I called Gloria this morning to wish her a happy 90th birthday. Her family and neighbors organized a drive-by birthday celebration.
Sunny skies and colder temperatures this morning, only 39 degrees when I was out feeding Spots. I adjusted the sprinkler to the Berry Patch to reach all the plants and not encourage the grass on the slope down to the fire lane. I will go back to work the clips when my hands are usable again.
Winter pruning continued at midday. Compact, well-behaved ceanothus and cotoneaster are now side by side in the front slope garden.
The lavender and purple lantana planted around the manifold are an ongoing pruning project, digging out the manifold so that I can trace and repair irrigation feeders. I cut the lantana back to its core. The pruning of the lavender was more judicious, clearing dead wood from underneath but leaving a core wood base. I will see how it responds.
All the geraniums continue to bloom – pink, cerise and white – and the mimulus has delicate white flowers. The two cyclamen continue to thrive in their planters.
In the Main Box Garden in the back yard, the Australian fuchsia has delicate pink to white flowers with yellow centers.
I stopped at the Circle Garden on my way in from Ione. My favorite blue salvia appears to have come back to life, and the flowering quince is settling in for the winter – supplemental water to both plants. The pin cushion grass has disappeared, apparently another contribution to the well being of wildlife in this area.
A Year at the Snake 