Book: Stone Style

This is great book on using stone in decorating your home and garden. I noted several projects to try when I get some free time, including a sandstone clock, incense holders, stone drawer knobs, stone magnets and tacks, stone stamps and pebble candles.

Stone Style

Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon

Here is the photo from a local paper of Joseph and I at the Lazz Concert I mentioned in my last post.

For whatever reason, the photographer of The Acorn, a small, regional paper for the Thousand Oaks/Simi Valley area, finds Joseph quite photogenic. This is the second time we have appeared in the paper. By the way, I am not asleep in the picture, but concentrating on the sketch I was drawing. (SMILE)

Click for a short story from the paper and links to a larger image!

Why Leaves Change Color

Why Leaves Change Color

I must admit that Fall is the season I miss the most since moving to California. I love the colorful falling leaves and the unique smell of of the Earth settling down for "a long winter's nap".

This site, from the St. Paul Office of the National Forest gives some insight into the natural processes that create the dazzling show each year.

Recommended by Jo Ann at Goosing Your Muse

Tumbling into Fall...

Well, as is the normal method to the LA madness, Fall seemed to arrive today, unannounced, but not unwelcome.

Fall is notoriously short each year, so we made the most of it. Temperatures never rose above the lower 70's and there was a brisk wind out of the southwest. As an added benefit we took in the final concert of the Summer at Peter Strauss Ranch(PDF) in the Santa Monica Mountains. It was a wonderful little Jazz Quintet who did 2 sets under the towering oaks and eucalyptus trees. Occasionally, both audience and performers were struck with falling leaves and bits of bark, but there was something a bit magical being outdoors, listening to nice music, on such a grand day.

Hopefully, these moderate temperatures will remain for a while. This will let me get into some Fall planting throughout the garden. Rosanne and Joe were kind enough to plant some more lavender in the front garden, although there are now some bulbs that need to be replanted there, as well.

I need to get up on the roof and sweep away all the leaves from the Summer before the first rains come. This is one of the problems in having so many mature trees in the garden. They drop a substantial number of leaves that need to be dealt with on a regular basis. If I don't get them up before the rain arrives the can turn into a solid mat that suffocates other plants and is almost impossible to blow away using my electric leaf blower. I know this from experience. One year, after a particular lack of attention, I had to rake every last path and bed to remove all the debris. It is much easier to take care of it in small pieces.

I have been seeing large bags of daffodil bulbs in the stores, so now it is time to grab a bunch and get them in the ground for an even better Spring bloom. There are also other plants that can be planted in the Fall here, so I need to investigate them further