Came to Dallas after work yesterday

I get off work at 4PM, so when I got to the Dallas area late Thursday, it was still plenty light. Driving along, at one point, off to my right I noticed a storage facility with the corner smashed in. It looked like a giant foot had crushed the corner of the building, disgorging its contents in the process. A bunch of stuff was spilled out onto the pavement. I think maybe someone didn't know about the damage, but it seemed really odd that it wasn't at least covered up with a tarp. Then I noticed the real damage across on the left side of the highway. Rows of nice houses were festooned with blue tarps across the rooves, which mainly looked intact. A few houses were beyond tarpable.

I didn't expect to see any of the tornado damage when I came here this weekend. I'm glad the reports have been of how many escaped injury even in houses that were demolished. Ultimately, stuff is just stuff, and they are making more of it. Your life and your pets can't be replaced, though.

Yup. There will always be more stuff. Maybe we should all do with less, anyhow. (except for new shoes, which are always required.)

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Dad is changing my oil and checking out LouLou before the trip to St Louis next week, making sure she is road-worthy. I'm getting my hair done and hopefully finding some fabulous sandals. I'm also searching for a pot of Texas Star hibiscus, Indigo Spires salvia, and a few other of my perennial favorites to try in my yard. There's one big gardening center in my area that is decent, but their selection largely tends toward annuals and perennials that are more middle of the road, whereas I cotton to more of the native perennnials that do well throughout most of Texas. It's kind of a crap-shoot, though, because I'm still figuring out what works in the soil at home, because the pH is different to the Dallas area soil I gardened in previously, and the composition is very different, too. The same things don't seem to thrive in Elsewhere, so I'm finding my way with that, and hopefully my planting scheme will be much more fleshed-out and established before the really harsh weather hits.

To my delight, my Oak Leaf Hydrangea weathered the mild winter just fine, is nicely leafed-out now and several spikes of flower buds are rearing their furry little heads now, and should be in full bloom within a couple of weeks. My fennel is going bananas, and I check it frequently for the eggs of Swallowtail butterflies, but none so far. Today I'm going to try to find Bronze Fennel which they love even more than the plain green variety.

My container garden is going well. It's been so mild and moist that everything is pretty much thriving. We'll see how long it lasts, but for now, it gives the porch a lot of color and cheer, and it really makes me happy.

I'll post pics from at least one garden center I visit this weekend.

Home again tomorrow hopefully in time to catch some friends in a play in an area theatre.

Have a great Friday!