too content in the middle of the driveway.
This morning I worked on the new back yard border garden, from the Citrus Box to the flagstone edge. I weeded thoroughly, deracinating Bermuda and crab grass with abandon. I churned the soil with Preen, added water, and laid down Preen mulch. The mulch seems to promote water conservation – the alyssum in the front triangle garden is thriving with the only change in planting a generous layer of mulch.
I added a new irrigation feeder to the Mexican daisy in the back corner and redirected the feeders among the yarrows. Supplemental water all round.
A Year at the Snake 