Garden
That’s a lot of pollen
I thought high pollen counts hit me pretty bad. I can only imagine what it's doing to this bee. It flew out of the wildflower field and landed on the bench to unload a bit before moving on.
Corn & Tomatoes Going
The warm weather has also allow me to get corn (foreground) and tomatoes (background) in the ground several weeks earlier than usual. I'm hoping they're ready by Memorial Day.
Volunteer Wild Flowers
After last year's wildflower planting we didn't bother to re-seed. We just let the old wildflowers stand through the winter (such as it was), and the garden came right back with plenty of volunteers.
What a difference a couple of weeks make
We pretty much had a non-winter here in San Diego which allowed me to get a lot of things in the ground well before normal. By January of this year I had lettuce, cilantro, onions, snow peas, broccoli and cauliflower all planted. Normally I can't do that until early March because sudden frost snaps kill everything. This year, however, aside from a gopher taking our most of my cauliflower, everything else did absolutely splendidly through the winter months. We're currently eating all of the above and I've already got corn, peppers, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers lined up in pots ready [keep reading...]
The Best of Both Worlds
For a couple of weeks here in late winter / early spring, I get the best of both worlds with our citrus trees -- fruit and blossoms. The taste and smell are both incredible. Oranges and orange blossoms
First Day of Spring
It's been six months since my last post, but now that the Acre is kicking back into high gear I thought I'd pick up where I left off. Here's a photo of what the first day of Spring 2015 looks like in Northern San Diego County. The first day of spring 2015 looking west towards the Pacific ocean.
First Day of Autumn
Like clockwork, the season switched from summer to fall and suddenly the heat and sun are gone, replaced with cool temps and early morning fog. Here's my view of the palms on the west side of the valley at 7 am.
Ducks Beat the Heat in a Horse Trough
It's almost 100 degrees, but I doubt the ducks know it. They spend all day horsing around in their "pond" (aka: a 100 gallon trough).
10 Cent Gold Fish
A lot of people don't know those 10 cent "feeder" gold fish you can get in the pet store can actually get quite large. This little school of fishies has only been in the pond for 6 months or so, but I've got several that have been in there for years -- some of which are nearly a foot long now.
Lion’s Mane Takes the Heat
September is a tough month for plants here in San Diego. The end of summer brings lots of heat and sun, it hasn't rained in six months, and we're in the midst of a drought so I water only sparingly. As a result, there's just a few plants that actually look good this time of year and Leonotus leourus or Lion's Mane happens to be one of them. It's a native of Southern Africa and does quite well here in our very similar climate with no care at all. Hummingbirds seem to love it too.