Welcome home the Troops

ALL DAYS : planes arrive at 8:00am to DFW. This plane is a straight shot from Kuwait and will contain a large number of troops... as many as 250 per flight. They disperse to the entire country from here. There are 2 arrival destinations, Dallas and Atlanta. It is heartwarming. Jeannette and I have done this before. There is music playing, lots of hand clapping, plenty of hand shakes and genuine comments of appreciation. Most Troops are grateful of the salute to them upon their arrival. They work so hard and give so much that it is the least we can do.

My backyard

Snapdragons do well in the backyard under the Chinese Tallow tree. They love this time of year.





This is a Citronella plant. I have never seen one before. So, when I saw it, I had to buy it. My mother always had a small bottle of Citronella oil that she would anoint my sister and I with to keep the mosquitoes away. I have no idea to this day whether it works. The little delicate pink flowers in the lower left hand corner are Dianthus. Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William) is a species of Dianthus native to the mountains of southern Europe from the Pyrenees east to the Carpathians and the Balkans. I don't know if these are Sweet William. I have them in 3 different places in the backyard.



Our water fountain is up and running again this year. It's not very big, maybe 24 inches across but we can hear the sound of water from anywhere in the backyard. I planted Geraniums around it.

My African Cichlid Aquarium

I have always enjoyed tropical fish. When I was little, my Uncle Merle and Aunt Anne had a pet store with tropical fish and parakeets. Over the years I have had assorted aquariums. All but one was fresh water. Once I had a salt water aquarium with a Lion fish. It was a beautiful fish, but he didn't live very long. I think a 15 gallon tank is too small for salt water fish.

About 2 years ago I bought a 46 gallon bow front and stocked it with African Cichlids. I have been very happy with it. We have it in the den so we can see it all the time. There are 2 good tropical fish stores in Dallas that carry African Cichlids. Here is a picture of my tank I took last year. I wonder if Gabey can count the number of fish in the picture.

Patio Plants

Both the Johnny Jump Ups and the Pansies were planted in the fall. They will live through the winter but will die off the the temperature gets above 90 degrees.

Spring has arrived in Dallas

Here are some of my friends that came out today to watch me work in the yard. We have about 6 Green Anoles that live around and on the patio. They will change to either green or brown to adapt to their surroundings. Some call them chameleons. When Dorothy and I were little, Mom took us to the Circus and brought home a chameleon.

Violets

I had mentioned to Dorothy that I have have a couple of violet plants. I believe I have been able to keep the alive for the at least the last 5 years due to the plant pots I bought at Home Depot. They have an inner pot that you plant the violet in. The inner pot is then placed into the outer pot. The outer pot has a hole on the outside for you to add water. This method of watering lets the water from the outer pot seep slowly into the inner pot keeping the plant soil moist all the time. It has worked for me.

In the beginning

In the hope of better communication with family and friends, I have started a blog. My sister Dorothy and my two nieces Chris and Shari all have blogs. Since I have enjoyed keeping up with them, I want to try my hand at it. My niece Shari and her husband Jeff have 2 remarkable children. It has been through her blog that I have been kept close to their lives.I had a hard time deciding on a blog name. My sister Dorothy gave me the inspiration with her blog name. Since I like cars, food and movies, Jim's Drive-in seemed like a logical choice.