Category Archives: Blogging Community

My Near Perfect Urban Trees

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Continuing my research on my backyard flora, I have identified two more trees. They are the biggest trees on our property and against a back wall. I used my App again and couldn’t find a match. I did ask The Horticulturist but you have to wait for 24 hours to get the answer. But I was able to find them online. They are common trees in LA, drought tolerant, evergreen, conifers, and don’t cause problems with their roots. They are called Afrocarpus falcatus or Fern Pines. ( I find they are also referred to as Afrocarpus gracilior).  Cal Poly San Luis Obispo says the names are synonymous. They are originally from Africa.  Some other names are African Fern Pine and Yellowwood. Robin Rivet a horticulturist in the San Diego Horticultural Society (Oct. 2012, No. 217, pg. 5) called them “near perfect for urban landscapes.” Very reassuring. Thank you, Robin. Can’t get any better than that. Cal Poly states that my Fern Pines can grow 12-36 in./year, up to 50-65 ft. tall, and live more than 150 years. I can just see these two trees being the last things standing on our property.

African Fern Pines in our yard
Another view of trees that shows the leaves
Trees from the front side
African Fern Pine in Pretoria (Africa) by JMK
Fruit of the Fern Pines

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. My featured image is of a ‘Ring-necked dove in an African Fern Pine’ in Maui by Forrest and Kim Starr on Flickr. We get doves in our yard and in our Fern Pine Trees. It is hard to get a photo because the minute we go outside they usually fly off. Ours are Mourning Doves.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove via US Fish and Wildlife Service

Heavenly Bamboo And Not Heavenly Pepper Trees

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“They know, they just know where to grow, how to dupe you, and how to camouflage themselves among the perfectly respectable plants, they just know, and therefore, I’ve concluded weeds must have brains.”
~ Dianne Benson, Dirt, 1994.

There are many trees, bushes, and plants in our backyard whose true identity is a mystery to me. They were already here when we bought this house or have sprung up as volunteers. Up until now I have not paid them much attention. I have used the internet to successfully identify some of my succulents, cacti, and clover-like ground cover, ( aka Wood Sorrel). I mentioned my search to my daughter and she told me I could get an App for my phone, take photos of the plant/tree, and get it identified. I was a bit frustrated in my first attempts using the App. But yesterday I asked the opinion of The Horticulturist, a feature of the App, and got the answer. I was really off on the wrong track in my identification of some of the bushes. I thought they were Chokecherry. I got off on a tangent with the Chokecherry. It has a long history in North America and strong ties to Native Americans who harvested the cherries.  Turns out they are not Chokecherry and they are two separate species. One is Heavenly Bamboo and the other Brazilian Pepper. We have a large Brazilian Pepper at the front of our house as do other neighbors. I have always liked the Pepper Tree in front. I knew it was a Pepper Tree but the one in the backyard looks more like a thicket or bush. It probably volunteered in our backyard with the help of birds who eat the peppers and then spread the seeds to other locations. The Heavenly Bamboo was probably spread by the birds as well because there are two smaller bushes of it in other locations in our yard. Now we have to figure out what to do with the Pepper trees because it can be invasive and I don’t want a backyard full of them.  At least the Heavenly Bamboo is not invasive.   🙂

Heavenly Bamboo
Note the reddish stems and leaves
A few peppers on Brazilian Pepper
Heavenly Bamboo berries hiding behind leaves and branches
Other Heavenly Bamboo in yard

One Liner Wednesday is hosted by Linda G Hill.

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

The Full Worm Moon

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March is the beginning of Spring and according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac the first Full Moon of March is called Full Worm Moon by Native Americans. This is because Spring is the season when the earth gets warmer and the worms are supposed to return. You may ask where did the worms go during the winter? It turns out earthworms burrow down deep below the frost line and sit out the winter below ground. Other species of garden worms lay eggs and die. In the Spring, their eggs hatch. I have been digging around a little in my small patch in the backyard and I realize I haven’t come across any worms yet. I dug a hole to plant our new lime tree and just did battle with that Palm tree I told you about, and dug it up, but I did not see any worms. The worms are supposed to attract birds and I have seen various birds pecking around in the yard but they could be eating other insects or seeds. I am now officially on worm watch. Maybe it’s due to global warming.  😉

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word is “march.” Featured image of ‘Robin catching worm in Spring’ via wikimedia.

If You Like Giffs

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I am just starting to add GIFs to some of my posts and find they do add something extra and hopefully interesting. I wanted to give a shout out to dalecooper57 @diaryofaninternetnobody.com who has offered to create free GIFs for fellow bloggers. He has an interesting blog and you can go check it out. He created one for me which is my featured image. How do you like it? Maybe you’ll want one too.

Note: You may have realized I am not a super tech savvy person. I have been learning a lot since I started blogging but I am still learning. GIFs are something fairly new to me. So I did some research and learned that GIF is an acronym for Graphic Interchange Format and the GIF in my post is an animated GIF. I noticed that there are do it yourself GIF websites. Wonder how easy they are to use?

