Tennis; Dogs; Steve Irwin...

I played tennis this evening which is still quite difficult as I have had tennis elbow for two months now. I keep thinking that each day will be better but it still seems to be the same. I have been swimming each day but it wont be long and the water will be too cold, its quite relaxing though and I put on my Paulina Rubio music in both English and Spanish and it instantly relaxes me. I really want to try to get more people to take whatever music they love and play it in the garden while they are working and I think that it adds an entirely different perspective to the yard.

All 5 dogs are doing great we have now introduced Barcelo, the 3 pound yorkie puppy to the standard poodles and Mike the white one doesn't seem to want much to do with him but the shy one Spike seems to act more playful and tolerant and its quite entertaining to watch as the puppy chases this huge dog all around the house all the while barking as he does. I took the Jack Russell for a boat ride last night and it seems it is favorite thing to do and sort of our special quality time together as he likes sitting in my lap as I drive. All I have to do is say Do you want to go on the boat and he absolutely goes crazy with excitement.

I am trying to stay up tonight as Barbara Walters is interviewing Terry Irwin, widow of the crocodile hunter and yes we too were huge fans of Stevie's and I especially like the fact that he truly loved the animals and was so instrumental in world conservation. Steve was a unique individual as he was able to get so many people so compelled to watch his special take on nature. Many people seem to be criticizing him for his demeanor but I think he was just being himself and I truly admire what he has created in Australia, it seem his daughter will have similar charisma and his wife is very remarkable and I think that that family will really go on to do even greater things. Anyone who is dedicated to a cause as this family is really put here for that purpose and I think Terry will continue to become a bigger star as she is a sincere person and that shines through. That's all for tonight, take care.

Sunday evening update...

We had a great time last night as we were invited to our friend, Gloria's birthday party. It was especially great as Gloria just turned 80 years old. The family was born in Jamaica and now resides all over the world and everyone showed up to enjoy the party. Wow what a classy family we were quite impressed with the respect and love of all who attended. The food was exceptional and included jerk chicken, curried goat and a variety of other west Indian foods. It was here that I experienced the best homemade rum cake that I have ever had! In fact I now wish that I had taken an extra piece for tonight, but I didn't so I just settle for a cracker or something.

On the national show today I had Tracy from Seminole Springs herb farm and thought it was one of the better shows. Remember that if you live out of state that she can still ship to you and yes she does have some very hard to find varieties. Her website is rosesandherbs.com and the farm is located in Eustis, Fl. She is always interesting and also a very fine person.

On another note I did spend the entire sunset of the day out in the garden, I am very pleased with the look and am enjoying creating a new area and preparing it for the spring when I intend to add some exotic fruit trees. I have already added some Purple Queen for color and some yellow ginger which adds that tropical look that I am after. Still there is lots to do and yes its a lot of work and no the work never ends but somehow the evening walks just taking in the various angles and looking and listening to the waterfall and watching the evening birds all seem to make it all worth it. Best Wishes, Vince

A mid-September update...

His teeth are razor sharp and he is as fast as the slickest jack rabbit. I'm talking about Barcelo, our 3 pound Yorkie. He is now 14 weeks old and got his booster shot today and cried like the big baby he is. He is quite over it now as he chases the 50 pound standard poodles all over the house, quite the bossy little 3 pounder. My wife takes him everywhere almost so he is quite the yorkie citizen of the world, I do hope that he can build up muscles in his legs as my wife carries him all the time. As of this writing he has not destroyed any furniture. only the occasional roll of toilet paper. We figure Barcelo must be the most loved yorkie in the world.

The yard is coming along real good. I have added two new islands and am also prepping a huge area for my exotic lychee fruit and carambola trees and some wild dwarf blueberry plants which are small but very sweet. I am also adding a lot of annuals this fall and winter as I have been spending a lot of my free time in the yard and have been on a creative binge to tweak and change particular areas for the better. My papayas are dwarf types and loaded with fruit I just hope that they ripen before winter or I could loose the fruit. I'm cutting the roses back this weekend then i will feed with Turf Pro so they should look great for fall. That's all for now, Barcelo is barking at me so he wants to play......