While pedaling Tilda-Hilda (my pink cruiser of a bicycle) along a zig-zagging back road, I happened to glance up. I sure am glad I did. Today, I'm taking part in the meme Trees & Bushes , hosted by NatureFootstep. Click here to see works by participants from around the world.

I'm linking up with the Weekend in Black and White , hosted by the gracious Dragonstar. Come along with me to check out B&W photos by participants from around the world.

My ABC Wednesday theme: The Mama and her Authentic Green Thumb. . . and Fingers See the apple in the picture.  I didn't see it when I took a photo of the branches this morning. So, I was utterly surprised when I saw the apple in the image on the computer. The Mama and I didn't notice any blossoms on the tree earlier this year. I wonder how many other apples are hidden underneath the branches. Once I post this, I'm going outside to point out the unobtrusive apple to the Mama. Maybe we'll find others. By the way, this apple tree, as well as two other apple trees, grew from seeds that the Mama planted nearly 28 years ago. Yup, from apples that she ate. People told her the tree would not ever bear fruit. Ha! It's ABC Wednesday , a wonderful meme started by Denise Nesbitt and currently being administered by Roger Green and his wonderful ABC team. Come check out other U posts by bloggers from around the world.

Tilda-Hilda and I wandered on back roads today. Doesn't that look like a chicken or a bunny up ahead of us? I think it's a chicken, because I was listening to the cluck of chickens around us. We also came across an orchard nymph. I was thirsty and rolled to a stop beneath some shade. As I sipped water, I turned to look at the orchard. Voila. There she was. Be sure to look up the tree to see the nymph's face.

The greatest thing that happened this past week was Rainy Thursday. It rained throughout the day and night. And, at one point, it came down in buckets. Of course, I had to go outside and take photos. I got totally drenched, and loved every huge raindrop that my tee-shirt absorbed. The Mama loved the rain, too. She was outside when the rain started, and decided to go hang out in the shed as the sky kept crying. On this coming Wednesday's post, I'll share what she did during the rain. Writing Travel Bits Lately, I've been writing descriptions about local places for Mapquest . Once upon a time, I thought I wanted to be a travel writer, but other things came along to drop that thought in the wish bucket. Writing these occasional short pieces is fulfilling that dream. Here are a few of the places I've written about so far: Pinnacles National Park , National Steinbeck Center , San Benito County Historical Park , and the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph . A rock

Today, I'm participating in The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by the delightful Dragonstar. To see B&W works by other participants, please click here .

The Mama's apple trees have few blossoms this year, probably due to the severe drought we're in. We can only hope the trees will make it through the drought. Today, I'm participating in The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by the delightful Dragonstar. It's been awhile. To see B&W works by other participants, please click here .

My  ABC Wednesday   theme:  The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs. . .and Fingers Serenity now? Go into the Mama's jungle then. The north end, in particular, is where you can surround yourself with a quietude. As you make your way along the narrow paths, flower and vegetable bushes and vines brush against your legs and arms in welcome.  Be careful though. You may need to crouch a bit beneath the tangles of branches of apricot, apple, and persimmon trees. And, there may be fruit hanging low up ahead. Today is the letter Q at ABC W ednesday , a meme began by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and now managed by a team of wonderful folks.   Click  here  to read posts by other participants.

The Husband and I came across these wild pink roses while walking on the main street of San Juan Bautista last Sunday. A perfect contrast to the sights that we saw during our hike with friends at the Pinnacles National Park. To see some of those amazing sights, please click here to go to my other blog, Take 25 to Hollister .

My  ABC Wednesday   theme:  The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs. . .and Fingers Those white blossoms may one day produce Asian pears for us. The tree had quite a lot of blossoms this year, but then we had a couple days of rain. The rain was wonderful for us, since we're in a drought, but not so much for the blossoms. So we shall see. Look in the background and you can see some clusters of buds of the avocado tree. If they all wake and do their thing, we're going to have a huge crop this year. What else is new in the Mama's garden? This past week, she planted long beans and some other kinds of beans, which I can't recall. She says that sometime soon she'll plant green beans. Yup. We like our fresh beans. Seeds that the mama dropped into the soil a few weeks ago have popped up. These are parda plants. I have no idea what the English word is for parda . Not even sure if I'm spelling the Ilocano word correctly. It's a kind of bean that look

Yesterday, I posted photos of the martians the Husband and I sighted on our recent walk. Today, I give you photos of the various earthly creatures we saw. Some were mild-mannered while others tried to scare us with ferocious looks. They weren't trying too hard because I didn't run away, and I'm truly a big scaredy-cat.  Today is Our World Tuesday , a wonderful meme that let's bloggers from around the world meet and greet and share their part of the world. Click here to join us.

