I picked up MJ at the Sacramento airport. She is up for a week to attend her colleagues’ Christmas party and to deal with deadlines in the office. We arrived at the ranch at what is now the end of the day, 3.30 or so. It was a mild afternoon and my first instinct was to walk out the kitchen door to check the garden. MJ called it surveying my domain. Our domain. All the plants were thriving from the rain. I introduced her to the plumbago that still had a few pale blue blooms.
Last summer I thought the chrysanthemum had died from lack of water. Amazing what pruning back to the base can do. The cold winter months appear to be its time to shine with a profusion of deep red blooms.
The pale pink cactus is in full flower. It has an abundance of buds and promises to bloom throughout the month of December. The citrus is still framed in the window by the breakfast nook. We even found one bud on the camellia planted in the border along the house wall, just one. That camellia was fried over the summer despite my best efforts at feeding and watering.
MJ told me I have become a real gardener. I was touched, however far from reality that may be.
The tangerine crop is in, and I brought up a half dozen from Oakland. This season promises a full tree for the next few months, and there is nothing like clipping a tangerine off the tree in the early morning and taking in all that citrus goodness. Better than a flu shot at keeping me healthy through the winter.
A Year at the Snake 