How much rain did we get? Enough to wash the dust off the leaves of the orange tree, but not enough to wash the trickle-down mud off the leaves of plants below the orange tree. Used the Dramm wand for that. But it was real rain, and that was good enough. Gorgeous sunset last night, and beautiful cloudy day today.
The dark rock in the middle of this photo has been in the family forever. Pallet is from the feed store, circular saw blade from a local salvage/recycle yard, and hanging pots from a long-ago summer in Guanajuato. The manzanita branch was rescued from a lot clean-up near the cabin in Big Bear. Plants: Opuntia 'Santa Rita' on the left, with stonecrop 'Dragon's Blood'; a little Agave bovicornuta; Aloe erinacea (one of the few survivors of an aloe purge, since I can bring him inside for the winter); a cereus monstrose cultivar, one of six pieces a nice gent gave to me after he'd pruned the parent plants; and an Agave utahensis. Below them: Agave isthmensis on the left; little Opuntia basilaris brachyclada (a California endemic native to the foothills of the San Gabriels and the San Bernardinos); and down in the lower right corner, an Agave 'Sierra Mixteca.' The bougainvillea on the right is called 'Camarillo Fiesta,' just the kind of fantasy-of-Old-California name that would pull me in, but I love it for the pink and peach bracts.
This is the first blog post I've written since I retired. I remember blog-writing as an activity hobbled by time-constraint stress, and suddenly it's calm and restful. Amazing. During my last, busy year at work I bought a tablet, which is great for news and Instagram and falling asleep in an armchair at the end of the day, but unimaginable for blogging, at least for me. I want to get back to this.
I mentioned Instagram: you can see my photos here, or of course via the app. The IG crowd now includes Denise of A Growing Obsession, Loree of Danger Garden, Pam of Digging, Reuben of Rancho Reubidoux, and Gerhard of Succulents and More, to name just a few familiars. It's a good bet that your favorite landscape designers, nurseries, nursery owners, shops, national parks, botanical gardens, potters, bird lovers, photographers, and garden authors are on Instagram, along with many other terrific accounts. Warning: time sink.
The Wednesday Vignette meme is hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum, where she writes today about life's fluctuations. Perfect!
What a beautiful web site! I came over from Flutter and Hum - The Wednesday Vignette - and have been enjoying looking around. The Pacific Northwest is where I garden now, although I did live and garden in California for a while.
ReplyDeleteI've already checked out some of the links you share and will be spending more time here as the daylight hours grow shorter.
Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Thanks so much for visiting, jdub, and for your thoughtful comments!
DeleteLuisa!!!! I was so happy to see this blog post. And I'm happy to hear you're doing fine. I was getting worried!
ReplyDeleteI love this vignette. It encompasses you, your family history, and your love or plants and nature. Really, what could be better. And it's so beautiful to look at!
I hope we'll see a lot more blog posts now you're retired (and probably used to it).
Gerhard!!!! You're awesome to visit and leave such a super nice comment!!! I spent much of summer dozing at the cabin, and am playing major catch-up now, checking out at all the most excellent posts on your blog and other favorites. I'm at the fire lookout tower today and better return to scanning the horizon for smokes, (ay caramba, the views!) but will write (blog!) more later. Thanks again!!!
DeleteLuisa: What fire tower are you at? I was a fire lookout once upon a time at South Mt. Hawkins and Vetter on the Angeles. Both have since burned down, but after I burned out. I enjoyed seeing the butterflies the most.
ReplyDeleteJane, thanks for the visit! I'm at Morton Peak several times a month, and I love it so far: butterflies and dragonflies, birds, plants, critters, and great views. Morton's in the San Bernardino National Forest, at just 4624 ft - you can see it from Highway 38. Still over 1000 ft higher than the highest spot in Massachusetts, as my dad would have loved to point out. You must have had wonderful views from Hawkins and Vetter! Thanks for commenting - and thanks also for your blog post on KPCC's Fire Tracker!
DeleteWe've missed you! Hope you are really enjoying your newfound freedom and leisure.
ReplyDeleteTimesinks--yeah...
You are so nice to shout-out my Instagram, and I'm at a loss to know how I've missed seeing Denise there. Thanks for her page link -- following all of you now!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Hoov B and Pam! Best wishes for good gardening to you both!!
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss this the first time? Love the vignette and really enjoy your posts on Instagram.
ReplyDeleteLoree, thank you so much!! The bougainvilleas froze :~( I'm hoping they'll grow back from the roots. (Also: I need to put an Instagram link on here somewhere...)
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