When I moved into the Saturn St. duplex in or around 1995, it had in all likelihood the ugliest back yard on the island. The only thing growing back there was stickerburrs.

Though I was only renting, I decided it would be worth the effort to improve that yard. I started by adding a sandbox. It was designed and built by my friend Dennis Barrett in Oct. of '97. Deisal Dave filled it up with sand that had been scraped form somewhere yucky - it was loaded with shells and rocks and chunks of asphalt which has been gradually sifted out over the years.

I keep a running log of what transpires in this box here on the web. For the latest views, check out the sandbox page.

After the sandbox was established, I started planting things - with varying levels of success. I killed a lot of innocent greenery trying to figure out what will grow in hot, dry, salty conditions. If you are interested in discovering more about what grows well here on South Padre Island, you should head over to spigardens.com.

In 2001 my landlord condoized the duplex; I purchased the downstairs unit and we officially became known as "Sandbox Condominiums." In 2003 we installed the hot tub and I can't remember how I used to go to sleep before I had a nightly soak....

In 2007 I purchased the upstairs unit which has now earned its own website as the SandBox Inn. It has a great view of my yard and my sandbox... and I am working on giving it a sandbox all its own. It is a really fine place to stay and if you have any plans to visit lovely South Padre Island I hope you will consider staying with me.

Becoming a homeowner gave me an even greater incentive to improve the yard. You can see from the photos that my efforts have not gone unrewarded; my backyard today is a green leafy oasis that gives me great pleasure all year round. One of the things I like to do is take pictures of the things that grow here and the creatures it attracts. The hummingbirds love the honeysuckle; all kinds of birds roost in the salt cedars that line my back fence. Colonies of silver argiope spiders spin their huge webs in the prickly pear trees -- and they eat tons of bugs!

So here are some photos from my back yard. Enjoy!

silver argiope

praying mantis

... we thought it was a goner but shortly after this photo was snapped the little guy woke up and zipped away.