July Beautiful Insects

 Swallowtails on Bottlebrush Buckeye.
Aesculus parviflora.

I do not know what this caterpillar thing is?

Some July Projects 8400 Hull

Light switches, repair and painting of doors, new door handles.

In the case of these closet doors, entire replacement with mahogany.

And, stripping down of the bathroom to gain a few inches, replace fixtures and rebuild.

Taking Out Spirea Shrubs: Before and After

 Before, left and
After, below

Before, above and
After, right

Take Out the Old and Bring in the New: Keep on Truckin

 Cholly from Waste Management comes to pick up Bagster of rubble and construction debris:  3 cubic yards and over one ton.

 Old steel tub waits for pickup by metal recycler, above.
Below, PECO picks up old refrigerator for recycling program.

Arrival of new tub, toilet and sink.

New sofa, damaged in transit.

Visit to Richmond; July 2015

 Serenity and Swim at the Philadelphia Quarry Club

 Team:  SWW Landscape Design
http://swwlandscapedesign.com/index.html

Dinner in DC, below.

After the Storm, June 2015

These photos were taken right after the thunderstorm on June 23, 2015.

They were not photoshopped, filtered or altered in any way.

The sky really had an apocalyptic reddish glow and looked as if it was on fire.

Before the Storm, June 2015

Philadelphia experienced a rather violent thunderstorm on June 23, 2015.

Lots of wind and couple of inches of rain.

It was much less than what the same system brought to midwest and plains states earlier.

Plants at Hull, June 2015

Definitely a high point:
blooming of the native cactus Opuntia humisifolia.  Does not happen every year.
Each bloom lasts about a day.
Planter and cactus came with house.

Containers next to the fish pond, where gold fish are clamoring to be fed.

Lots of work to remove the weedy vines at the base of this Silver Maple.

Work on Hull; June 2015

 Alan in kitchen, pointing to where counter will be installed and cooktop (much later).  
 Tomato Red appliances from Big Chill can be seen, as well as cabinet that Alan made.





Below, Alan sits in half deconstructed bathroom.  1950's pink and black tiles came out.  Thick 1950's drywall came out in an effort to gain a few inches in small bathroom.  Fixtures will be replaced.

The following sequence shows removal of door molding.

First, adjacent doors, right with molding and left after molding removed.

Then, Alan adds joint compound to fill the gaps.

Lastly, door in utility room after molding removed and joints filled, but before painting.

Much cleaner and more streamlined look, but a lot of work!

CHFM Rain Garden, June 2015

 Plugs of 5 inch high grasses and flowers and 16 shrubs were put in the ground on April 25 at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting.
  May brought 5 weeks of drought and high temperatures.
  Thankfully, June was cooler and had generous rain.
  The plants are taking root.