Calla Lily in Colors

I always think of  Calla Lilies as being white but there are several different colors these days. This bright yellow one is blooming in my garden now and I know I have a mauve one out there too, but it isn't blooming yet. This is one of the flowers I remember from my childhood... but only the white ones.

Calla Lilies and Easter Lilies go together in my memories. Just the smell of them takes me back to when I was a kid. The Calla Lily was my Aunt Ella's favorite flower and old pictures show they were in her wedding bouquet. She has passed on now, but when I smell lilies I think of  her wonderful laugh and smile. She lives on in her two daughters who are very special cousins to me.

My folks grew Easter Lilies in northern California along with family members when I was about 4  I was too young to go to school with the rest of the kids and since there was no such thing as Day Care, Pre-School or Kindergarten back then,  I would hang out in the shed where the bulbs were sorted. The bulbs were dug from the ground by the men and dumped on big tables. Long boards with holes which increased in size were used to measured each bulb and put it into the appropriate box. It was always exciting to find really large ones as they brought the best price. I remember tons of  those bulbs being dug from the ground and sorted and packed. The boxes would stack up around us as the day went on. I'm sure I wasn't much help but I was always there with my Mom, Aunt Ella and Grandma Berg.

The smell of lilies takes me right back to the bulb shed!

Raindrops On Flowers

We had a few sprinkles last night and the Camellias are soaking up the moisture. I love the flowers that are brave enough to show their faces even though it is still technically winter and most of the annuals are dead or brown. I planted some Daffodils under the willow tree just so I could see some early flowers. They have yet to show any leaves, so it will be a while for them.

So I'm thankful to the Camellias... for their bright shiny face today!

It's Blooming Mushrooms

We drove down to the Nature Center in the Oceano Campground today and saw this crop of mushrooms.

I'm sure all the moisture we have had helps these guys grow.

There sure were a bouquet of them growing out of a root of a tree.

What is This?

I don't know what this plant is that came up as a volunteer by the fence. At first I thought it was a sunflower. It had rather thick dark green leaves. But then it got bushy and grew wide instead of tall.

The flowers are white and never fully opened wide before this strange looking pod developed at the base of the blossom.

They are sharp, very sharp and look like a prickly hand grenade. I sure would like to know what plant this is and where it came from.

I think we will take pictures down to the Ag office and see if they can identify this wicked looking thing!

Dirty Gutters

We live among the trees and it is usually a good thing. It breaks up the sea breezes and provides wonderful shade. But the down side is there are lots of leaves blowing around. Our son was a good sport and helped us clean the leaves off the roof. They collect up there in the valleys and gutters. We appreciate his help so much.

On the back side of the garage he found this little nursery in the gutter.

And it had been there for a while. I am ashamed...very ashamed. There is even an euclaptus tree growing in there. I wonder how long it would take for a house to become completely overgrown like the Mayan Ruins in Mexico.  Note to self: Clean the gutter on the back side of the garage every time you clean all the others.