Applets!

We planted this bareroot apple tree in the Spring of 2009 - and it's taller than me now! As you can see by the green patch at the base of the tree, we water it throughout the summer, but let the rest of the grass die off. So our Apple Tree buddy lives in a damp oasis during the dry months. Someday, we'll pull out all the grass and have a lovely gravel pathway to define the space, along with some landscaping. But in the meantime - at least we have some trees started.

Although this little guy has kind of a weird, gangly shape (plus some leaf rust or leaf creatures - anyone know what that is?). For the first time this fall, it's decided to grace us with 5 apples!  No news on how they taste, yet - standby for an update.

Shut the front door, really!

The new front door and transom have been installed, and we're looking forward to a winter full of no rolled up blanket under the front door to keep out the wind. The guys did a great job replacing all the old casing and installing the new frame and door. Of course, it took us forever to do the finishing touch - painting the trim to match the rest of the house, but we're all done now. So nice to have a little more light coming through the hallway, plus - zero draft (from the front door, anyway!). 

Plus, the peephole works (it didn't on the old door), which is going to save me a lot of grief when the Mormons come a knockin'.

The patchy spot to the upper right of the door is where the porch light used to be, until we moved it down where it actually shed light onto the front yard. Someday, we'll paint the whole house and cover up that spot, in a color other than pink.