Proof of Spring

Woke up this morning to my first feathery cassia blooms.

Little miniature buttercups

When I took the time to look up
BUDS
MANY MANY BUDS
on my 17 year old ash out front.
The tree that keeps the morning summer sun from beating down into
the front rooms.
The tree that my kids stood in front of every 1st day of school, complaining

"Hurry up Mom take our picture!"

Everyone who bought a house in this subdivision received one ash tree
and one pine tree for their front yards. Different pines, different ashes.
After 17 years, less than 50% remain.
Seems when people move here from other parts of the country,
they like to shed more than just their winter coats. They also shed the desire for yard work.
I would hear the loud chipper machines early in the day, and I would be so sad that another tree was falling. Over at oldgreymare I was making my yard as green as possible and increasing the yard work every year. My neighbors just shook their heads asking why?

This year, I removed all of my grass.
I did it because I knew it was the right ecological thing to do for desert living.
I did it with a very heavy heart.
It is not easy to grow grass here, and my beloved trees had grown so large for the small lot
that the grass was struggling more every year to stay alive. So I converted to desert landscaping. But I keep as much green and blooms as this small, water conserving, garden can take.

Starting with gazania ground cover with their sunny smiling faces
welcoming everyone to the front door.