I bought some great water systems that will help my plants survive.  Went to Lowe's this morning while I could walk.  Between the back pain and whatever is wrong with my foot/ankle I have been having trouble with walking much.  Anyway, I found the Jobe's water system online and checked at Lowes online and sure enough they had them. Funny thing is that they were $5.96 online and $6.96 in the store.  I told myself that the cost of shipping would equal all things out.

The way it works, is that there is a little washer that must disintegrate after a few weeks/months of use.  It controls the amount of water that flows into the plant.  I have my son and daughter-in-law come over to water but with gas prices as they are I don't want to burden them with a long drive every week so these should cut the visits down considerably.  

I realized when I looked at this picture from last year that my tree is doing so well down here in the heat that it has grown almost double wide.  My cactus are not in bloom right now but they did quite well over the summer last year while I was gone so I have high hopes.  I also bought some moisture pellets that you put into the soil that expand and hold moisture.  Between the new bottles and the pellets I am pretty sure that Deb and John will only have to visit every three weeks.  

There is much to do to prepare to leave and head north.  I am not sure how much I will be blogging in the next few weeks.  Knowing me it will be more than ever as I try to cope with the overload.