We have been slowly but surely hacking away at the grass. Since the above picture was taken we have cleared the grass clumps up to edge of the lawn that will remain intact. There is about a third to go. Once all the grass is out, we will have to tackle the irrigation system, level everything, lay down landscaping cloth, and then move the raised beds. Still so much to do! I was trying to get all the grass removed before the arrival of our two storm systems, but didn’t make it. So now we will have to wait for the grass to dry a bit again. I am hoping to get my first summer planting done in March, so we have to move quickly.

And while this is all going on, I finally got some good instruction on trimming my stone fruit trees. For the first time, I felt like I had some idea what I was doing and pruned our nectarine tree, which was in desperate need of some (or a lot) of thinning.

The ivy and Bougainvillea need some containment, so I hope to squeeze that in too.

Meanwhile, the fava beans continue to bloom. 

The tomato seedlings are growing strong.

And, I have one more gorgeous head of cabbage to harvest.

After all this much needed rain passes, I will have to really push through the labor intensive projects ahead so I can get moved into spring and be on my way to summer.