A beautiful sunrise.
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With a long day of plant shopping ahead of me, I was up early on Saturday and out the door before 8am to meet up with a friend 50 miles away for a longer trek to 3 of our favorite garden centers in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara
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I took a dozen quick photos of the view looking southeast toward Angel's Gate, the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles, but the 2 shown here are my favorites
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Rain.
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We got 2 solid days of light rain. I took this shot looking southeast between showers.
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This was the mid-afternoon view looking northeast. The rain was never heavy here, although there were flash flood warnings in some areas to the south and east of us. We had several breaks in the rain yesterday and even, briefly, sun and patches of blue sky.
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The garden got about 2/3rds of an inch of rain by 8pm yesterday. Scattered showers were projected to continue into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Our 2023 "water year" total to date, counted from October 1st, is 1.03 inches (26mm).
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All 3 of my rain collection tanks are full, although my husband emptied water from the spa into my 265-gallon tank in October when he cleaned it out so not all of that was rainwater. I also filled the plastic trugs shown here, some twice. I used it to top off the fountain and to water pots and areas covered by roofing. I'll empty the rest in the perpetually drier garden areas later this week.
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My cat.
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Pipig is blissfully happy on this loveseat in my home office. There's a heating pad under that pink afghan blanket.
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She gets up only occasionally to eat and use her box, although she usually finds me to demand attention at least twice a day. She's still fairly spry but, at 15 years old, I suspect she's got a touch of arthritis so the warmth is probably comforting.
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She acknowledges me with a subdued, barely audible chirp when I come by rather than her usual more insistent vocalizations
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Even the small garden chores I managed to squeeze in between interludes of rain this week made me happy. The biggest one was finishing planting the bulbs I'd ordered (with the exception of seven Hippeastrum in need of pots). Three hundred sixty-eight bulbs is an all-time record for me, and not one I envision coming close to matching ever again. But I took care of some smaller projects too.
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I've been collecting leaves from our deciduous trees and yesterday ran them through a Leaf Hog vacuum to chop them up before dumping them in my compost bin
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I bought surprisingly few new plants during my Saturday trip but I got some of those planted, as I also worked at planting what I'd purchased over the summer. I lost a few plants in this area, including 2 Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' and 2 Phylica pubescens, so I resorted to adding more succulents here, including a small Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie'.
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I finally got around to potting a few things too, including this noID Stapeliad (maybe an Orbea) given to me by one of the plumbers who worked on our pipe replacement in September
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As long as I shut out the political news for a time, all is well.
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material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Garden stuff beats politics every time!
ReplyDelete368 bulbs! Goodness, that's one for every day of the year with 3 to spare. Astonishing.
Light steady rain is so much better than a downpour. The soil gets a chance to absorb it, rather than it rolls off and floods. I'm glad you had a chance to fill you reservoir.
Your Pipig is beautiful and blissful, and doesn't look her age. Lucky kitty!
chavli
The rain was wonderful. With an extra couple of showers overnight, we ended up with 0.86/inch over the 2+ day period. That's not bad by our sorry standards. As to the bulbs, I'm not laying odds on the number that may actually bloom. Seventy-five of the bulbs were Alliums, which have never been terribly reliable here but, at least technically, they were rated as suitable for my climate.
DeleteGorgeous sunrise photos! It's coming up on a year since I visited some of those garden stops you were off to see, and I still have photos to post! That pot and stapeliad match is a good one.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested to see the blooms on that Stapeliad, Loree. They should help me identify the species.
DeletePipig looks very very happy indeed. Pampered, contented kitty. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like an Orbea by the marbling on the stems. The flower will tell you what it is. Cool plant.
I completely shut off election news since Saturday. We voted last weekend and got our email notifications they were collected and will be counted. Other than that--mental health is more important!
Sticking with garden blogs and plant sites for a while, and back out in the garden today after some wonderful, wonderful rain.
Yes, we voted early too. I no longer answer the phone unless the caller is clearly identified as someone I know - and it's been ringing off the hook now for weeks.
DeleteLove the photos and Pipig looks lovely at 15 y/o. Rain!--Woo-hoo!
ReplyDeletePipig's 15 AND a cancer survivor. I hope I'm as healthy and agile when I reach the equivalent of her age ;)
DeleteRain--yay! Your sunrise photos are stunning, and your kitty looks sweet and comfy. (Wow, you've been busy! Time to relax. ;-) )
ReplyDeleteThis is our busiest season in the garden, Beth. I still have a lot to do but at least I arranged for tree trimmers to do some of the hardest jobs (on a date yet to be determined).
DeleteA gorgeous morning, for sure! I hadn't thought of it, but a heat pad for an old kitty is a good idea. The neighbors' old cat that moved in with us when they moved overseas is now 16. He seems in pretty good shape too, but I bet he would love a heat pad, so thank you for making me see the light. :)
ReplyDeleteI wasn't half as productive as you to avoid the politics. Instead I binge-watched Derry Girls, which proved a great (and funny) distraction!
When the temperatures drop, it seems almost obvious in Pipig's behavior that she's looking for the heating pad. I introduced it when she was recovering from cancer surgery and I had to lock her in a relatively small, cold bathroom to ensure she didn't harm herself. I can see some evidence of what I'm guessing is arthritis in her gait, especially when the weather is cold and damp. I'm sure your kitty will love it!
DeleteNaaawww…. Pipig 🧡 oh to be a cat at your place! Love her little back paws together in the last pic.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my husband might argue to the contrary, Pipig is a very sweet cat and deserves every treat she gets.
DeleteI love seeing all of your garden photos but it's a special treat to also see photos of a beautiful cat like Pipig. I love cats and have one of my own who is also pampered.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanette. I love cats too and can't imagine a home without one.
DeleteRain, no better word these days! We got more than I thought earlier this week (1¼"). If only daytime highs remained in the 70s but I see slippage into the 60s and (gasp) 50s. Winter is just too darn cold.
ReplyDeleteHa! I suspect our fellow gardeners in colder climates think we're wimps, Gerhard. But, as I've lived in SoCal my entire life, temperatures in the 60s and 50s give me pause too.
DeleteSweet Pipig! A heating pad must definitely keep her happy! Glad you've had some rain... hope more is on its way. Eliza
ReplyDeletePipig actually has 2 heating pads, one in my home office and one in our bedroom ;) Unfortunately, there's little chance of further rain showing in the 10-day forecast and the odds are still in favor of La Nina delivering SoCal another very dry "rainy season."
DeleteA little rain and a happy cat - sounds like happiness!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like we may get some more substantial rain this weekend, which will make me very happy. The chance for Sunday currently stands at 98%!
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