This morning around 10:30 I decided the azaleas in front of the house had to go. It took 3 hours to uproot 12 of them. The ones on the east side were not doing well at all, so they were easier. The west side azaleas were doing quite well and were stubbornly holding their ground, making them difficult to dig out. Plus, I dug out huge tree roots from 2 river birches cut down a couple years ago. I am so wiped out! For now, most of the candy pink sunpatiens lining the front are still blooming, but once they're spent, I think I'll let the ground rest and in the spring hire someone to grind the tree stumps, then start over with new plantings. It's fun thinking of ideas of how I want the front of the house to look. Maybe incorporate sago palms in the corners? That's such a south Louisiana thing, but I want to make sure that's a native plant. I do want to use more natives as I replace and replant.

As I sat in my prayer chair trying to meditate after all that work, this little Downy Woodpecker came to feast on the peanuts. The suet container he prefers is empty, and the thought of masking up and getting out in this heat to get more, is too much right now. I noticed when I downloaded the images that the red patch on his head is shaped like a heart. Awww!

235/366Heart Head
400mm | f/5.6 | ISO 1600 | 1/1250 sec