It's that time of year when the sierra and white oak trees drop their leaves to get ready for new growth; the winds are blowing them everywhere. It's interesting that these trees annually drop them in Spring instead of in Fall, and that they all don't drop at once but rather turn yellow and drop a little at a time while new leaves start. The trees are never bare like they get in New England. Later, the pollen will appear on them, and that's when we will see tons of little bees on them.
This is also the time when the irises grow buds and bloom in purple, yellow and white flowers. They have already started, quite a few new ones today in fact. Plus, our lilac bush now has purple blooms and soon it will be full of them. We love the smell of them.
The herbs that we stored in the shed over Winter are out on the patio now. The thyme and sage are looking healthy. This year I'll start a new batch of chili plants. They are easy to grow from seed and they thrive here. A friend makes a mean salsa, so I need to get them planted soon. Our basil did well in the kitchen over Winter, but now that it is back outside it needs some help. We planted some seed from the plant and I hope they will take...I already see two tiny green leaves in the pot. We'll see.
- Bill