The other day, the Husband and I visited friends in Los Altos Hills, who took us over to see the baby sheep at Hidden Villa . That's a non-profit organic farm and wilderness preserve that is open to the public, as well as offers various educational programs. The place is gorgeous. We also checked out the pigs, goats, chickens, and cows. Today, though, I'm posting photos of the sweet, darling lambs. These darling babies were one-day-old.  The cutie pie seemed to be asking, "Hmmm, what is this?" This sweetie was the sole black sheep of the group.  I'm hooking up with Camera Critters today. So, please click here to see what lovely creatures that bloggers around the world are featuring.

Yesterday, I saw the first California golden poppy in our yard. Whooo-hooo! So, of course I had to take a photo of it. Good thing I had the camera in my pocket. And, yes, the image simply asked to be experimented with in Photoshop. Happy Monday, One and All! Today's meme is  Mandarin Orange Monday , hosted by Loikart. Click  here  to see other orange posts by bloggers from around the world. 

It was about 20 minutes before sunset when I heard the rain on the roof next door. "It's raining," I said, clicking away on the keyboard. The Husband shifted in his seat behind me. "The sun is out," he said. "There must be a rainbow somewhere." The vertical blinds rustled. "It's right outside!" "Everyone's getting their camera. Click, click," I said as I crossed the room, thinking about the growing number of people suddenly sharing their photos of our town on a couple of local Facebook groups. I peeked through the slats. "I'm getting my camera." The Husband followed me down the stairs and out the door. We were greeted by a brilliant rainbow. "Look, look! Another rainbow!" I said, clicking away. Two rainbows. A gentle rain. The sun setting. What more could we ask for? Some  clouds cleared beneath the rainbow. "The moon!" I'm participating in Our World Tuesday . To se

My ABC Wednesday theme: The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs . . .and Fingers And just like that the Mama's trees in the backyard are bursting with life. Gee, when did the leaves start sprouting on the miracle tree? Golly, the young apricot tree has a lot of buds this year.  Gosh, the banana leaves have begun unfurling.   I'm participating in ABC Wednesday , a meme began Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and administered today by Roger Green at Ramblin' with Roger . Today is the letter G . Click here to read other G posts.

When the Mama bought her lemon tree, she lucked out big time. Not only does it bear Meyer lemons, but it also gives forth citrons. Someone had grafted a couple of citron branches to the lemon tree, unbeknownst to her and possibly the nursery from which she bought the tree.  Some of the citron are Buddah's hands. They're the ones that are oddly shaped, generally looking like fingers. Buddah's hands can get truly creepy looking. Today I'm hooking up with Monday Mellow Yellows , hosted by Gemma Wiseman. Click here to see other yellow-colored interpretations of the world.

Today, I'm participating in The Weekend in Black and White . To check out some very cool photos by bloggers around the world, please click here .

  Isn't this field of yellow mustard lovely? It was quite happy, I thought, because of the rain. This weekend our area had its first rainstorm of the year. Hopefully, we'll get more rain to soften the blow of another year of drought. Being that I caught such a mellow yellow field with the camera, I hooked up with Monday Mellow Yellows , hosted by Gemma Wiseman. Click here to check other mellow yellow photos by bloggers around the world.

My camera is a point-and-click Canon Powershot A1200 so I generally have no idea how my photos look until I see them on the computer. Now and then, I'm very surprised by a shot. Like this one. When I took the photo I was focused on the curtains and the ornamental piece between the windows. Imagine my thrill to see the reflections in the windows. Today, I'm sharing at The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by Dragonstar. Click here to see other black and white photos by bloggers from around the world.

"Hello." "Good morning." "Happy New Year!" "Have a nice day." Most people, I've noticed, are friendly to each other on walking trails. Some are even willing to stop and pass a few moments to cheerfully talk to strangers. Maybe we should imagine that all streets, roadways, paths, sidewalks are trails. Today, I'm linking up with The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by Dragonstar. Click here to see other black and white photos be bloggers around the world.