Photo Sunday, 5/16/21 — My garden non-natives

Gaillardia is native to the Southwest, not Big Sur, but it does well up here.
This is my D’anjou pear. I also have Indian Peach and Apricot. I have planted others that got fire blight or something, but these 3 are doing well.
What’s a garden without Rosemary? It has gotten huge and it and the lavender have learned to co-exist. The bees love this one. On a warm day, it is humming.
This is my only surviving rose of the many I planted. It is a “Just Joey” and I adore it. I did not have any gophers up here until I planted an artichoke. Then the gophers came from miles around and ate all but this one, and the artichoke. It is planted near the rosemary, but other than that, I haven’t a clue.

Palisades Fire, between Calabasas and Topanga

7:05 pm – UPDATE 754 acres

It is about 200 acres, at the moment (6:50 pm). AA can’t do much due to visibility. This is only the middle of May.

Monday morning coffee, part 1

One of my readers, Rich, told me how he looked forward to reading the Personality One series each morning with his coffee. The last of that missive posted last week, so I searched around for something else my readers might enjoy, and I found this, which I will publish a bit of each Monday.

Photo Sunday, Mother’s Day 2021

Joy Dan, my mother, at age 16, I lost her 10 years ago

From a prior post:

While some believe this is another “created” holiday for more commercialism, the roots of this celebration are much deeper than that.

Spiritual Origin of Mothers Day
Only recently dubbed “Mother’s Day,” the highly traditional practice of honoring of Motherhood is rooted in antiquity, and past rites typically had strong symbolic and spiritual overtones; societies tended to celebrate Goddesses and symbols rather than actual Mothers. The personal, human touch to Mother’s Day is a relatively new phenomenon. The maternal objects of adoration ranged from mythological female deities to the Christian Church itself. Only in the past few centuries did celebrations of Motherhood develop a decidedly human focus.

Goddess Isis – Early Egyptian Roots
One of the earliest historical records of a society celebrating a Mother deity can be found among the ancient Egyptians, who held an annual festival to honor the goddess Isis, who was commonly regarded as the Mother of the pharaohs. Her stern, yet handsome head is typically crowned by a pair of bull horns enclosing a fiery sun orb. She is most often depicted sitting on a throne.

So, for our ultimate Mother – Mother Earth and Gaia, Happy Mother’s Day. And for the female energy, blessings to you and yours.

Special Wildflower

Photos provided by Seth Melchert. He says: “Seeing your flower photos reminded me of a special one – Whispering Bells or Emmenanthe  penduliflora. It is a borage and blooms only after a fire.” (Photos taken on private property.)

Photo Sunday, 5/2/21 My garden natives

Salvia apiana White Sage – while not native to Big Sur, it is native to SoCal, and so beneficial, I had to plant it. Thrives on neglect and hot summers, which this location provides. Also, only watered the first year, and gets over 6’ tall and 6’ wide.
Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage, or pitcher sage is native to Big Sur. Warning, it thrives on neglect and takes over spreading underground and popping up in unexpected places. The hummingbirds, bees, and others all love it. So it earns a place.
Vitis californica, or California Wild Grape, is a species of wild grape that grows throughout central and northern California
Acer macrophyllum, the bigleaf maple. I have 3 that self-planted after the Wild Fire of 1996. I watered them that first year, and some the second, but they have been on their own since. I love watching them grow and get bigger and bigger. Like sugar maples, they can be tapped for syrup.
Quercus lobata or Valley Oak. The Oak Foundation says these are found below 2,000’. I have them all over the property. Like the Big Leaf Maple, this one self-planted after the Wild Fire of 1996 and like the maples, I watered this its first year and a bit the second and then left it alone. Watering it would shorten it’s life span. It will eventually shade my entire garden area. It is already over 40’ tall.