Last night was not a good night. My blog was removed(as were many others) and I think I felt a huge hole in my heart. 2 and half years of research and exploration gone.....just like that. It was a bit unnerving but thankfully I was able to get the blog up again. Blogger/Google is a difficult beast for help. It took me hours to get Las Aventuras running. It made me sad to think that I might lose you all. It made me upset that all of my information and photography would disappear. And all I can say was that there was a great big empty feeling inside. My other half felt my pain and thankfully Pat was there to help me out. Several of you may have gone through this yourself. It's a bit terrifying. Think about how many thousands of hours you put in your work a year. It's like a bad habit but used for good:) Okay that's that. So I thought I'd put a spin on our gardens and updates from around El Presidio. How about an update during a monsoon storm? We had some beautiful light during this night and the skies were incredible. The above shot is taken from the parking lot.
The skies were dark and therefore our courtyard lights went on. Here are our wonderful Oak trees providing a little ambience from around the property.
As we face the front entrance, I notice a light out, lots of clouds, and some much needed rain....but there was more....
As I looked up, I noticed a HUGE rainbow over our homes! That was a first.
I got up on the second level and took a shot over the courtyard area. The former pool is adjusting to the rains. I will continue filling in more dirt for the spots that need it. It has taken some time for the soil to settle in. Hopefully soon a fountain will be going into that area.
Here is the front area of the Northern Planters.
And finally the side gardens. Not all is done here yet but I am liking how it's all coming together. This area above is called the Fruit Garden and the pic below is from the Fern Garden. This area is the oldest of my works at 4 years of age. I am loving the curving nature of bamboo as it's creating a natural green tunnel for folks returning home. It's not perfect yet and requires me to tie up a lot of random bamboo sticking out, but as it gets older, this arch will get higher.
More updates coming from El Presidio Gardens.....weather permitting:)
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Great sky pictures Chris.....lovely colors.
ReplyDeleteBoję się nawet myśleć, że mogłabym stracić bloga. Z pewnością ze znalezieniem jego bym sobie nie poradziła. Bardzo się cieszę, że Twoja druga połowa pomogła Ci i jesteś :-). Piękna tęcza nad Twoim ślicznym domem i ogrodem . Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to even think that I might lose the blog. Certainly, the finding would not have made it. I am very glad that your other half has helped you and you are :-). A beautiful rainbow over your lovely home and garden. Yours.
Great atmospheric shots.
ReplyDeleteIt is best to wait a while before panicking as Google usually sort these hitches out.....easy for me to say. glad you survived.
Oh I know how Blogger can get, I hope everything is back to normal for you. Lovely shots of your property. The sky shots are beautiful, especially the rainbow. The courtyard looks lovely and I like the bamboo. Beautiful photos, have a great day.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you managed to get your blog back Chris. Do you know how it was removed? I was really upset last night when I couldn't access it. I would have been totally panic striken as its the loss of so much work and a record of your memories.
ReplyDeleteThe photos in this post are really atmospheric and its lovely to see how the gardens are developing after all your hard work.
Your gardens are really lovely. I've still got problems on my blog with my friends not showing up. Been a problem since April and it's still not fixed. Glad things finally worked out for you.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
So glad you got it back! Why on earth do blogs get removed anyway? I've never believed that this blogging thing will last forever and then what happens to all of these posts we've done. For that reason I ordered a book of my Mormon Trek blog just to be able to keep it. That was a lot of work. Anyhoo - loved the photos. Love the rain. Hate the humidity!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful rainbow!!!
ReplyDeleteYour oak trees are beautiful, too:)
oh wow...i haven't had that problem with blogger...not yet...but i have had other very frustrating things happen ...and they sure aren't any help. but having your blog disappear...lost in space...would have to be the worst feeling. it would definitely be an 'up all nighter'. so tell us how you finally figured it out, what you did to bring it back up...just in case we have to suffer through this too!
ReplyDeleteyour place is beautiful...all the plants...the courtyard...the clouds overhead...and the RAINBOW!! wow!!!
So sorry about your blog gone missing but thrilled you got it back! Yes, I can imagine the whole in your heart. It would have been devastating to lose it. Good job on getting it back! I doubt I could have done the same.
ReplyDeleteThat sky is amazing! The rainbow makes me go awe and I think everything on the property is looking fab!
The pictures are all great.
ReplyDeleteHow did you lose your blog? Just the thought is terrifying to me.
I make all of my posts through Windows Live Writer and it keeps a copy of all of my posts on my computer. If you haven't tried Live Writer why not check it out?
That rainbow shot is a winner!
ReplyDeleteChris, the gardens look beautiful! You have done a wonderful job with them...and...that rainbow! What beautiful shots. I am so glad you are back. I would hate to lose you!
ReplyDeleteI can feel that humidity and smell the desert...glad you are getting good rains, even though we are not. I find walking one's plantings after rain really shows the potential, the wet ground and growth, even if slight. I think the El Presidio grounds are very nicely kept and clean, yet not sterile...and nothing like your unsheared Texas Sage, in full flowering glory!
ReplyDeletereally glad you were able to get thru the blogger dilemma! this has happened to several folks i follow. i regularly back-up my blog - in case it ever gets destroyed somehow, i can restore it or move it to another blog host platform.
ReplyDeleteanyway, the rainbow is gorgeous!!!
