This is our koi pond. The funky tree hanging over it is a Cedar of Lebanon, which is apparently a valuable tree. So I try not to kill it, and as you can see I've done well so far. A while ago Jeff put the hose in the pond to fill up the water, and forgot about it. So the pond overflowed and the fish slipped out and died. Therefore, we now have new fish. Welcome, new fish. I promise to keep Jeff away from the hoses.
This is Elvis. Don't be fooled by his diminutive size; he's a vicious beast. His buddy, Onen, isn't in the picture because he hates me and tries to kill me every time I go near him. But Elvis and I get along just fine. He likes to sit on my chest while I watch TV, and clean my teeth. And we take showers together. His wings aren't clipped, but he doesn't fly away. I guess he likes his little parrot snacks enough to stick around. If you're thinking about getting a parrot for a pet, please don't. Elvis is a conure, specifically, and conures are terrible pets. They need to be in the jungle.
The front of the house. The guy who lived here before us was a landscape architect, and he went full-tilt with the landscape architect-ing, as you can see. If you think our yard looks nuts in this picture, you should see it up close in real life. But it's registered as one of the "Master Gardens" of the city, so we feel obligated to keep everything. Even though we feel like we live in a plant store sometimes, and the trees are getting so big we can't see out any windows. Cool house though, right?
The dog sits in that spot all day, every day, guarding the front door. Much to the chagrin of the mail carrier. They don't get along.
The ginormous oak tree in the front. Walking beneath it can be hazardous, due to the plentitude of squirrels and birds who pick acorns from the branches and use the top of your head for target practice. They throw them at me on purpose, I'm sure of it. I don't even go in the front yard anymore because of it.
Beneath it are rhododendrons, which are my favorite.
The front yard. As there is no grass anywhere on the property, that big central square is filled with vinca, which blooms blue in the spring. Over to the left are some boxwood bushes cut into a loopy ribbon design that I think is fussy and ridiculous, but whatever. The big tree in the top-center is a magnolia, which is pretty cool.