Oh me, oh my. The sights Molly the Cat and I saw this morning in the front yard. For one, that fly pollinating the daisies. Until a few years ago, I had no idea flies were pollinators, too. Flower flies are what they're called in general. Some of them have torsos that resemble bees or wasps. I wonder how many times we've said, "Look a bee!" and it was really a flower fly. Experts say that flower flies don't sting. Hurrah! These flies also love to eat aphids and scales. Thank you, much. POMPOM POPPY DANCER Most of the pink pompom poppies have shedded their petals. I think the pods are also cool to look at and go wowza! over. While the blooms make me think of the fluffy hats that comedian Phyllis Diller wore, the poppy pods remind me of ancient Greek soldiers in their Corinthian helmets. WILD CELERY STALK I was hoping that the unknown thing growing at the edge of the geranium spread would be bamboo. Nope. The nearly 4-foot plant is a wild celery p...

Blue skies smilin' at me Nothin' but blue skies do I see. . . ~Irving Berlin The fog lifted early this morning to give us gorgeous blue skies. The orange roses and pink pompom poppies say "Hullo, hullo!" Hanging out at Skywatch Friday . Come join me by clicking here . Thanks, Skywatch Friday hosts!

It's beginning to get jungly in the back yard. The persimmon trees are popping out leaves, as are the apricot and apple trees.  You can't see the banana plants, but they're also shooting up leaves. When all the trees are full, this part of the yard gets quite shady. Perfect to hang out in when the temperatures soar high. I ought to call this part of the yard the "jungle room" or maybe Room of Deep Shade. What do you think?

Finally! The winter rain has come to our part of the world. It began last night. A steady pitter patter, pitter patter on the roof and a swoosh and splash in the streets. Molly the Cat and I celebrated this morning by wandering around the front yard. Actually, it was more like Molly doing her best to shepherd me back into the house. At one point, Molly sat on the doorstep looking like she was sighing at my silliness of deadheading wet daisies. If she could, I'm sure she would've folded her "arms" over her chest and tapped one paw in a "come on, come inside, get out of the rain" staccato beat. Excuse me now as I imagine Molly's tappingness turning into her tapdancing and splashing in the rain like Gene Kelly. Hmmm, Molly has a voice quite like Debbie Reynolds, "I'm singing in the rain. . . ."

See the rat (on the left) walking up the top of the hill? The Husband and I see faces and shapes in rocks, trees, and other inanimate objects. How about you? Scientists call this phenomenon of seeing things within things facial pareidolia. Some experts say that neurotic individuals are inclined to have this ability. Other experts claim that this condition is quite strong in religious people and those who believe in the supernatural. Leonardo da Vinci considered pareidolia as a tool that artists can use to visualize possible scenes to paint or draw. Carl Sagan thought that pareidolia was a form of survivor tool for individuals to recognize if approaching people are friendly or not. All interesting theories, don't you think? A tree full of trolls? What profile do you see: A person? An antelope? Sideshow Bob? I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday . Here's the link for you to check out participants from around the world, and maybe to join up yourself. Th...

Yesterday afternoon, while picking up pillow cushions and doing this and that to prepare the backyard for rain this week, I came across some cool things that seemed to shout, "Look at me! Look at me!" So, of course, I went to get the camera. Click. Click. Click. I'm linking up with All Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jesh at Artworks from Jesh St.G. Click here to check out Jesh and her meme. For the participants list, click here . Thanks, Jesh!

It's winter but the ornamental pear tree on the front yard doesn't think so. For the past few weeks, it has been slowly shedding its colorful autumn leaves. I love the warm yellow and red colors on the ground. I've already raked twice. Maybe I'll rake once more just so they won't be flying over to the neighbors' yards or into the gutter and clog up the storm drain. Not thoroughly though. I think the leaves make a warm cover for the bulbs, tubers, and seeds that are in the soil beneath them. Not to say, the dried leaves will turn into lovely mulch and soil come Spring.

Hundreds of persimmon buds, then hundreds of persimmon babies fell this year that I didn't think we would have much of a crop. I was wrong. The persimmon tree has taught me that we never know what will be.

I woke up to a heavy fog cover this morning. If I didn't know better, I would've said no eclipse for us today. I kn e w better. About 15 minutes before the total eclipse, I put on my sunglasses, grabbed a stool, and went out to sit on the driveway. Molly the Cat followed me out the door but she swerved to the right to stare at the pine cone covered with spider web nudged in the fence. The Husband came out seconds later. "You aren't going to see anything." "Sure I will." He went back into the house only to return with a cup of coffee for me.  Such a guy! "Where are the cards?" I asked. He had pricked 3x5 cards for us to view the eclipse. "You're not going to see anything." "You don't know that." He sighed. Still, he went inside and fetched the cards. While he was gone, I looked up into the sky. It sure seemed like I could see the outline of the sun through the fog cover. For sure, the sky was ge...

I don't think I'm there yet—a succulent crazy mama. I did go to a succulent and cactus show a couple months of ago. It was something to do. It was free. And, yeah, okay I did buy $30 worth of plants, which I finally planted in that ceramic planter above.  The purchases were the orange and red moon cactuses, that spiny looking tree, the cactus with the tiny white flowers on the right that's blending with the white rocks, and the succulent in the metal planter on the left. Maybe that little succulent in the center of the bowl. I can't recall. I also can't remember if I kept their name tags. Yesterday, I dug out the Mama's spindly looking aloe vera plants in the back yard. They were nesting next to the apricot tree and geraniums,  getting too much water and not enough sun.  I thought I would plant them today in a sunnier part of the backyard, but I felt too tired. Maybe tomorrow morning, I'll at least stick the largest plants into the ground, and a few...