I'm happy to see you got the blog up and running again. I agree about the lack of help from Google regarding Blogger. Gorgeous rainbow! The rains have been wonderful and the desert looks so lush.
ReplyDeleteTracy told me of your troubles. What a scare! I was lucky enough to get on it yesterday before all this happened. Your gardens are looking lovely and reflect all the care and hard work that goes into them. The rain will be greatly appreciated, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteYay for garden updates! Boo for blog heartache.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened? Was it something Google/Blogger did? Evil hacksters? You? Anything you/we can do to prevent a recurrence?
The gardens look beautiful with a bit of rain on them. The rainbow is special. Do you really lose everything when your blog goes down? I noticed you were gone and wondered.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is gorgeous Chris, you can tell that you love it and put a lot into it, as you do your fab blog..what a nightmare, I can't imagine how scary that would have been.. But the rainbow over your house and garden is a tremendously lucky sign, all will be well from now on..I predict haha!
ReplyDeleteThat is so scary, why did your blog get removed? Glad you resolved the problem.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics today, especially the rainbow.
Thank you all for the tips. I remember Andrea a long time ago had this issue and she told me to export my work which I do on a regular basis, but you never know:)
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell is that the Google+ is a sensitive beast. Blogger doesn't like spammy blogs(which mine isn't) BUT I post my work on this Google + addition which has been a great tool for getting my work out there. I also post things to Facebook, etc. My laptop is where I write, but if I'm on the road or out of state etc etc, I use my kindle to publish comments and access my blog. This sets the google machine to state that the account will be deactivated due to unusual activity. So that's the deal with that.
Thank you all for your tips and encouragement. Adrian, that's good advice:) I'm OCD about my work at home, garden, blog, and work....at some point, something has to give, right?:) Just go with the flow. Again thank you all for your words of wisdom. Chris
And one more addition. How will I prevent it again? How did I get it back? There is a mobile device security. They will send you a 6 number verification code by voice or text. Since I don't own a cell, I tried voice, but it wasn't working. Then I had it sent to Pat's cell and the text showed up and I was able to type it in and get the blog back up. Preventing it? Not sure. Last night, it appeared to happen to many people including a fellow blogger that I read frequently. I don't know if Google changed some formula but it happened as the blogger day ends across the world. For me, it's 5 PM when blogger officially starts us over for the next day and that's what happened. I think they had some changes for August and they set into motion causing the cascade of blogs going down. Hopefully that helps.
Deletethey kept whining at me for a cell number. Don't have a cell number so I ignored them. Then Blogger suspended my account and in desperation I used my husband's cell number. It is protection against someone breaking in to your blog, but quite shattering to be be blogless looking at the internet. I remember when I had a blog ...
Deletethats one beautiful place you live at Chris, enjoy all that is to be found there :-)
ReplyDeleteScary to hear that that happened... Glad you have it back.. I find it EXTREMELY hard to get help from Blogger when something goes wrong. I love blogging also--but this is becoming too much, and seems to be happening too quickly...
ReplyDeleteI don't ever want to give up Blogging --but if I do, it will be due to some Blogger issues that I cannot solve....
So sorry it happened to you, Chris. I feel your pain. When I had that malware problem on my blog, I dealt with that for days and days without help. I was SO upset...
Great pictures and your home/yard/garden looks GREAT.. You have worked hard.
Beautiful rainbow also.
Betsy
Beautiful. I didn't know about people's blogs disappearing. I'm glad you managed to get everything back.
ReplyDeleteDid you go chasing the pot of gold under the rainbow, it looks right your house.
ReplyDeleteI don't even want to think of my blog disappearing, why is this the first I'm hearing of it! Did they explain why it happened? It's good to know that it can be restored. I'm just going to focus on your shot of the rainbow (beautiful) and believe that all will be well :)
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks so refreshing. I can almost smell the rain. What a great rainbow!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems maintenance on computer databases always causes a problem. Had not heard about blogs just disappearing though. Yikes! If there was as many as you say that were pulled, Blogger was probably scrambling to fix it as they caused it not you. All my photos and text is on my computer just not in a nice layout with little links like the blog.
Glad to see all seems to be well today!
Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great shots!! Fantastic the colors in the first shot. And wonderful to see that rainbow.
Blogs has sometimes strange problems. Somedays are all my bloglists away. Strange!!
Greetings, Marco
oh that is great...your hard work is paying off
ReplyDeleteand that rainbow...wow
and isn't it interesting that a photo can reveal what we miss with our eyes....
SO happy you got your blog back.....
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteYes, I would panic too. I'm glad to know that if it happens, there's a way to get it back. I know some of my friends blog on Wordpress, but I'm just not willing to learn a whole new system quite yet. If mine got erased I would be in shock, but at least the garden is still outside! Blogging is a lot like having a favorite pet...and then if it gets lost in the neighborhood you'll do anything to get it back.
And...nice garden pics of your garden. I always like to see what you are up to and it's always very nice. Show more!
Happy Rainbows!
David/:0)
That rainbow is a wonderful gift. Your gardens look awesome. I'll be the residents love all that green.
ReplyDeleteOH WOW! I guess maybe it's a good thing I didn't know Google had a problem. (I've been out and about quite a bit this week and have very rarely been at my computer.) I had no idea Google caused so much panic. I'm glad all is well again!
ReplyDelete