Friday's Doings and More Garden Pictures

Last night, I picked up daughter from the airport and we stayed up late, chatting.

This morning, I had hydration, so we had an early start to the day.  While I was at the clinic, I paid the bill that they had sent me for the copay for the injections.

On the way back, we stopped at a Thai restaurant and I stayed in the car while daughter went in and ordered food to bring back home with us.  It was a belated birthday lunch for her - we ordered shrimp fried rice, red chicken curry, ginger chicken, sweet sticky rice with mango for dessert and a Thai iced coffee for daughter.  Came home and had lunch; I had an appetite and was able to enjoy the food. 

After lunch, I spent some time working on office work and sent back another completed assignment.

When my gardener M came over to work on the garden, this afternoon, he thinned out some of the forming fruit on the little peach tree, partly as the tree is too small to support a heavy crop of fruit and partly because something - probably a bird - is already attacking the fruit!  We might have to get some netting to cover the tree if I want any peaches, this year!

Speaking of birds, the pair that built a nest in my front porch light last year are back, again this year, too!  Here is this year's nest:

Bird's Nest in the Porch Light!

Once again, I am unable to use the porch light because I don't want to risk setting the twigs and other nesting material on fire or cooking the eggs!

Gardener M also made a new planting bed for the aloes.  He planted the aloes earlier, and it looked like this:

Aloes Just After Planting

But I didn't like the way it looked.  I wanted a more defined planting bed, so today, he made a more defined planting bed.  Now, it looks like this:

Aloes in the New Planting Bed

We were able to use scalloped edging stones I already had on hand, including the three that were at the center of the first picture.  Three others came from around the old peach tree which died and was cut down a few years ago.  I've been warned that the aloes will eventually multiply and spread, but we will deal with that when we come to it.  For the time being, they are nicely contained in a well-defined planting bed.  And it gives a focal point to that portion of the front garden.

While I was in the garden, I decided to take another couple of pictures of the garden in early March.  The hibiscus in bloom:

Hibiscus

Somebody needs to get some weeding done!  The grass is almost as tall as the hibiscus plant!

Hibiscus Close Up

 And the second rose to bloom:

2nd Rose of the Season

I still have a bag of gladioli bulbs to plant out in the front garden.  Once that it done, the front garden will be more or less completed.  It will be a matter of watering, weeding, and watering some more!  We have rain in the weekend forecast so, hopefully, the garden will get a deep watering and the plants will be encouraged to grow.

Today, I am grateful for:

- A belated birthday lunch to celebrate
- Continuing to feel better
- The front garden coming together nicely
- Birds nesting in the porch light!
- Rain in the forecast

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?