the second coming!

flora has been in our lives since 2003, standing tall and proud over the valley floor ...

when we purchased our new house flora was left behind, mature vegetation pretty much had her locked in place, unless we wanted to hire a helicopter! that is, until the fire wiped clean 600 square miles...

today my husband thrilled me again! flora was a surprise gift for me 17 years ago, we had seen her at our favorite statuary store, months later my husband snuck her home! i was inside when he came home saying come look, i dented the truck, I walk outside and flora is laying kitty corner in the truck, i was SQUEALING! my husband wanted to name her gg, for a grand gal (she cost $1000), i slapped that down instantly and named her florabunda, for the beautiful roses bestowing her.

today my husband left at 5:00 am to drive two hours towing our tractor to recover flora from the steep charred hill. He tore down retaining walls to inch the tractor within 5' from her, from there he made wooden ramps and winched her off her pedestal, inch by inch, for hours on end. when he arrived back home this afternoon he was covered in soot, hot and exhausted, she weighs around 900 pounds and he managed to muscle her all the way back into our lives!

he is my hero!

she needs a good bath and a scrub

she will need to be stained

she is showing her age with cracks and fissures

but i love her even more than the day she first arrived!

this is just a temporary home for her, the backyard will have a pool and once that is installed she will be placed on a new pedestal and be a prominent feature like before, except this time she will be facing due east.

if i had to picture just one item that speaks of home to me it is flora, i am pinching myself that she made the new move with us, it truly feels like home here now, she is my comfort food...

welcome home flora, i missed you so much!

thank you scott for making dreams come true over and over!