OUR NEW HOME

In June and into the summer, there was a lot to discover about our surroundings. Certainly it was hot, but not as humid as I thought it would be. Our home is in a subdivision with plenty of what they call “green zones” behind or around each house. These zones are owned by the HOA and cannot be built upon, so we are surrounded by woods, creeks, trails and small waterfalls. The subdivision sets alone, surrounded by large horse farms covered in vegitation–it takes at least 20 minutes to drive to town. Its really beautiful.

Of course, along with nature comes the creatures that live here. Deer sightings are common, occasional coyotes, rabbits, hawks, crows, spiders and lots of bats! At night, its not uncommon to see an occasional bat silhouette flying near the street lights going after insects. Pretty cool.

And my backyard birds do not disappoint. There are the usual cardinal couples, mourning doves, titmice, chickadees, yellow and house finches, bluebirds and wrens, but no blue jays so far. New to me: Mockingbirds, Towhees and a murder of crows. The crows in particular were quite interesting. They appeared in our back yard in June/July, about five of them together. They are big and pushy, and since I have read that they can hold grudges, we were pretty nice to them. Happily, they flew elsewhere and have not come back, but it was an adventure watching them so closely for a while. I do miss my winter dark-eyed juncos–they use to flock to my back yard up north, but only a couple have appeared down south. I guess they like it a little cooler.
Below: Pine trees, pine straw (needles that serve as mulch) and my DH

While there are multiple species of trees and shrubs, very tall pine trees are in the majority, not only in the subdivision, but throughout the entire area–so much so that upon my first arrival as I stepped out of my car, the smell of pine was striking (I’ve grown accustomed to it now). And these are not Christmas tree pines…..they are 50 to 75 feet tall, And they shed pine needles all year around–the needles are used as mulch in flower and vegetable gardens. Falling pine cones are also constant and a pain to clean up, and every spring, the area is covered in layers of thick, mustard-yellow pine pollen. The deal is to wait until the pollen season passes, THEN work on spraying everything down in clean up. Also a pain.

Along with Georgia Pine comes Georgia Clay. All ground is made up of this clay, and it is a beautiful reddish-orange. The color combinations are quite striking.

All this, settled on rolling hills and more blue skies than not–I love living here!