I awoke this morning for the first time (in what seems to be a very long time) feeling light.
After dropping my son to school and returned home to a daughter and husband still asleep, I decided to go to the backyard, check on my plants and have a moment. I didn’t try to understand or analyze the dream I had last night. I was free. I was set free. I felt free. I could feel the positive energy radiate around and within me.
At some point I felt like I was being watched. As I turned around, I saw a White Homing Pigeon or Dove perhaps staring back at me. The bird was on top of the roof of the backyard workshop and garage. For the next twenty minutes, I took pictures and a video. The bird stood still watching me watching it. I went back in, got my daughter ready for the day, called my Mom and went back out to find the bird on the same spot. As I began sharing my dream with my Mom and got towards the middle, I saw the bird coming towards me and then flying away.
White Homing Pigeon/Dove on the roof.
I am so grateful for all the information I absorbed these past days and for the knowledge I acquired in the process. In the midst of uncertainty and chaos, I was blessed with a moment of clarity.
“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” – Vincent van Gogh
Yesterday’s rainfall brought so much joy and peace of mind.
It is the second rain we have had since the start of Summer and it was such a relief. Like most weekends, we are always out and about visiting Vintage and Antique Shops, Retail Stores, Nurseries and so much more. One thing I very much wanted to do this weekend was to take the kids to a Park and let them loose.
Instead of doing those wonderful things, we opted to stay home. As of now, the backyard fencing is 80% complete. We got rid of more Oleanders and what a difference! It feels like we gained three feet on that side of the yard. It started raining, so we ran into the garage, sat back enjoying some delicious and nutritious snacks while watching the rain fall. It was a wonderful moment for the kids. As soon as the rains stopped, they resumed drawing on the driveway with Crayola Sidewalk Chalk and we continued digging out more Oleanders.
Hawk perched on a Wire.
Early in the evening as my husband was removing and replacing all the solar batteries, he spotted a Hawk perched on a Wire just above the Sweet Almond Tree.
Late on Tuesday afternoon I found one of three baby birds on the ground in the backyard. My first thought was that the baby bird has fallen out of its nest; however, given the amount of feathers and noticing that both parents were keeping an eye from a close distance (probably teaching the baby to fly on its own). I came to the conclusion that the baby bird was simply attempting to fly. As soon as I gently picked it up to place it back into the cozy nest, the baby bird jumped back on the ground flapping its wings and hopping around. At that point I decided to leave it alone and allow Nature to follow its course.
As the evening got windier I decided to check up on the baby bird and realized that all three young birds fad fallen off the nest. I carefully picked them up, one at a time, and placed all three back on the nest and left them there. Came next morning, and all three baby birds were gone.
Baby Birds attempting to fly on their own.
This evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset while having an awesome time outdoors. Come to think about it, it might be the third or fourth sunset I have seen since the start of the year.
American Flag at Sunset.
I am very thankful for a lovely day with my Family.
Today we decided to cross some items of our to-do list and ran some errands in the morning. Once done and with a full day ahead of us we took to sight seeing around the Victorville area. After much curiosity, we decided to stop by World Concrete Precast on Mariposa Rd in Victorville, CA to check out the beautiful concrete pieces we have only been able to see from the freeway while driving in the area.
The selection of cement/concrete creations is amazing to say the least. If you can think of it; they probably have it or know where to get it for you. I will let the picture gallery speak for itself as you can probably spend a whole day checking out each item. The detail on each piece is amazing and the items that come painted are done really well. I fell in love with the brown five tier water fountain.
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Once home, we decided to eat out in the patio and enjoy the beautiful weather and lack of wind that we were experiencing today. After a couple of minutes we heard the chirping of baby birds and decided to try our luck and try to catch them with the camera. As you can see below, we where successful. They are so small.
Baby Birds in Nest.Baby Birds in Nest.
They seemed to be in between meals and every time we step out of the patio the mama bird flies away to draw the attention off her babies. This is the second year she uses this nest since she put it up about a year or two ago. We can not wait until they start to fly around on their own.
I enjoy having beautiful color changing plants with unique leaf textures in the garden. Such plants add dimension and color to the landscape as their foliage make them a great accent to the yard as they brighten and light up the grey, dreary days by becoming the focal points in Winter.
1. Pyracantha 2. Heavenly Bamboo 3. Nana Nandina
The first noticeable color in my garden is red and it’s Pyracantha.
We have one in my front yard (which we inherited from the previous owner). It’s evergreen and grows upright with fountain like arching branches. The beautiful White flowers are produced in late Spring through early Summer and attract bees and butterflies. The plant produces red berries in Fall that persist into the Winter. The berries colors vary from bright red to orange and are eaten by birds. The plant is easy to grow, drought resistant, prefers full to partial sun and requires very little water is once the plants are established.
I cut mine back each fall and they always come back stronger and healthier the following year. You must be very cautious around this plant since it is covered in thorns. The berries are edible when cooked. Pyracanthas have their share disease problems, such as fireblight (a contagious and destructive disease affecting members of the family Rosaceae). Click here and here to read about plant care information.
The second colorful plant in my garden which I love is Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina Domestica), a semi-evergreen shrub, a toxic plant, as parts of the plant are poisonous. The plant has fine-texture foliage and produces red berries in the Fall and persists through Winter and at this time, the foliage reddens before turning green. The plant produces white flowers in early Summer above the foliage. The plant prefers full to partial sun, it’s frost hardy, disease-resistant, drought resistant (though it performs best in moist and well-drained soil) and requires minimal care. Plant it in full sun for brighter leaf colors. Click here and here to read about plant care information.
One of my favorite plants for Winter color is Nana Nandina. It is a small evergreen dwarf bush with vivid green foliage that turns brilliant red in Fall and persists into the Winter. Just like the two other plants mentioned above, Nana Nandina prefers full to partial sun, it’s frost hardy, disease-resistant, deer and rabbit resistant, drought resistant and requires minimal care. Planting this shrub in full sun will greatly reduce foliage diseases and will exhibit richer-colors. The plant requires fertilizer twice a year to encourage new growth.
By JM Perez
