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Edible and Wild
It's not really a trip report. I haven't gone anywhere for a whole year. I barely left my house. It's more like a live mental report from Los Angeles
How's the pandemic going in your part of town? I think Biden is making some big strides, no? Anyone get vaccinated? How do you feel did you get sick? Geez I can't help but think of all the people who have died! What a return to the dark ages. Bill Gates predicted it. What else is he predicting. This could get worse you know. But I'm not going to focus on the negative. In fact we're not gonna focus on anything pessimistic, enraging and depressing on this thread. What I'm going to focus on are edible plants and wild animals! Uhm hm...the relaxing and fun stuff free from all the hate, jealousy, anger and confusion. That's right. Or bitterness, nastiness, bulldozing and fear. Amen. It's all about piloting and pivoting. Harnessing the good narcissist full of compassion and love. Not the bad Narcissist but the one that self accepts and self loves. When you have south node in Aries it really is a conscious effort. No need to stab at the first sign of duress. And definitely no need to get all vindictive and sh*t. That's more lower Scorpio...the severe vengeance that's so unnecessary. Astrology is such a trip. My chart says I need to be more Libra like ... diplomatic, harmonious and not an ass :) In other words it's all about Flora and Fauna. Nature really does have a way of healing even the deepest pains. I see owls, eagles, all kinds of different birds where I live. The small birds are kind of wild. They'll fly really near my face as if they're not scared of humans. I live near mountains and a few minutes from the ocean. I can see tiny waves from where I am. If it's really silent at night I can hear the waves but it's not that close. I haven't been planning any trips. There have been some PCH drives. I also went full fledged vegan early December so I've been busy figuring out what to eat instead. I watched the film What the Health and oh my god I was so into it. It's so life changing to have such an emotional shift. The film was very moving to me. I also saw The Game Changers immediately after. And then I saw The Platform which I believe was filmed in Barcelona. It was kind of an intense week but I love that stuff. Joaquin Phoenix's speech at the Oscars pretty much sums up 2020 for me and some other people I know. It's really beautiful. Any other vegans out there? Any insight on delicious food options totally appreciated! I'm learning so much! Trip wise I still have dreams going on a safari in Africa. I'm more of a glamping kind of girl so if you have any bouge Safari tours/suggestions I'd love to hear them! That might be in 2024 or 2025 who knows. I would also love to see some wild animal photos especially cats and birds if you have them from your travels! I bought the Smithsonian Wild Life of the World book and these animals are so interesting!! If all goes well 2023 will be my travel year. Not sure where yet, specifically, since it's all jumbled up in my head now but I haven't lost my dream exploring the French and Italian countryside. Experiencing the glory of Russia! Seeing Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast. The Maldives, Seychelles and Tahiti! What's the best way to learn Russian? Any advice on that? The social isolating has been good at fulfilling some of my curiosities like painting. I've been doing a lot of that lately and wow I had no idea I'd love it so much. I also think about getting to Greece eventually. A definite return to my beloved Philippines... Japan and Mexico. The greenery in Chile and The Ring Road in Iceland. I've been kind of obsessing about the nothingness and everythingness of the Ring Road. I want to go to Alaska and Albania, the Amalfi and back to Venice! Finally see the Northern Lights and be surrounded by 2000 evening candles in Vaux le Vicomte! So many places to see so many plants to eat. It's fun to dream. |
I had a nice flora and fauna Covid moment last year. My desk is in a room that I don't enjoy using because it's cold in the winter, but I was using it throughout autumn, winter and spring last year (Australian seasons, so March - November 2020). This happened because when we had our lockdown, all members of the family were in different quarters of the house because we were all working / schooling remotely and needed to be some distance apart so we could Zoom or use Teams without disturbing each other. I started using my desk and autumn was so lovely from that room. There is a firespike plant growing outside the window and guess what, birds love the red flowers. We have a number of native mynahs that live in or near our garden and there were quite a few who were sipping nectar from the flowers, plus there was just a lot of very calming green from that room. Plus I bought a heater for that room so it's OK to hang out there. Things seem to be slowly normalising here but I haven't yet started to make the pilgrimage back to the room yet. The teaching year at university is just starting again for me and I am thinking about when to return to that room. Most classes aren't Zoom classes now but we are still spending more time at home than we once did, and yes, do have some Zoom meetings still. The birds were actually a very positive, nice thing that came out of our lockdown. Glad to be able to share this, thanks.
