Playing in the Dirt

Yep....I have spent the day out playing in the dirt. It was such a gorgeous day and the outdoor chores were calling my name. The hollyhocks had taken over the flower bed and were choking out everything else. I left two stalks with flowers on them as the grandchildren would be so disappointed if I had removed all of them. They love to make hollyhock dolls when they come to visit. Does anyone remember making them as children? My grandmother always had beautiful hollyhocks along the garage wall and my sister and I played dolls by the hours. I suppose that is why I grow them to this day. The flower bed looks a little bare without the overgrown hollyhocks.

The roses are about ready to burst. The warm weather that we have had for the last two weeks has really accelerated their first bloom of the year. I try to avoid spraying them as a routine in their care, but there are certain times when they really need it. In June we will generally have what we call our "June Gloom." Being only about seven miles from the beach, we get the ocean influence. As the deserts heat up they spill their heat over and it collides with the cool beach temperatures. This all makes for foggy, cool mornings which tend to make the roses develop mildew. Spraying keeps it somewhat at bay.

While puttering around in the flower bed I spotted a very interesting snail. It is the shell of a decollate snail. Our snails are more rounded while these carry a pointed type of shell. They sell them at the nurseries around us. They are purchased because their diet consists of eating the type of snails that are native to us. I was glad to see this little guy as we have so much damage from snails. Hopefully he (or she) has brought his whole family with him because he has a big job to do here. He also has to have a LARGE appetite to consume a medium sized snail.

I was kept company by a male quail sitting on top of the fence and calling out to his mate. I just love their calls. They nest in our jasmine bank. Their young are so cute when they grow big enough to follow their parents. This is a great time of the year to be watching the birds. The male orioles have also returned and will be followed next week by the females. The males are busy making nests in the banana and palm trees. I often wonder what happens if she returns and finds that his nest is not up to her standards. They, too, have a very distinct call.

Our hills around us have been so green this year with all of the rain that we have had. It would be nice to get a few more showers before we enter into our dry season. It would be unlikely for us to get much after March but we can always hope. After that we will not get any rain until October or November. Meanwhile we will enjoy the hills covered with lupine and wild mustard.

The sunsets have also been beautiful. Since the evenings have been so pleasant we have enjoyed sitting outside and catching up on our days events as we watch the sun get lower on the horizon.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.