No, I’m not narcissistically describing ME, lol, but this little Thanksgiving cactus (zygocactus) with its dazzling, almost glowing, salmon pink showy blooms, is all dressed up to become the centerpiece at dinner.
Up close.
This is the first bloom from my Marie Bracey camellia japonica. Dozens of buds formed, but this symmetrical, ruffled, peony-like beauty is the first that’s fully open.
The camellia is a flowering evergreen shrub with dark, glossy leaves and large, lush blossoms that appear and bloom for several weeks during the fall through early spring period in warmer regions.
Camellias represent a spirit of depth, self-reflection, and inner strength. This plant will need all of those traits to survive a mostly drought environment.
Camellias also symbolize perfection and excellence due to their symmetry. Soon, I’ll have to plant it in the ground, but for this initial blooming season, I’m going to leave it right where it is, at the front door.
Did everyone survive 11/11? Are we all freshly intentioned, manifested, and affirmed? I hope so.
I don’t know if I can blame planetary energies or if I must simply and honestly accept full responsibility for the calamity that unfolded for ME yesterday. After watching a few DIY haircutting videos, I THOUGHT it looked easy enough to try a “wolf cut” hairstyle. It’s a cut that works great on curly hair. However easy the videos made it seem, it was for me completely deceptive.
I’m NOT posting any pics, but you can believe me when I say that it was a disaster. I was lucky enough to schedule an emergency appointment with my hair stylist next week, and have total faith in her ability to repair the damage, even as she’s shaking her head while examining my failed attempt.
Today I’m keeping myself far, far away from the temptation to chop off more hair. Since we might actually get rained on in the next few days, I fertilized the lawn and raked up some of the leaves from the mulberry tree. They’re continuing to change color, dry up, and fall to the ground.
As above…
So below…
I love the sound and feel of crunchy leaves, don’t you?
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Ch-ch-changes…
Sing it, David Bowie!
We all fell back last night and gained an hour. For me, It’s always a bit of an unsettling feeling for about a week or so until I get used to it.
More ch-ch-changes…
Did you know that certain trees in Southern California DO change color and lose leaves in autumn?
This is my fruit-bearing mulberry.
The leaves morph into a sunny, vibrant yellow.
Green and yellow against a blue sky.
My garden doesn’t boast any maples that turn red, but these ch-ch-changes mark the hands of time; another autumn, another winter approaching, another year almost over and finished.
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you’re gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I haven’t done a food related post in a while…
I think I was inspired by my garden beets to revisit the addition of fresh veggie juices to my diet, as a liver detox cleanse and all around desire to only bring good things into my body.
Not too much prep; it’s easy!
I used beets, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, ginger water (previously prepared*), celery, an apple, a little broccoli, and some garden kale/chard.
This time I didn’t use a juicer, I cut the veggies into smaller pieces to make it easy for the blender along with 32 ounces of water and zapped the life out of them.
What I got was more actual nutrition than a juicer because I strained it and added the small amount of leftover pulp to a pot of veggie soup I was cooking. It would be equally beneficial to add to the mix for veggie burgers.
It was absolutely delicious.I added an extra shot of ginger water because I love the spiciness. I’m out of lemons or that would have been an awesome flavor, too.
Why cilantro, you might ask? Cilantro is a powerful antioxidant and has been used to remedy a variety of liver and pancreas problems. Some people love it, some don’t.
Drink this juice to help cleanse your liver. I’m not aware of any specific issues with my own liver but I simply wanted to give it a little TLC, and if it energizes my metabolism to lose a couple pounds, I’d be ecstatic.
Our liver is not the loudest of organs as it’s not quick to show visible symptoms when something is wrong. It’s actually a multi-tasking hero that often doesn’t get enough credit. Our liver supports digestion, metabolism, detoxification, blood and hormone regulation, the immune system, and more and we mostly ignore it — or abuse it with alcohol and fatty fried foods, and MEAT.
I’ve been drinking this concoction for a few days — not a fast, although it would be great for that, too. Simply knowing I’m helping this hardworking part of my body makes me feel like I’m doing a lot of necessary self-care and preventative maintenance, like changing the oil on your car, which I confess I NEVER do.( Uh oh.)
Love your liver!
*To make ginger water: Take a decent sized piece of ginger, scrape the skin, slice into rounds. Toss in a pot of filtered water to heat until simmering. Cook for fifteen or so minutes, let cool, and store in a glass jar in refrigerator. I add it to smoothies, juices, and tea.
Have you ever seen a Green Lynx spider? I hadn’t until this morning when I saw this Godzilla-sized bright green monster watching me through the patio doors.
