The Same... But Different

Here is a photo of Bess vacuuming out the pond circa 1934:

Side note: we found that Electolux vacuum when we cleaned out the attic in 2005.

Here is a picture of me, vacuuming out the pond last week:

Neither my shop vac nor my outfit is as stylish as the original!

I used some cement patch to go around the edge of the patch I put in last year, and then painted the whole pond over the weekend.

Pool paint comes in one color at the S-W store: ocean blue. Here is the same angle as the two pics above:



And another view:



Now I need six more dry days (they don't have to be consecutive) and we can fill it with water. Then we'll let it sit a while and put the fish back in.

Spring Arrives

It was warm enough last night that we had band practice outdoors. The pergola is just big enough for the five of us:



We got a thumbs up from Jill across the street who was out walking her kids in the stroller, and another thumbs up from a car who came to pick up a flyer for the house behind us which is for sale, again.

Here is the near back yard with the cilla in full bloom:


And the side yard where the cilla has completely taken over:


Cilla or Siberian Squill is a wild flower that is a small bulb. It is a very early bloomer, right after the snowdrops and the crocuses. Cilla spreads naturally, and was here already when we came. After the blooms are gone (in about a week) the leaves look like very thick grass. When you walk in it after the blooms are spent it is very squishy. By May the leaves are gone too.