Meet Ty'Tiana

I recently got matched up with my "Little" through the organization Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the East Bay. I was on the waiting list for over two and a half years due to budget problems. I am so happy to finally have a "Little." She is great too.

I took her to a Family Fun Night at a park in Antioch. We had a blast doing crafts, walking near the water, and running through the huge sprinklers up on a hill (that was my idea). After 6 months, we can start doing activities with friends and family members so we will be "touring" Sacramento sometime soon. She wants me to take her to Hawaii and Africa so if anyone has any spare frequent flyer miles...hand 'em over.

Brentwood CornFest

Andrew and I set out to experience Brentwood's famous CornFest last Saturday night. We got there around 7:45pm so we could get a prime seat for the evening fireworks at 9:45pm, but there was a long line wrapped around two blocks. It was taking people and hour and half wait to get in. So we went home and decided to try again on Sunday.

We got in on Sunday and here are a few pictures of the CornFest. We rode rides, ate corn, shopped at the booths (I am pictured talking with a woman about cruises), and went on a carnival ride. Too bad Andrew didn't capture us eating corn, but they were buttery and salty (not good for the camera). It was fun and we will set out earlier next year to beat the crowds.

What a Great Housewarming BBQ!

Thanks all who came near and far to come eat, chat, and laugh at our first BBQ in the new house. The BBQ went great and we loved seeing everyone. We also missed those who couldn't attend, but you are invited to our house anytime.

For all of the pictures click here:

http://hurstdog.org/pictures/CoveLaneHousewarming/

We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. We love you all.

Wawona Weekend

This past weekend all of Shannon's family and I got together at Wawona in Yosemite for a family reunion. We had a blast.

We stayed up there on June 17-20th, and this is what we did:
17th - hung around the cabin, we got there late
18th - Went into the park, drove around in tour buses, and went to a BBQ
19th - Me, my Dad, and the Burton men went into the park for picture taking and hiking, then later that day we had dinner at the Wawona. Late that night, we went up to Glacier point for night photographs.
20th - A visit to Mariposa Grove of Giant Seqouias, and we were full.

You can see a gallery of all of the action here: http://hurstdog.org/pictures/BurtonYosemite2005/.

Everyone is really excited for next year, and we're trying to figure out a good place to go as we speak.

A non-labyrinth story.

Andrew and I were itching to see something besides our house or backyard so we loaded up the dogs and went on an adventure. We drove 25 minutes to the Antioch/Oakley Regional Shoreline Pier. The dogs loved being outside and I enjoyed the lapping of the water.

The pier had an interesting group of people and I will never go back there alone, but it was fun to see what goes on in our town. We then headed to downtown Brentwood so I could see what kind of trees people plant in their yards. Here are some great pictures Andrew took.

Plants are In!

Teenie wanted to show everyone what has happened in the garden these past few weeks. She loves walking on the labyrinth (and eating the compost in the dirt).

Portions of the labyrinth are slowly filling in. We are going to fill the gaps with dirt or some other material like decomposed granite.

Here is the entry to the labyrinth. We planted Japanese blood grass on both sides along with some blue fescue grasses. They are slowly bouncing back from the terrible neglect and abuse they suffered while living at a horrible nursery up the street.

Our top, right corner now has life. We planted our puya plant in the top middle and surrounded it with wild indigo. We have brick barriers up because the dogs use the labyrinth as their daily exercise ring and I want the plants to survive.

Only 2 of the 3 sage plants were shipped to me because they were out of stock on one. I will be buying the third shortly. I hope they grow big and lush someday.

I am very happy to report that my canna is very happy in its new location. It seems to grow a new leaf everyday.

We will be mulching and filling in the inner portion of the labyrinth soon. We are still searching for more used brick. We paid for the first set of bricks, but the last two groups we have found on craigslist for free.

Plant Crazy!

Here is an update on the plants being added to the labyrinth. I found a great Bay Area Nursery (and heard about it through the grapevine) called Annie's Annuals. You can see them on the web at: www.anniesannuals.com. I copied some of the pictures from the website so you can see first hand what plants are coming my way via UPS! Bring on the plants.

First is a Puya alpestris "Sapphire Tower":

A five foot stalk will bolt up in spring revealing these flowers:

Around the Puya I am going to plant Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba) to go along with the drought tolerant scheme of plants. I am hoping to find the purple smoke version too:

In another corner I am going to plant some Salvia or Sage plants. Here are the three varieties I ordered:

Today, I planted Japanese Blood Grass and some Blue Fescue grasses. These plants are near the Lavender. I will fill the gap around the lavender with Mimulus or Monkey Flower:

I will post a picture of the grasses tomorrow. I am having so much fun I don't know what I will do when I am all done with the backyard!