Again - it is really spring in SCalifornia 04-13-19

It is so nice to walk when the flowers are fresh and the lawns are green and the trees are budding.  This house is on the next street, Brian, and is the same model as ours.  But they have kept the yard in prime condition and always plant flowers in the bed between the driveway and the front walk.  I have been thinking that I need to find a garden designer and redo the front yard and also a contractor to replace the deck on the side of the house.  I'm such a procrastinator. 

Foxgloves grew wild where I grew up outside of Portland, Oregon.  I rarely see them here and have never tried to grow them.  Nasturtiums are frequently planted in this neighborhood and they do well in the spring before it gets too hot.  

The poppies are so bright and "floaty", but they don't last long and the wind blows them apart. 

Lots of white "landscape" roses.  They remind me of snowball bushes which are not seen much around here.  This is a roll up garage door, it just looks "old fashioned".  

81F today, but nice at 7am and 7pm for our walks.  

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Friday Food 04-12-19

One of my favorite lunch spots has been Haven Gastro Pub in Orange, CA.  And I always eat the same thing, their fabulous lamb burger with skinny fries and great house made tomato ketchup.  So, after fasting for my annual physical and blood tests I hurried over to Haven.  NO!  They no longer have the lamb burger on their menu.  I was crushed.  But, I was there, seated at my usual table, and I was hungry. I looked at the menu and decided the salmon sandwich sounded good.  And it was.  It just wasn't as fabulous as the lamb burger.  

It was open faced on toasted rye bread.  Lovely salmon, tiny rounds of radish, some avocado, some micro greens, and some little yellow rounds of something that was sweet.   I thought it was rather pricey at $19, but I enjoyed it.  However, I won't be going back again.  They won't miss me, it is a "sports bar" sort of place with a giant stock of brews and it is very popular in the late afternoon and evening.  Too bad, I will really miss the lamb burger.  

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More spring flowers 04-11-19

I have always thought of Mexican Primrose  (Oenothera speciose) as a weed, because it reseeds extensively.  A decade or more ago one of my neighbors planted it in their yard and it has come up all over the place.  It is very pretty and has a slight fragrance. 

It is slightly more pink than these pictures which were taken in a yard that is basically weeds that are occasionally mowed.  There are three or four of this type of yards around.  Fortunately my backyard cannot be seen from the street as it is that type of yard!! 

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Wordless Wednesday (From 2010) 04-10-19

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Flowers of Spring 04-09-19

When I drove down to San Diego Sunday I dropped KoKo off in San Clemente for a visit with Nancy Ota, his original mommy.  He lived there for a year and a half and Nancy trained him beautifully, so he is very much at home there.   I picked him up on the way home in the afternoon. 

The front porch of Nancy's house is draped with wisteria and it is in almost full bloom right now.  These pictures don't do it justice and  you can't smell it either.  It is gorgeous. 

Yesterday KoKo visited his vet, Dr. Yasso, at Circle of Friends in Yorba Linda, CA.  It was just a wellness check and she gave him an A+.  He is at 12 pounds, which she feels is a good weight for him and says he is all muscle.  Guess those two half hour walks every day and the running after Froggie up and down the front hall are good for him. He will have to have his teeth cleaned in May.  We hope he will tolerate it and there won't be a need to anesthetize him.  Meanwhile I will try to get him to let me brush his teeth, which I had given up as a losing battle.  Once more into the breech.  

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Drive to San Diego/LaMesa 04-07-19

I drove to San Diego today for a meeting of the Art Stream art quilt group.  It was a gorgeous day with blue sky, lots of wild mustard and other flowers blooming along the way.  But I still haven't gotten help with the laptop, so I can't edit the pictures.  These are pretty bad, but would look great if I still had Picasa to make some changes.  Oh, well....

The wild mustard is the most common, blooming in valleys and hillsides, along the road, and far up to the top of the hills.  There is some lupine and in more settled areas bright pink ice plants spreads out of yards and on to the freeway verge.  

I am using my cell phone to take the pictures and have a hard time holding it with one hand and using one finger to push the button.  Hard to line anything up. 

This is not on the freeway but along Jamboree Rd where there were serious fires last year.  The clouds cover the mountains where there is still snow o the tallest peaks.  

The group meeting was productive and we are starting on our next exhibit for October 2020.  We found with the Urban Elements quilts that we need a longer lead time to finish the quilts and have them ready for showing.  The Urban Elements exhibit will go up at Visions Art Museum this next week and will open toward the end of April.  The opening reception will be May 4th, but I will still be up north after finishing my class at Empty Spools at Asilomar Conference Center, so I will miss it.

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