The Good Life

Song - Serenading the Cattle with Royals

On Sunday Mr. B and I took a drive to an iris farm up north.  On the way I spotted a herd of Texas Longhorns and boy were their horns long.  This guy in the photo above must of had horns about 6 feet across from tip to tip.

When he walked, he seemed to have trouble lifting his head up and balancing them.  So, with head down, he wobbled those mighty horns to a different side of the pasture.

Arriving at the Iris Farm, we were met with fields of beautiful color.

It turned out to be a beautiful day at the iris farm.

So many to choose from.  Mr. B teased me that we should open our gardens for visitors who are looking to buy iris plants.

I mean, can you ever have too many iris?  Really???

As I was checking off my list of which plants to purchase, I noticed several families of Hmong people enjoying the beauty of these gardens.  They kept taking photos of each other in front of the flowers.  One elderly couple were having their photo taken but the man kept tickling the woman's cheek with his tongue and she would erupt in a fit of giggles.  She was missing several teeth but had a grin from ear to ear and boy did her eyes sparkle!

The women's outfits had silver coins all over them and when they walked, they jingled.

The above photo reminds me of Vincent van Gogh's painting "Irises"1889, with the one white one in the bunch.

Hmong Proverb -

Hlais nqaij ntshaw zoo riam,

Ua neej nyob ntshaw zoo pojniam.

To slice meat, you need a good knife;

To have a good life, you need a good wife.

If I Had A Boat

Song - If I Had A Boat by Lyle Lovett

Busy as a bee.....

The roses are in full bloom.

The iris are just beginning to bloom.

Tomato plants (18) have been put in the vegetable garden.

 The shade garden is happily showing her beauty.

Dogwood

 

Hosta

Azalea

Fern

Fern

And the geese are doing a little hanky-panky up on our rooftop every morning.

Our neighbors roof

Then it got cold.

Very cold in comparison to the weather California has been used to. Which has been Summertime in the Winter!



Easter was held inside this year due to the rain and cold.

Yesterday it rained and then hailed.  Weird weather.

But we need the rain so much that no one is complaining.

It rained enough to bring this rowboat down the creek and lodge in some brambles by our property.



The Governor is placing California on a 25% water reduction plan starting soon.

Luckily Mr. B and I were already changing our overhead sprinklers to a drip system and Sherman (our drip guy) said his phone is ringing off the hook with jobs.

We are also collecting grey water, you know the clean water we get from waiting for the hot water to come on, water from rinsing veggies & fruit, etc.  I have buckets in both showers and pitchers near each sink to gather the water.  Then I go outside and water my potted plants. 

Today I just ordered a 50 gal. rain barrel but it's not for rainwater (because we have none) but for all of these buckets and pitchers of water.  It is truly amazing how much water can be reused.  I am now looking into organic shampoo's, soaps, etc., so that we can collect even more.

"The farmer will never be happy again; 

He carries his heart in his boots;

For either the rain is destroying his grain

Or the drought is destroying his roots." 

--Alan Patrick Herbert

Petal Pushers

Song - For the Roses by Joni Mitchell

Woke to a beautiful sunrise this morning and decided to take a walk around the garden.  The birds were incredible, singing to each other and to me!

And just as I am writing this post two Red House Finches flew through the open door and into our dining room.  I think they thought it might be a nice place to build a nest! I shooed them back out before they got too comfortable on the chandelier!


Spring must be in the air and romance is all around me. Both yesterday and today two Canadian Geese landed on our roof and did their little happy dance then flew down into our swimming pool. Ugg!  I sent Mika out to take care of that situation and she did it beautifully!  So proud of herself afterwards that she could scare a critter twice as big as she is!

Luckily it wasn't this beautiful Great Blue Heron who was fishing in our backyard creek several days ago! 



On with our garden stroll....

White Wisteria - the scent is incredible!

The Dogwood trees are getting ready to pop!

Little Santa Barbara Daisies are smiling everywhere!

Morning dew on my roses......

Seed pods on the October Glory tree are a beautiful color against the bright blue sky

Purple Wisteria on the arbor in our side yard

Callery Pears are filling the front yard with their billowy blossoms

And it is snowing white petals!

Freesia's are popping up everywhere and scenting the garden

Climbing Climatis are just budding now

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change" --Buddha

My Hunter Gatherer

Song - La Vie en Rose by Louis Armstrong from the movie French Kiss

So Mr. B is at a conference for the next few days and although he will be missed, Mika and I are all set for some girl time!

It includes painting and music!

Current painting that's on my easel

Reading........

Current book on my nightstand

 .....and watching all of those "chick flicks" that Mr. B just can't bear to watch again.

I have a case of Diet Coke.......

Several bottles of fine wine.......

And leftover Chinese food......mmmm....

As well as my partner in crime.....

Now the question remains....can we fit it all in????



"Happiness is a warm puppy." --Charles M. Schulz

Nineteen-Oh-Two

Song - Bill Bailey Won't You Come Home by Chris Barbers Jazz Band


In 1902 Bill Bailey was the #2 song at the time.  I didn't recognize number 1....."Arkansas Traveler" but it kinda sounds like "Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee"!

Today Mr. B and I drove into San Francisco to get a painting that was gifted to me, appraised.  We had a few hours to play before our appointment so we drove through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach. An incredibly beautiful day!

Banister on the stairs at the Beach Chalet

We had a wonderful brunch at the Beach Chalet on the Great Highway near the Cliff House.  We sat at a window seat and could watch the surfers as well as the freighters going in and out of the bay.

Afterward we walked around the corner so I could snap some photos of the North (Dutch) Windmill which was built in 1902.......Ahhhh.....you say "Now it all makes sense - a 1902 theme!"

 On the back of the windmill is a fantail which keeps the blades facing into the wind. At one time the windmills would pump water for the park but now they are just reminder of San Francisco's beautiful history.

The North Windmill is situated in the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden and luckily the tulips were in full bloom!

Planted with Oriental Poppies and Primrose's.

Can you see the beautiful copper top?

Then we headed to our appointment, but not before Mr. B drove us by the last remaining Doggie Diner dog head! He also filled my head with so much Doggie Diner trivia that I decided that he needs to get out more with higher cultured people!!!

On August 11, 2006, the Doggie Diner dog head became a San Francisco landmark No. 254.



"Love is to life, what wind is to a windmill" - Kazi Shams