July 1 2011

Time for another walk thru the garden

A succulent I borrowed

The strawberries are doing well as always. 

The bigger of the pumpkins peaking out from behind it's leaves

Some of the smaller pumpkins already ripening

Gold in that there hedge

Some glads planted at the base of the fig tree

My first avocados 

We have been living on the Swiss chard since last summer, great stuff

The chard is finally bolting and I'm just letting it go! Six feet tall and it still has a ways to go. Right now it's taller than the giant sunflowers (front right)

The chard flowers look interesting. It will be neet to see what they look like in full flower.

Another chard shot with flash

Two of the giant sunflowers. Only three feet tall right now but not for long.

More tomatoes from Mateo.  I would imagine that it's quite a shock for a plant to be moved around in a car, spending the day at the beach etc. so when I got them home I sat down an had a talk with the explained things   introduced them around the garden and have been letting them rest up a few days before I plant them. Oh you don't converse with your plants? Oh I'm sorry then, never mind then. Moving on...

This thicket measures maybe six feet by three feet (that's two meters by one meter) and looks like a hedge in the middle of the backyard. Right now it contains handfuls of the golden tomatoes I look forward to all year long.

The apple is a very reliable producer. It's a great pie apple.

The garden gargoyle. 

Still some oranges on the tree and getting ready to produce blossoms for next years crop. No wonder they call this Orange County.

Honey Suckle, as kids we would pick the flowers and suck out the nectar, as an adult I still do.

So there you have it! Another year in the garden.

I would be remiss in my duties and since you have stuck with me so far I want to mention another possibility for a mat meet in Huntington Beach. We have what is known as the Black Ball policy at the local beaches that  forbids hard board surfing at certain beaches after a certain point in the day. The rule was originally created to protect the tourists that swarm the beaches during the summer from being clobbered by someones thirty pound long board as it hurls sideways in the surf sans rider. I personally rallied hard and long against this rule after the length of boards decreased and board leashes came into wide spread use.

It plays to our advantage as the South Side is a fun break during the summer hours so well keep an eye on the tide and swell and but out the mat signal when conditions are ripe.

Enjoy the weekend.