Beauty of nature

My brother is an amazing photographer and has captured so many beautiful images in nature. He lives on the coast in Northern California, so nature's abundance is rich in color and diversity. Enjoy.

An unexpected gift is the best kind

The other day I received a text telling me that flowers had been left on my porch but they weren't in water. I went out and this beautiful, carefully curated bouquet beckoned. E and C were the kind souls who were so thoughtful, even though I have yet to figure out what I've done to deserve it.

And while we're on the subject of flowers, here are two exquisite rose blossoms that insisted on having their picture taken:

Can't get enough

The roses are out, and yes, there are red roses around, but how often to you see roses in this peachy color?

And then the California poppies are going wild. Oddly enough, their color mimics the roses. Mmmmm.

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

As I've mentioned multiple times to anyone who will listen, knowing anything about gardening is not one of my skill sets. As a result, it is always a complete shock when plantings take off. For instance, the African daisies in the Critter Café have grown over the path to the second bird feeder and it grieves me to ever step on any of the blossoms. Humming Tiptoe Through the Tulips (anybody remember Tiny Tim?) helps.

Then there's the garden bed with a lovely marble topped table at the foot which is so smothered in the ground cover that refuses to grow in the direction it should and instead, creeps over everything else -- beautifully, but none the less.

That same ground cover was planted in a corner with the intention of spreading out to add color and replace grass. The spreading stopped, but the color is fantastically intense, and I'm not even fond of pink and think it's glorious.

 

And now here's what is going to give true gardeners cause to shake their heads and do a lot of tsk tsking. There is one area of the front yard that is completely overrun with, dare I say it, a weed. Thing is, it provides food for bees and cover for other beneficial insects during the late winter/early spring. No matter the side eyes from actual garden pros, this happens every year and makes the bare dirt a thing for the hot summer. It's called Oxalis, and there are good reasons to get rid of it in your flower beds, but, sorry, not sorry for leaving it alone while it flourishes. Come summer, it will go.

 

 

It's true I let things get out of hand, but starting in April, after most of the rains have stopped, then it's trim, weed, transplant, and generally get serious about trying to pretend there is a method to my gardening madness.

Spring has definitely sprung

Dogs force us to get out and about and that's a very good thing. Nellie and I do vary our path occasionally, but mostly we have a routine and it means passing by familiar houses regularly. Often it's very ho-hum. Same old, same old. But every so often we're startled, and mostly delighted, by something new.

We were hailed today by a very friendly frog, who boldly captured our attention with his wide smile and bon vivant manner. We introduced ourselves and asked to take his picture. He graciously agreed.

 

Further along on our stroll, we came upon a Wisteria in full bloom that was too magnificent to pass by unacknowledged.

But not to be outdone by neighborhood whimsy, there are two critters who reside in my front yard full time. While neither have the rakish air of the frog dandy, they make me smile.

The bunny is perfectly content to watch passersby in the front, secure in the knowledge she can't be easily seen.

The cat's expression is one of perpetual surprise. I expect it's because after all these years, she's STILL not invited into the house, though she keeps an eagle eye on the front door. We feel quite protected.

Spring is here

As Nellie and I walk about the neighborhood, feeling a bit lost, we have come across the signs of life that Spring brings and find comfort.

For instance, the best dinosaur ever is already sporting her St. Patrick's Day gear:

And the wisteria is blooming all over:

And last, but not least, the brightest colors anywhere:

New beginnings....

Blooms in Spring

There is an entire poem about good fences making good neighbors and I cannot deny that the fence between us has yielded very good neighbors indeed. I'm speaking of an amazing blossom that somehow managed to bloom from one side of the fence to our side in sheer perfection:

 

Another mystery plant, a gift from Ms. P (thank you!), has also bloomed and is regally beautiful. Frankly, I'm surprised it thrived at all, knowing my propensity for haphazard gardening, but I am so happy it did.

 As always, click on the picture to get up close and personal and enjoy a moment of nature's gifts to the world.

Ten heart attacks later...

Nellie and I were finishing a lovely, and for me, rather brisk walk about town, when suddenly, three dogs on retractable leashes (accidents waiting to happen) went for Nellie. The woman holding the leashes was maybe 5 feet tall and weighed about as much as a puff of wind. Two of her dogs were small, but the third was probably a Rottweiler/Buffalo mix (that dog is massively built). The poor woman got tangled immediately by all the dogs running rings around her and at the time I was more worried about her falling over (she's no spring chicken) than anything else. Turns out that wasn't the worry.

Nellie somehow slipped out of her martingale collar, which is supposed to be slip proof (well NOW we know better), and ran like the hounds of hell were after her. I'll give her props: she did look back twice when I called out to her. Looking back and coming back are two different things though, and she just kept going lickety-split. Once I was able to untangle myself from the woman and her dogs, I went faster than I've gone since 8th grade track team. Ah, track team. The slowest one of the bunch - but I digress. 