Lavandula |
The room sounds so serene.. . it's like your special sacred space. Thanks for sharing that it was really nice to read.
Autumn is just around the corner for you so I am a little excited about the thought of you returning to the room! I Googled firespike and mynahs I didn't know what they were. It says firespikes can grow in the shade. All my plants seem to need sun so good info to know. It also says they attract butterflies and hummingbirds too! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myna |
I'm adding Australia, New Zealand and Morocco to my list of dreamy places to explore in the future. And the pyramids in Egypt!
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There are actually two birds called mynah in my part of the world, the Indian Myna (Mynah) and the native mynah (Noisy Miner), and the latter is what we have in the garden:
https://birdsinsydney.wordpress.com/category/miner/ (some video) We also have a couple of currawongs (big birds similar to the European magpie), one of whom fell down our chimney as a young bird and entered our lounge room. There was panic until I shut our dogs in the hallway and opened the front door. He eventually found his way out, but he is a regular visitor. I see him walk the fence just outside our lounge room window. A few streets away we have rainbow lorikeets. I would love to have them visit us, but they hang out where there are native fig trees (not like the figs humans eat). https://birdsinsydney.wordpress.com/...nbow-lorikeet/ And at night possums walk the fence. There are two kinds, the brushtail and the ringtail, and we get both. We once tried to grow a lemon tree in the backyard and it had one sole fruit. One day I came out to discover that a creature had completely nibbled all of the rind off the fruit and cleverly left the flesh. I was not sure who had done this, a rat or a possum, as both are visitors, but I think it might have been a possum. That was the end of our lemon, and not long after it succumbed because it didn't get enough water during a heatwave. I will try again with the lemon, I think it's a plant worth having. https://www.australiazoo.com.au/wild...shtail-possum/ https://australian.museum/learn/anim...ngtail-possum/ What is growing or living in your backyard? Lavandula |
Oh magpies are crows! The currawongs beak looks like the tip of a pencil.
There's a squirrel that usually visits on a regular basis. It was gone for a while but when it returned it came with two other squirrels one of which was tiny...looked like a baby. I don't always see the other 2 but the regular one is still a regular and always appears on the corner of the yard. Once there was a small snake slithering on the deck. I think it was a harmful garden snake but that freaked me out and thankfully has not returned. I have so many wonderful plants! I'll take pics this weekend and do a show and tell on Wednesday :) |
I meant harmless garden snake not harmful snake
Here’s a little teaser 🌳 https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...18f6d2ff2.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f35b6e5ff.jpeg |
It might be a bright Tuesday afternoon in LA but it is Wednesday in Singapore, Paris and Sydney so let’s get this show started!
I might be a little slow doing this. I’m also practicing my photography skills so if you have any pointers feel free to share! First plant up....you’ve seen them before but have you seen them like this? |
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I think these onion flowers are Aquarian plants.
The more you let your freak flag fly the more they pledge allegiance! They’re one of my favorites in the garden. They don’t bloom year round. |
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Maybe some 80s hits?
Next plant blooms year round... |
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Mandevilla also known as rocktrumpet
named after Henry Mandeville. .. a British gardener and DIPLOMAT 😄 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandevilla |
lavandula, I hope you try again with the lemon. I have noticed how much water they do need but they’re so useful and lovely to have. A year and a half ago two of them infused together making one super huge lemon.
I almost gave up on the lime tree but for the first time in almost two years they started fruiting. They’re not as juicy as the lemons but juicy enough! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8f46492fa.jpeg |
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The next plant I received for my birthday last year.
It also came with an avocado tree but there are no avocados yet. More 80s? |
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