Managing Transitions

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I just dropped in to see what condition my transition was in. I have managed to be going through a transition for a few years. One transition seems to be leading into another. I started my blog while in the middle of a transition from having a career to not. External circumstances thrust that change upon me. I felt like I was pushed into semi-retirement without having chosen it. My blog has been part of an exploration of what I am doing next. I have enjoyed being creative with my writing, but I do not want to do it full-time or be a writer of books.  I have been tutoring part-time for a few years. I have struggled with the first transition. Going from a career oriented life to getting oriented to a life with no career. Or at least a job I had not planned on doing. I had planned to transition from a teaching full-time to a part-time teaching career eventually, but my plan did not work out as I envisioned. I never got the full-time teaching position. I worked as a substitute teacher for a while:

Then I started tutoring to see if that would develop into a business.  Although I felt I was doing something good, I decided I didn’t want to develop it into something full-time.  Now it feels like I am coming into another transition. I have been restless for quite a while. It’s just that the unknown makes me feel uneasy. Getting ready to let go of what I have been, and step into…..wherever my path may lead me next. Need to be willing to let it unfold by itself.

But the cacti are still flowering in my yard and I may soon be rolling in clover.  🙂  That’s my ever optimistic voice talking.

Clover in my backyard

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Prompt word ” man.” Video of Kenny Rogers and First Edition ‘I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in‘ via 2old2Rock on You Tube.  Featured image of Hummingbird on nest by jadis96 via Pixabay.com Video of teacher in class via Giphy.com

Worth The Wait

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We can not control the passage of time and it seems to move so slowly when we are waiting. It seems like the more we want it to go fast, the longer it takes. I am waiting for my grandson to be ready to come home. We think the time is short now and the wait will not be much longer. It is hard to be watching and waiting, but he has to do it in his own time. And he is definitely worth the wait. He is so worth it.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word today is “short.” Featured image of  Still Life Bear Reading Book via Pixabay.com

Art Project

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The 26 artists were paid $1 per hour to paint the frescos inside the Coit Tower in San Francisco as part of the Depression Era Public Works of Art Project. They created wonderful murals about the theme of “Life in California.”

There was a series on my local PBS station called California Gold hosted by Huell Howser. I found a video of his about Coit Tower. If you have the time to watch it covers a lot of interesting history about the tower and the murals, including an interview with one of the artist’s ( Bernard Baruch Zakheim) daughters.

 

Here are a few slides of some of the murals via Wikipedia:

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The San Francisco Chronicle has some more beautiful photos of the murals.

This post is my contribution to Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word is “project.” Featured image is Coit Tower Fire Haze Sunset by Chad1616 via Wikimedia. Photos of the murals from Wikimedia by Daderot (Newsgatherings, Railroad and Shipping, and Library), Saiko (City Life, Agriculture and Department Store), Orin Rozen(Industries of California) , and Wnewton 48( Industries of California).

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Coit Tower at Dusk by skeeze via Pixabay

 

Strange Birds

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To wear a hair shirt means to suffer a self-imposed punishment, trial, or burden. Those who are sentenced to prison have their punishment imposed on them from society. A very famous prison is located on an island in the San Francisco Bay. It’s name is Alcatraz. The name Alcatraz is thought to have originated from the Spanish word alcatraces for “strange birds.” There are many sea birds that nest on Alcatraz Island. It has a very interesting history. Many people are familiar with the name Alcatraz, the high security Federal prison, that housed some of the most hardened criminals. Reading a few short biographies of some of these men, I realize that their life stories would definitely make great films, and of course, some films have already been done. There is also a great sense of darkness about these men and this prison.  Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Robert Stroud, Roy Gardner, James “Whitey” Bulger,  and Mickey Cohen are some of the more famous inmates. Roy Gardner was called the ” King of the Escape Artists” because he managed to escape twice while under guard by U.S. Marshalls and escaped from prison twice. No one escaped from Alcatraz.

Fake head made by prisoners in escape attempt via NPS Alcatraz Island website

Image of human head via US National Park Service Alcatraz Island website

“In 1962, three inmates attempting to escape from Alcatraz created fake human heads out of cardboard and human hair. They placed the heads on their pillows in their cells so it appeared as though they were sleeping.” ( NPS Alcatraz Island website)

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Christmas 1954 menu for prisoners via NPS Alcatraz Island website

Nowadays, the prison is empty. Wild birds make their homes on the island and they are free to fly away.

Snowy Egret of Alcatraz Island via National Park Service

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word for today is “hair.” Information for this post was obtained from The US National Park Service Alcatraz Island website and Alcatraz History.com. Featured Image of ‘Snowy Egret with mating plumage’ via NPS Alcatraz Island website.

Thank You Note

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I have a group of regular readers who have been reading and commenting pretty much since I started blogging in 2014. The size of my readership fits my personality as I enjoy getting together with a few friends at a time. I appreciate the followers and readers I do have and especially those who drop by, like, and comment on my posts. Thanks guys. ❤

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Notes On The Sagebrush has 501 followers