Before I moved back to Yuma, I lived in Novato, CA in the Meadow Park neighborhood. I lived there with my sons for 10 years! I had a front porch with a large table that I used quite often. I would sit outside on many a day crocheting. I love to do this activity outside. This is a picture of that patio.
Fast forward several years later.
I used to go to the alley behind the building where I currently live and lay there in the sun on my zero gravity lounge chair. I stopped doing that a while ago. Now I can just open my front door and there is my sun spot everyday. I can sit on my patio chair and the sun is right there for a few hours in the morning. The sun is almost always shining in Yuma. In summer, the sun is a bit hotter but since I was born here I am used to the heat and I love it actually.
I cannot handle cold weather. It was getting very cold for me in Northern California. Now I am feeling fine and I can easily live here where I came from. Someday I know when we (I mean my family members) are all back together we will have large patios and gazebos for resting. For now I am happy that I have found my sun spot again and that I can comfortably crochet outside like I used to.
Messy Tree
I was able to talk to our gardener Peter today about an important issue. There is a very large and messy tree growing here which has not been maintained very well. In fact I have been here almost 4 1/2 years and I have yet to see anyone trim the branches. This is what it looks like:

River Tamarind i.e. White Lead Tree (Leucaena leucocephala).
White Lead Tree (Leucaena leucocephala): This invasive species can grow up to 16 feet tall and has pinnate leaves divided into 10-20 small leaflets. It produces spherical clusters of white flowers at the end of branches, which turn brown as they mature. The seed pods are flat, 4-6 inches long, brown, and contain 20 glossy, brown oval seeds.
Unfortunately, leucaena contains mimosine, a plant amino acid, that can be toxic when ingested at higher concentrations.
This is a messy tree. You do not want this tree on your property. There is nothing good about it.
OK, so I asked Peter if he could trim the tree. He contacted the owner and it is being considered now as a real possibility. Peter said how messy it is everyday. I agreed. There is never a day when we have no messy seed pods flying around here. I now know it is also toxic too. It is best to know what is growing on your property and just get rid of it. This was an exciting result for me today. I just asked the right person at the right time and it may finally be dealt with the right way.
I am very good at figuring out the kind of tree that is growing. There are several guides online too. This one is just a messy, not good for anything invasive tree and that happens to be poisonous too. I am hoping the owner decides to finally get rid of it. I am seeing more action by the owners around here. I see other owners here doing things with their properties right now. I am hoping that this keeps going because I always like to see owners doing the right thing with their properties. I want to live on a property that is safe and beautiful too.
Front Porch Living is coming back to me finally. I know it is returning to me. I am living one day to the next and soon everything will be just as I want it to be, safe at home, with my real family, here in Yuma, AZ.
















