Kerfuffle-to-Go

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Time in the Gulag Garden

Gently Patinaed Bunnies take garden Columbine, roses, and Fressias for a spin
It is the time of rebirth! Just last week I was stupidly stunned to see the Muscat Grape popping up with shiny maple-like leaves I had thought it was dead and hadn't gotten around to disposing of the carcase yet. And miracles of Spring continue - from a pot of dirt, last year's 'failed' garlic chives are sprouting; they featured in my morning omelet today. All spots of soil, abandoned pots and planters are coming back to life. The pink Lupine sprouted again, no help from me. Last year's Dahlia I thought dead has blushing tuber buds and the columbines have exploded into great clouds of purple and white blooms. Well, to put it plainly; Spring is busting out all over.

Claire... have you ever heard of 'perennials'? You know, the plants in all those lovely gardening books you've been collecting over the years? Well, guess what -the book's predictions are prooving true, the perennials are perenneling, the annuals are being annual! The Gulag Garden lives. Have a lovely, sunny Easter Sunday!

Thursday, April 09, 2009

They Swim Among Us

My niece Doris wrote to me this morning that today, in New York City, she saw a Humpback Whale today in the Hudson Harbor off the Beltway. Is that cool or what? I'm always thrilled when HUMONGOUS critters, find there way into waters that were too polluted for them to swim in when I was a kid. Honestly it really makes me all misty like.

Pair of Pacific Humpbacks

Flukes up; if Humpties could say 'weeee!' they would

but they can wave bye-bye

[Management can scarse believe that in a stunning error, Ms. Miller posted today as being her brother's Birthday. Today is not her brother's birthday, that date is November 9th. Today is however the postumous birthday of her father. Happy 101st B-day Daddy! ]

Friday, March 27, 2009

Bear Valley Wildflowers

Spring has sprung, and when the birds don't cooperate, wildflowers fill a bit of the void. Barb was up visiting from Monterey so we headed the hour's drive north to HWY 20 Eastward, then north onto twisty, windy, gravely Bear Valley Road. It's lovely having a Valley named for me, you know? Bear Valley Road gets you to one of the best wildflower viewing areas in the country - or so I decided to see for myself.

Bear Valley's first 8 miles are private road and if you get out of your car, true to its name, wild Bears are apt to run up & eat your face - or not.

Mostly not.

Bear Valley Road - rather gravely and bland to start
At first the claim of 'some of the best wildflower viewing the country seemed a bit overstated. The first wildflower I photographed was so... bland, I wasn't even sure it was a wildflower.

Almost too plain to even be a wildflower; Purple Sanicle

Mostly we did stay in the car, obediently viewing wildflowers out the car window - mostly.

Checking the Paintbrush Flowers just out the window
There was these strangely named flowers; 'Butter and Eggs'. Don't be fooled as I was, when I looked it up, this balloonish looking wee things are parasitic - that's why it is reddish brown, and not green - it steals nutrients from other plants. Bwah, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Butter and Eggs
Then after many miles of not much more than the odd buttercup, Barbara yelped; Wildflowers ahead! There, in a meadow, set far back from the gravel road were loads of pretty purply-pink flowers, that I had to peer at with my binoculars just to get a handle on them - they seemed to be lilies of some sort.

Lilies of the field!
A closer look and I was happy to announce - and wrongly so - we had found wild crocus - not so fast Lady Linneaus! Late night research revealed them to be the rare and beautiful Pink Adobe Lilies.

Close-up of the rare Pink Adobe Lilies

A few more of the lily lovelies
We were quite pleased with those lilies of the field. They were so far out in the meadow, we had to photograph them using telephoto lens. The Adobe Lilies were Barb's favorites for the day, and next we found my favorites.