It has been quite a first month in our new home and we have not completely settled in  yet. I think this move has been the hardest ever and I am not sure why although a dear friend pointed out that at fifty plus years old, moving is a lot harder than it used to be and she should know as she and her hubby, my husbands first cousin, closed on thier new home the same week we did !!

So, I got out the camera and wandered around the other day and took some shots. Not as pretty as our other house, we had ten years in that house to make that yard just beautiful and we were left a lovely lot to start with many mature trees. We still own that house and as long as our daughter and her familly live there I can wander when I want and take pictures but someday a tenant will be there and they miight not go for that , so it is time for us to get moving and make these yards just as nice, front and back.

So, here are some shots I took, mostly closeups, of our new yards !!

this is one of the vines, plants that has taken over the back chain link fence !!

I do not think we will be using this gate anytime soon !!!

The previous owner said this tree was hit by lightning many, many years ago, they thought fast and bolted it back together, she said they saved its life, and it sure has a story to tell !!

here it is from a distance, it is a pretty big tree !!!

old and new technologies !!! It was still in operation when we moved in but the Direct tv guy replaced all the connections with dish connections !! David will take it down soon, one more old dinasaur !! I should make some yard art out of it for the back yard !!

one of the last pretty blooms on our crepe myrtle tree. I had to look hard to find it !!!

looks like bugs, but it is the stuff left from pulling ivy off our metal work shop building !! I thought it looked kind of neat !!

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our new front porch lamp, the other one was clearly from the 70s and they called and wanted it back, we were very happy to oblige !!

ginormous seed pods from those orange tube like flowers above. They are so big I wish I had a reference in the picture !! The flowers and seed pods were covered in ants, you can see them in this picture !!

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one of our two  magnolia trees. They are very lucky my husband likes them. I think the flowers are magnificent but I think the trees are hideous and the flowers, to me, are not worth looking at big ugly trees the rest of the year. I know this is not a popular view, but I cannot lie, I hate magnolia trees !!! I am a tree lover, so I hate very few trees !! I am hoping they will grow on me, that is not meant to be a pun  !!!

I bought a pretty plant for the front porch and David found this flower I had bought while we were still in the apt for our someday house and now it is someday and it is in the  yard, I love it !! Unlike the magnolia trees,  I cannot get over them, I really do not like them at all. I am glad they are in the back yard !!

A weird thing happened this week. Someone put a bike over our fence. From the house it looked really nice and I called the cops to check it out, but later when we saw it up close, we realized no one cared. The handle bar is complete rust, the tires are flat and it is a wreck. I am sure when the cop drove around to look at it he was as shocked as we were. It looked wonderful from accross the yard from the window of the house. I never called to tell him it was still here, and I am sure he knows why , lol !! We still do not know WHY they put it in our yard ? Or, WHO put it in our yard. This was a first for us !!