There I am, stumping down the street with my cane and a pounding heart after Nellie. I pass a man walking his dog. "Did you see a dog run past you?" A "yes" followed by "Did you notice where she went?" Another "yes" and an arm pointing out her trajectory. He could tell I wasn't in it for the conversation, I just needed to follow the contrail Nellie was leaving behind her supersonic exit.

I'm fumbling for the phone to call long-suffering partner and tell him to get in the car and start scouring the neighborhood. But as I hung up, I had a fleeting thought that she might be headed home. That was the made-for-TV happy ending I had in my mind. Two more blocks to go before home. Partner passes in the car only to yell he hasn't seen her. "Keep looking," I yell back. Last block to home and pass a woman who looks a little spooked. Again I asked if she's seen a loose dog and again a yes. But the answer for the location was a bit frightening. Up near killer road. Heart pounding even harder, I push my legs to work faster...and faster. 

Home. Walking up to the front porch prepared to throw myself in the car to go searching. And who should be standing at the top of the stairs? Happy TV movie ending. Yes. Nellie - wagging her tail for all it was worth and looking quite satisfied that she knew where home was and made it in one piece. And me crying in relief that she not only knew where to go to be safe, but she chose, after only 3 weeks with us, to get there and wait until someone showed up. 

Guess who is going to be in her harness for walkies from now on!

After that heart-pounding morning, let's end on a Zen note of peace and beauty with two flowers. One is shaped like a butterfly and one like a cone. Both fabulous.

Thoughtful neighbors, more blossoms, books and little Nellie

Our neighborhood seems to have little libraries on every block. And little libraries are a great way to share books and the love of reading. But how many little libraries have a reading area set aside for passersby? Just one that I know of. Some fantastic people decided to create a rest stop for walkers on their street.

Speaking of little libraries, most are house shaped and not particularly remarkable. Except for this one. It has glitter all over it. And it's purple. Now that's fun.

Speaking of fun, two more examples of Ms. A's wonderful mosaic work:

Some more beautiful blossoms:

Haven't a clue what they are, and after cosseting one extremely anxious dog for the last 3 days, I'm too tired to look things up. But Nellie is doing her best to settle in and after her bath today, she looks shiny and fluffy, and more importantly, smells good. She is such a dear and tries so hard. We'll all be happy families soon enough.

More evidence Spring has sprung

More to appreciate around this time of year. Though we have had little to no rain, blossoms don't seem to know that. Which is just as well since we need all the colorful cheer we can get right now. And as if that weren't enough, I found some really wonderful, albeit over-the-top, Easter decorations in front of a house and couldn't resist. Enjoy!

Something other than chickens

When I started this blog, I had no idea I would be writing about a beautiful hen who took up residence (uninvited) and then became a focal point of my day for weeks on end. We are now in a routine that works for both of us, though I am thinking ahead to the winter and how I can get her to be in a covered safe location. But all things in due time.

No, this is about other projects that make me happy and some that are just tedious. Hours spent trying to remove some cactus from the infamous thicket in the corner of the property -- and most importantly trying not to be impaled upon the truly nasty spikes -- falls in the tedious, but necessary category. Ditto for pulling out the miles of aloe that no longer grace the parkway, but at this point just look sad, burnt, and frankly nasty. But enough about that.

You may remember the rusty hoops in a previous post. They are currently undergoing a transformation with paint. Halfway done with those. As I was painting, I remembered the rusty lanterns hanging on my porch posts and thought how nice it would be to spruce them up. I didn't want garish colors, and the hammered copper paint seemed to be the ticket. Still make them look like old lanterns (which they are -- from a monastery), but give them a bit of shine. From one of the lanterns I had hung a completely rusted and rather sad looking Tinkerbell, that judging from the small remnants was once enameled in bright colors. While I am thinking of adding a bit more bling at some point, I'm happy with the hammered copper and red at the moment. Just perks up some formerly drab decorations. So from this rusted piece:

To these painted ones:

Subtle difference to be sure, but it makes me happy.

In other news, there are some truly magnificent blossoms coming out now:

The next blossom is on a plant that requires a bit of a back story. A neighbor in my building in Northern California gave me a single leaf of this plant. I put it in a small vase with water and it grew some roots, but never got planted. It thrived for years as a single leaf in water. When I moved to SoCal, it came along for the ride, and now having a yard, I planted it. That single leaf grew into a jungle of exotic leaves and blooms. It was just waiting for the right environment.

It's one of the few plants Ninja has yet to destroy.

And for the final word on all subjects, my little terminator would like to add: