The Garden


11/22/2014:  Yes this is California.  Yes, the roses & bird of paradise plants are still blooming!

10/31/2014:  Roses are still blooming!

5/28/2014 The bees were very busy in the garden this morning. 

5/2014 Blackberries are in bloom.  Already ate a few raspberries from the garden.

5/2014 These Epiphyllum (orchid cactus) flowers look like an alien species to me, beautiful but slightly unnerving.  

5/2014:  got quite the surprise this morning to find this new  visitor in the garden:

Are we growing funky king size sheets?  No, we are protecting the cherries from the squirrels.

Pineapple guava flowers 05-2014.  Should have a lot of fruit this year.

Fig trees have decided to be prolific in producing crop # 2.  This is one of 10 cartons we've harvested and given away.  We don't like figs, but are blessed with friends who do.

Pineapple Guava harvest 2013.  We gave away bushels of these.

Shopping things & places I love.

November 2014

Just arrived in time for Christmas.   Also ordered rainbow earrings to match my beautiful rainbow necklace.  Candybead custom made these earrings just for me!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/candybead

September 2014

I love this jewelry made by Candybead.  She will customize the colors too!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92133790/swarovski-necklace-spectrum-rainbow?ref=pr_shop

Here’s the red, white and blue set that she custom made for me. 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/154303108/swarovski-necklace-red-white-and-blue

Memorial Day Sacramento Valley National Cemetery May 26, 2014

Beautiful, touching ceremony.

News coverage at this link:

http://www.news10.net/videos/news/2014/05/26/9612237/

Katelyn Reid, a high school student, read her poem during the services:

REMEMBRANCE AT NORMANDY
by Katelyn Reid
I close my eyes.
Footsteps.
All around, I hear footsteps.
Loud, heavy, uncaring,
While those below
Will never walk again.
I open my eyes.
Life.
All around, I see life.
Animals, plants, people,
Moving,
While those below
Lie still forever more.
It is unfair.
Birds twitter and sing,
Leaves rustle,
People talk,
But those below
Are forced into silence.
Children on school fieldtrips
Trudge by
Stomachs grumbling,
Caring only about lunch.
Adults stroll by
Talking loudly,
Eyes dry,
Here only out of a sense of obligation.
I step hesitantly onto the grass
And move through the
Rows and rows of crosses.
I take a good look around
And decide
It is too happy.
Cheerful white clouds
Roll through the merry blue sky.
Leafy, bright green bushes
Gently dance on the breeze.
A white picket fence
Lines the back of the cemetery.
People chat
As they move about.
I walk forward,
Grumpy at their indifference,
But soon forget them.
I stare blankly at the white crosses
As I pass,
Reading the faceless names
That mean nothing to me
But knowing they meant the world
To someone else.
I do not cry.
I have nothing to cry about.
I did not know them.
And then I reach
What I thought was the end
Of the cemetery.
That's no picket fence.
Stunned, I gaze out
At the rows of white crosses before me.
I turn and look back,
Then forward again.
I realize with surprise that
Suddenly I am engulfed in
An endless sea of white marble,
A thousand grave markers
For a thousand brave heroes—
For a mere forty percent
Of the soldiers who died here,
The ones who were not sent back home.
And then
The national anthem plays.
As I raise my hand
To my heart,
I suddenly see them
All around me,
Standing with me,
Straight, erect, at attention,
Just like the crosses that represent them.
Rows and rows of soldiers,
Who although they lie below,
Will stand forever
As courageous and loyal American heroes,
Pledged to the protection of
The Land of the Free.
I am overcome with a gratitude
That cannot be spoken
Lest some of it be lost in translation
From heart to words.
And a tear comes to my eye.
Copyright 2014

 http://www.writerkate.com/

Kate's Rescue for Animals

Kate's Rescue for Animals:  There is a wonderful Animal Rescue organization in Los Banos:  Kate's Rescue for Animals.  If you are thinking of making a donation including a memorial donation, please consider this organization.  My cousin was one of the founders.  This organization is doing amazing things to rescue animals in Los Banos and they really need some funds right now. Thank you!  5/23/2014

http:www.katesrescue.org

www.facebook.com/katesrescueforanimals