Surprise! The amaryllis is in bloom. I had no idea the amaryllis could have a second bloom, six months apart. It isn't unusual, according to what I read today. My trick: Do nothing. I'm thinking that it may be getting the right amount of moisture from the foggy mornings.  Hurrah! The drawer full of hens and chicks is new to the front yard. I finally pulled the succulents out from beneath some rose bushes and planted them in this drawer without a bottom. I placed the two plates there to cover the dirty spots on the drawer. Beats having to repaint the drawer. The flowers fizzed out in the VHS-Tape Planter . Cie la vie! The pot of frizzing spider plants on the other side of the yard called out "Dibs!" I hope they like their new home. Many years ago in another town I recall a house lined with sunflowers on its south side. I thought it was so cool and wanted to do something like that one day. Looks like that day arrived. I'm linking up with A...

Wild mustard greens is one of my favorite foods. I like to sauté the greens in garlic and soy sauce. Add a bit of bacon grease, if I feel like being fancy. Yummm. When I was a kid, it was common for the Daddy to pull our car beside an orchard or field full of wild mustard. The parents got out to collect bunches of greens, while I wandered about, gazing and doing who knows what. These days I wouldn't gather any wild mustard unless I knew the property owner and was assured that the property is certified organic. Last year, the Husband and I decided to grow our own mustard "field", not only for food but also to help put nutrients back into the soil. We purchased a pound of mustard seeds online, but sowed about a third of the bag. Toss is more precise. In December, I tossed the seeds willy-nilly into the backyard. Today it's a mini jungle of green and yellow back there. Some of the mustard plants are nearly five feet tall. I read that these plants can grow betw...

"I'm going around the corner," said Molly. "That's where I'll find Spring." Molly and I are linking up with All Seasons , a fun weekly meme hosted by Jesh who blogs at Artworks from JeshSTG . Click here to check out her blog and the meme.

Do you see the cloud's brow, nose, and slight grin? It looks like a male profile, so I'm calling the cloud Guy. Hey, Guy! I saw Guy this morning as the Husband and I drove over to Freedom to buy Molly the Cat her food and stuff. (Yes, the Husband was behind the wheel.) Perfect timing, I say. The letter G is the theme of this week's ABC Wednesday . Click here to see what other bloggers have shared.  Thanks, ABCW team!

This week has been one of delight when it comes to flowers. One of the Mama's orchids has a blossom. I only noticed the flower over the past weekend. I truly was going la, la, la when I've been watering the orchid pots. Oh well, makes for a nice surprise. Aren't the orchid's colors gorgeous? The Husband's bicycle has almost the same color of green.   Sigh. I miss pedaling around on Tilda-Hilda, my sweet pink cruiser. The ornamental pear tree is in full bloom. This is the second year that the tree's branches are in synch with their flowers. Until last year, it could've been October, December, March, June, or whenever a branch felt like showing off its blooms. I'm happy with whatever it wants to do. On Valentine's Day, I sowed a large packet full of seeds that when in bloom will attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I threw the seeds in that old drawer (in the photo) and in that space in front of it. I put branches and twigs on top of ...

Bold, bright, brilliant, yet tranquil, joyful, and sensual. . . C O L O R ! ! ! That's what I need to see a lot more.  The Mama put it this way , as she planted more flowers in her crowded boxes: "I like flowers. Lots of flowers."  B y the way , th at cluster of the Mama's pink roses are hanging out in the backyard. They don't seem to mind our cold wet winter . Thank goodness! It's the letter C at ABC Wednesday , a fun meme with participants from around the world. Want to join in or check out other C posts?  Then please click here .  Thank you, ABCW team!

By golly! Miss Molly, whatever are you doing? As always, Molly the Cat ignored my question. I watched her jump into the pot, sniff as she turned 360 degrees inside it, then climbed so daintily out of it. Molly the cat and I were doing our morning round of the front yard. I was curious to see how well the plants fared in this morning's frost. A few plants in the shade sported soft ice similar to what's in a shaved-ice cone. What was Molly curious about? I saw two dove feathers near the tree, which means that a neighborhood cat successfully caught himself a bird that morning. Molly may have picked up his scent. She looked to have lost it a few feet from the flower pots. Life is good that I can start my day like this. I'm linking up today with All Seasons , a meme hosted by Jesh at Artworks from Jeshstg. Click here to join or  to check out other participants.

Yesterday afternoon, the Husband and I safely exited the highway onto a road that led us briefly through a magical eucalyptus forest. We zigged and zagged up hill and down dale along vaguely familiar roads to a small town where an artisan's holiday fair was happening. Shall we turn left or right? One way or the other we'd find our destination. We could've taken the direct route. But, where's the fun in that? We wouldn't have come across two young deer quietly and delicately making their way up a hillside. It was almost like they were holding their breath as they walked. Were they afraid we would see them? The Husband stopped the car and opened his window so I could quickly take a photo of the young deer. It wasn't until I was fiddling with this photo that I noticed a creature in the brush above him. At first I thought it was a bobcat or a coyote. Would the deer have gone so slowly if it was either creature?  It turned out it was another deer. I...

Nature is uplifting. Full of grace. Unconditional love. This photo (my favorite this week) is my contribution to Friday's Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.  Her weekly meme asks participants to share photos to three prompts.  The prompts this week are:  1) Starts with U  2) Week's Favorite  3) Nature To join in (it's open until Sunday evening) and/or to check out other participants, click here .