I took a photo and then calmly moved him to a safer (for him) location. Peucetia viridans, the Green Lynx spider, is bright green and usually found on green plants. That makes sense since he was right next to a young orange tree I have on the deck. It’s the largest North American species in the family Oxyopidae. The body was about and inch in length and the legs were more than THREE inches long. It was HUGE.
Green Lynx spiders are non-poisonous and rarely bite humans but the bite can be painful. Females, when threatened, are known to spit venom from their fangs (up to 8 inches). If venom enters the eye, it may cause irritation.
My DIL is deathly afraid of spiders, more so than anyone I’ve ever known. On a recent visit, my son and I were enjoying a quiet cuppa and some morning chat about the kids when we heard her screaming, I mean like blood-curdling screams, the kind that, if they heard, neighbors would call 911.
My Angel Boy ran up to see what was going on and I followed. Apparently, she had been on a Zoom call in AB 2.0’s bedroom when she noticed a VERY VERY large spider on his bedspread.
After we ushered her to another room so she could calm down and resume her call, we then searched high and low for the offending arachnid and couldn’t find a thing. I thought her screams might have scared him off, but my son said he actually had seen it before scurrying away and it was literally four inches in size.
We needed to keep looking because if there WAS still a spider in the little guy’s room, we needed to find and relocate it before bedtime.
I stripped the sheets off the bed, shook them out, and found nothing. We removed the top mattress and then the box springs and OMG, there it was, trying to make itself as small as possible in the corner of the bed frame. I didn’t have my phone to take a photo but you can trust me that it was one of the biggest spiders I’ve ever seen.
We ushered it into a box, clamped on the lid, and my son took it outside as far away from the house as he could, while I remade the bed and checked to make sure DIL hadn’t had a heart attack from fright.
I wonder what she would have thought of my Green Lynx with those scary, hairy legs watching her through the window?
Yesterday’s angst is over; problems solved — today is Friday the 13th, a day that was once considered unlucky until we learned that its negative image is rooted in the patriarchy suppressing the power of the female.
Rather than being afraid of Friday the 13th, especially since its ruled by Venus, we could instead manifest its magic as a day to connect to our beauty and nature.
For me, that’s always been the easiest route; my animal family is all about love. This IS home, along with art and a poem.
I shall
Gather up
All the lost souls
That wander this earth
All the ones that are alone
All the ones that are broken
All the ones that never really fitted in
I shall gather them all up
And together we shall find our home
“Gather up” A Poem written by Athey Thompson
Taken from A Little Book Of Poetry
Art by Elaine Bayley curated from Pinterest
Have you ever grown beets? They’re humble and rustic, sweet and solid, packed full of heart healthy nutrition, even the leaves.
Beets are full of antioxidants that fight cell damage and reduce the risk of heart disease. They’re one of the few vegetables that contain betalains, a powerful antioxidant that gives beets their vibrant color. Betalains reduce inflammation and may help protect against cancer and other diseases.
No part of this beauty is wasted, whether it’s cooked or shaved raw in a salad.
My mom used to make borscht, a Ukrainian cold beet soup, because my dad loved it, but I thought it looked and tasted disgusting, especially since she topped it with a dollop of sour cream.
I now think that I might have been mistaken about my revulsion for borscht, well maybe…except for the sour cream, which I still don’t like.
I’ll scrub and slice the beets, then steam them with the leaves just until tender, to enjoy eating unadorned just like they are, fresh and wholesome. YUM!
Doomed to live and die on the same day, the morning glory is a symbol of resilience and rebirth.
This enchanted morning glory is thriving near a bunch of Natal plum bushes and their fragrant white five-petaled flowers.
The Natal plum is a tropical shrub grown mostly as a flowering landscape specimen, but also known for its small fruits which taste like cranberries and are used in jams and jellies.
Once upon a time when I was in high school, I picked a bushel of the fruits from an empty field and made the most delicious jam but the thorns on the plant almost tore my arms up so I’ve never done it again.
This is a Blue Potato Bush: The flowers are gorgeous but all parts of this part are toxic!
The sweetly scented flowers of Lycianthes rantonnetii, also known as Solanum rantonnetii, blue potato bush, and Paraguay nightshade, grows near a fence in the garden. I cut it back every year which it seems to love because it returns full of flowers that attract bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.
Or cotton candy pink. A trivial confession about me…I’ve never actually eaten cotton candy. I’ve seen it made at the fair but I never had any desire to taste it. I do love Hello Kitty, though, and she speaks to me:
“Once upon a time, there was a princess.” — Hello Kitty
Last night’s sunset was breathtaking to experience. The sky colors were pure Hello Kitty pink.
I didn’t make it to the beach in time to see the full sunset drop into the horizon, but I went outside in the garden to appreciate all of the resplendent Hello Kitty pink gloriousness.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 