sculpture in the garden

We're very happy to have this piece gracing our front mound-- a sculpture on loan from Graton neighbor & friend, Cricket Seagull.

"About Face" rose

A bright spot in our October garden this morning, as the sun began to break through the fog.

succulence in bloom...

...out in the studio.

Orchid!

Yow! No posts since Oct. 31st. Sorry about that, my peeps. This lovely orchid visiting us from my neighbor Steve is forcing me out of my blog hibernation. In fact, I'm embarking on a little photo-a-day email exchange with a couple of friends, and maybe I'll try posting them here too, when they are garden / landscape / nature related.
Here is the first in the series. taken on New Year's Day, at the Laguna in Sebastopol. Happy New Year!

And in gardening news, I've already pruned most of the rosebushes. My mother taught me that pruning for our region should begin on or after January 1st, which is easy to remember, but I started almost a week early, 'cause it was just so nice out. Some of the roses are still budding and blooming here in Northern California, though-- I skipped over a few of those.

(p.s. blogger has changed their uploading interface since I started here so many years ago. Bear with me while I try to get back up to speed!)

Mums in the yard

Every year I buy a few bright new mums-- to stick in pots lining the front steps, and so on... and after the season, as they are perennials, and as Tony would say 'they want to LIVE', I try to find places to shoehorn them into spots in the garden. And because it is Northern California, & conditions are good, they all survive & thrive & bloom again the next year.

Today I bought some lavender ones, for a change of pace. And an aster. Why do we have no asters?

late afternoon light-catchers

We get some lovely light through the kitchen in the afternoon. But especially when it's illuminating some of neighbor China's lovely dahlias!

Fun with 'apps'!

So, before I got an Iphone myself, I really couldn't have told you what an app was or what they might do-- but gradually I've acquired more & the latest ones I'm playing with (totally trial & error, & I'm sure I'm at the tip of the iceberg of their potential) are 'Instagram' & PhotoStudio. Both allow you to edit & enhance your Iphone's photos with filters & effects.
Above is the same photo (rose: 'Singing in the Rain') processed with 2 different techniques. Fun!
Below, the original photo, so you can see that the auto-flash was already doing something kinda crazy to those dewdrops.

Round here

There's a whiff of a changing of seasons in the air. Here are some of the things that have caught my eye lately-- here at home & in the neighborhood.

scenes of harvest

It's been a fine year for tomatoes here-- but that's about it for us-- durned gophers! (shaking fist) But if I got to choose just one thing, I would choose tomatoes : )
(the plums we did not grow)

Late Summer Lace

Queen Anne's Lace at sunset, out along our bike path, late summer effect.
More admiration for Queen Anne's Lace, previously posted here.

Monarchs in Elkton, Oregon

Bees, and movies about them

Click on over to my new Bee Blog for a round-up on the current crop of documentaries about honeybees, how they work, and colony collapse disorder.
Also paintings of bees, and the plants they love.