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climate. Trees, plants, shrubs and small patches of grass, rose bushes and two Chinaberry trees were growing there. 

In the summer the two trees did their job. The leaves grew back and created a large canopy of shade. The Chinaberry tree is from the south and grows wild in Texas. This was a tree my grandmother knew and wanted to see in her yard. The trees formal name is Melia azedarach, which we were never told. The tree brought something more than just shade and that was a word, China.

Even though the front yard had plants and an attempt at landscaping the garden hose was still tangled across the eight-foot wide yard. Bermuda grass only grew on the perimeters; it was all dirt in the middle. A small wood boarder outlined the yard where the roses grew. The pink blooms would come in the spring, before the hot climate took over. The roses were never cut and brought into the house. They stayed outside where in two days they would be brown and dead. There was a white picket fence of rough wood and chipping paint that defined the perimeter. Picket fences have always been a symbol that there is civility and care given to the enclosed space and at a distance this worked for my grandmother's yard. Our pictures growing up were always taken in the front yard. We grew up with the Chinaberry trees, the roses, the dirt, and the hose making a line towards our feet. Our growth stages were always planted and photographed in the front yard.

Running water and shade were two important elements that could only be found in the front yard. The rest of our world was hot and dry. The water could soak in to the

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