The Pride of Barbados is in Bloom

My Pride of Barbados has come into bloom. It was a long wait but it was worth it. It is stunning. Here is a picture of the first couple of blooms. More blooms have come out since this picture. It's getting more and more beautiful each day. They seem to pop over night providing a nice surprise each morning. I'll post some more pictures once it is in full bloom. I only hope the deer do not eat it in the mean time.

Here is another picture of the hibiscus. Still blooming and ever changing with each passing day. I was attempting to capture the size of the blooms. Not sure it really worked. As note earlier, they are the size of dinner plates. Very impressive. The deer have been staying away ever since I started using a heavier hand on the Deer Off. Not sure if the Deer Scram worked because it rained with in a day of the application. The commercials say that it will last for 45 days even when it rains. The directions indicated otherwise. And of course, it didn't just rain, it poured a few times. Needless to say, the pellets washed away. I think the Deer Off is working just fine. I've been applying it every week or so just to make sure those pesky critters stay away. Happy to report they seem to be under control.

Travis Peaked at 702

Last week the lake finally peaked at 702. Here is a picture of the pasture below the house. The lower branches of the large oak trees were submerged. LCRA has opened four flood gates in order to reduce the lake level. The lake has been going down a foot a day for the past week. The lake level is currently at 689. More rain came today and there is more in the forecast for the beginning of the week. This maybe the weather pattern for the summer. I guess we'd best get used to it.

When will the rain stop?

Well it's still raining here in Jonestown! The forecast is rain week at least another week. Travis is now higher then I've ever seen it. I think it's at 701! My personal record was 697. That level was hit Nov '04. The picture at the top of my blog was taken during that flood. The all time record is 710. I don't think it will make it that high this go 'round. But then again I was sure it would stop raining after May. Not the case, it rained most of June and there is no end in sight.

The lake is closed through the 4th at this point. I happen to be enjoying it. It's nice not to have party boats docked in our cove "entertaining" their guest with karaoke in Korean ( I think that was the language) or cigarette boats racing from one end to the other. Keep in mind Lake Travis is just a river that has been dammed to form a lake. It's not very wide, however it is long - 63 miles I think ....

Anyway, no worries the lake hasn't reached the Big Build yet. Joker and I surveyed the rising waters as it pertains to our property over the weekend. The lake was 80 yards from our lower edge. I think it's higher now. But it will need to rise 15 more feet before we have lake front.

Hopefully the rain will slow down enough such that I can take some pictures. I'll post them once I'm able ....