I've stopped hoping for weather. When it was rainy and cold I wished for sun. Now it's in the 80s and 90s and the garden needs rain. The weather arrives in extremes and it's a fruitless endeavor to hope for anything different. But as much as I complain, I also love the variety. It accounts for scenes like this:
This morning's fog sinking into Elyria Canyon Park across the valley from our house.
Cool nights and hot days bring morning marine fog to our valley, obscuring the skyscrapers of downtown L.A.
Wild cucumber
Everyday I'm in awe at how this steroidal weather has transformed our yard from drought scorched to tropical tangle. I'm fighting off sinister strands of wild cucumber and bringing armloads of wild rocket and mustard to the hens.
I put the rest of the garden in two weeks ago, including watermelon, honeydew, pumpkin, gourd, wintermelon, and various squashes.
Asian garden
The cold weather greens must be confused with these cold nights and hot days. Although, our Asian garden seems to be thriving in it- especially the daikon radish. In this bed we also have Chinese mustard, Chinese chives, napa cabbage, gai lan, several varieties of bok choi, and heirloom carrots.
Last year I ordered fig cuttings for my dad - varieties he may be able to grow in Michigan. These are not them. Since the ordered cuttings still haven't arrived, I've taken it upon myself to start cuttings from my Brown Turkey fig. It would be most spectacular if my dad and I can grow the same fig tree in both Southern California and Northern Michigan.
During our last torrential downpour, our hillside collapsed slightly and almost brought a garden bed with it.
Hillside reconstruction is a work in progress... and it's not pretty. I work at the pace my back allows.
The flowers are pretty and all, but the real star here is that pumpkin. That damn squash has been sitting outside our front door for exactly 6 months. I bought it last September to decorate for Halloween. Usually they transform into a puddle of guts by November 1st but this thing has magical staying power!
Believe it or not I'm not posting any chicken photos today, but here's another lizard. I can't get enough lizards.
Not an impressive photo, but when I snapped this mockingbird on our cereus cactus, a raven happened to fly by in the distance. I like the perspective of a mockingbird about to peck a raven out of the sky.
A repost from my Instagram. The other day I heard a ruckus (or perhaps it was a kerfuffle) outside our front door. I jumped up to see this juvenile red-tailed hawk about 8 feet from me. It stared at the ground for several moments, giving me time to grab the camera. Right after it flew off, a squirrel revealed itself from a bush underneath this tree. He scampered up the tree and sat in the exact same spot where the hawk was perched. Strangely, he stayed there a couple minutes sniffing that spot...
