From the monthly archives:

May 2010

May and June in California

by Lorraine on May 27, 2010

The day has started out being dreary, gray and drizzly….it doesn’t make me feel happy or thrilled but I guess there are some people that love this kind of weather but I am not one of them.  If you grew up or live in parts of the country where long gray days are the norm, you would not be bothered by it.

But being a native of southern California, I am used to mostly sunny days and when we have our “May Grays”  and “June Glooms”   those of us who have lived here for most of our lives, hate this kind of weather.

Hopefully the condition won’t last long and our sun and warm days will reappear soon.   But sometimes this will last for weeks and you dispair about the darkness and eat too many carbs.

I hate this gloom and for some reason, this year we have had very little of it and most of the time its been beautiful, sunny and blue skies to look forward to and I loved it.  

Especially the last few days with clear skies and horizons that called out for attention.  It’s been amazing and makes you want to be outside and enjoying it as much as you can and be in my garden, doing things, poking around and loving it.

With the additional rain we have had this year, all of the wildflowers continued blooming longer than normal and the plants in my garden have become quite large and those that bloom are still going strong.  A terrific bonus!

The Nodding needle grass overtook my pathway and I finally but reluctantly, decided it was time to trim it back to each clump’s base, so that I could walk on the path.   Although the cats simply cruised under it as they traversed it.   It was a bit like a tunnel to them and they have enjoyed hiding and napping in it for cover during the day.

I enjoyed how it looks when it waved back in forth in the breeze and especially in the early evening when it is back lit by the setting sun and is mesmerizing to watch in it’s movements.

It appears golden and silver, shimmering in the soft sunlight and creates a mellow and calming sense of pleasure.   But it was blocking the path, so I cut most of it back and created bundles of it to dry for future arrangements, as it looks beautiful in a vase and brings the outside in and memories of lovely, swaying grass and sunlight.

But gray, gloomy days can mean catching up on housekeeping, reading a book, going to the movies or just daydreaming about the sun.

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Native Plant Garden Melody

by Lorraine on May 5, 2010

Well, that’s how I tend to think of my garden, a melody or maybe a concerto.   Not only is there the wonderful smells and textures of the plants but there is most definitely a melody; a melody of tranquility and peace.

Something that everyone seeks and needs in their lives.

And it is an entire orchestra made  up of nature’s instruments that plays their arias throughout the day that consists of many different tunes and songs, wending their lovely melodies into our hearts and minds.

Obviously the birds lend their voices and lately there has been quite a number of visiting musicians to the garden.   Humming Birds, House Finches, Lessor Goldfinches, Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves, the return of the Hooded Orioles and others.

And there are the bees….they have so many choices to collect pollen.   I wonder where their homecomb stash is?

The “Hummers” have a favorite perch on a bend stem on the Channel Island poppy bush and although the stem looks a bit unattractive, I wouldn’t dream of removing their throne, since they love overseeing the garden from it and chasing off any unwanted interlopers.

Bush Anemone Starting to Bloom

In the last few days the Bush Anemone has begin to bloom and has the most beautiful, white flowers on it that look like small Camillas and I am sure that the Hummingbirds and bees will be visiting it for its nectar as it is quite alluring in its appearance.

The Bees and Hummingbirds will love this!

The melody raises and falls, there is a variation in the tune and each day the rhythm of the melody of wind, temperature and song changes to reflect the nuances of nature and life goes on…

And that’s one reason for having a native garden.   I become part of it too and lend my melody of love to it’s pages.

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