Mistakes: Butterfly Capers
If you look closely, you can see several monarchs in this butterfly bush in our garden. Butterfly bushes are touted as good plants to draw pollinators, but there are better, more balanced alternatives. I am not sure you would call it a big mistake, but upon attending the Geography of Hope seminar at the native… Read more »
Mr. Quail. The Mrs. is in front of him, her head obscured by the blurry grape leaf. The goats heard the alarm cry this morning before I did: Te-te-te-te! Te-te-te-te! They stopped, and a quail couple trotted through the fence and into the vineyard. We won’t hurt you, I said softly, but nevertheless, they ran into… Read more »
Last year when the wild turkey was brooding eggs by the lavender labyrinth, Ramon told us not to even think of the turkey when the dogs were around. He said they would see our thoughts and go after her. She lived to hatch and raise a rafter of turkeys and she is at it again this… Read more »
Clarkia, or Farewell-to-spring. I always have a sadness when this little flower blooms. Clarkia, or Farewell-to-spring, means that the succession of wildflowers is almost over. Of course, the farming harvest has only begun! The lavender will be cut very soon for drying, the garden is coming on. In July when the lavender is more fully… Read more »
Neptune’s trident behind a small but strident goat. I know this flower as Neptune’s trident, although there are several other common names. It comes late spring along with the Mariposa tulip, a member of the lily family. It too is part of the natural biodiversity here, both supporting our native pollinators. We wait to mow areas… Read more »
Wild Strawberry, last sighting! They are here for a very brief period— the small, extremely delicious berries that grow in several patches around our ranch. They are impossible to get back to the house for any sharing with Donald on, say, ice cream, as they disappear almost as soon as they leave the stem! I… Read more »
Dandelion adapted to our thin, dry top soils of northern California. My mother would have thought I was crazy, planting dandelion seeds in my garden! She tried to get rid of dandelions, although not too hard. We had a lot of them, the yellow heads and hollow stems dotting our yard each spring. My sister… Read more »
Valerian Yes, she is pretty, but she wants to take over! Nothing like planting a pushy plant in your garden! She’s not content to grow only in her own bed but wants to expand into the peppers and tomatoes. She also thinks she should move into the squash. Moving into the tomato bed. Yet her… Read more »
This week Smoky Zeidel published my Guest Blog in her series on what inspires artists and writers. “How Snakes Inspired Me to Write a Novel” tells how I came to write and publish Snakes, a novel written in the period of the demise of the family farm across America. It is a story about loss… Read more »
These the goats love! I have to be very careful photographing when the goats are with me, or the flower head is gone, quick as a wink! These are the kinds of plants our ranch expresses when it is in its full individuality and natural biodiversity. The more I understand, the more I see that not listening… Read more »
© 2024 Patricia Damery.
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