Sticky monkeyflower tends to hang outwith poison oak and coyote bush. One of the plants in full bloom now is sticky monkeyflower. A member of the figwort family, the flower blooms on our hillsides most of the summer. The hummingbirds love it, and so do goats! I wonder what energies are collected and moved about… Read more »
We walk the hills this morning without the dogs, who abandon us almost at the beginning. The vultures are circling and swooping low, a sure sign of a recent kill, something that Moka and Leo cannot resist searching out. No amount of calling dissuades them. The goats walk solemnly in a straight line behind me…. Read more »
This time of year is intensely green in northern California. The hills are verdant, the forest, gold (Nature’s first green…). Psychologist Carl Jung says the alchemical benedicta viriditas, the blessed greenness, is “the sacred immanence of the divine spirit of life in all things”. A walk in the forests or the green hills of Napa… Read more »
Young Lot Sophia lavender the first week of May. After fermenting the compost tea for at least 24 hours, we serve the young Lot Sophia plants about a cup each. The plants are pushing some growth, which means they are rooting in, and this tea will provide a good source of nutrition to facilitate this… Read more »
Monday (fruit/fire day, moon in Leo) we sprayed the third of the Barrel Compost earth sprays in the vineyard and orchard. The next few days (until Saturday morning) are root days (moon in Virgo, earth sign) and are ideal for making compost or compost tea, planting carrots, rutabagas, turnips, onions, or digging onions and potatoes…. Read more »
A couple of years ago, Ramon gifted our garden with two rue plants that his daughter had rooted. He told us that they would ward off evil. When one died last year, he questioned us carefully about who had been in the garden. Rue on the right at the entry of our garden. We replaced… Read more »
Douglas’ Iris on our ranch Many years ago, Donald had a tenant who lived in the house where Ramon and his family now live who told him a story about the Douglas’ Iris that come up this time of year. The tenant told him they were planted by one of the first pioneers—a little like a… Read more »
Lavender is still in its wintering mounds, just beginning to send up growth. Yesterday a friend said, “It’s only eight weeks until your Open House!” Yikes! I thought. This time of year I always go through the same anxiety: will the lavender be in bloom for the Open House? Right now it is just beginning… Read more »
Anna and the compost pile (which is in process of being spread) This short YouTube film shows the importance of soil building in sequestering carbon (in carbon dioxide) and slowing and/or stopping global warming. Inspiring in its four minute message, it also lacks detail, like what would it mean to increase organic matter by 1.6%?… Read more »
When Owl’s Clover shows up, usually in disturbed areas along the driveway, I know we are in mid spring. (Once a consultant told us that those plants growing in disturbed land are building soil.) They are members of the Figwort family, a goat delicacy, and a welcome part of our natural biodiversity. View Our Lavender… Read more »
© 2026 Patricia Damery.
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