August 3, 2017
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A Crazy July
The past month has been a little busier than usual, with lots of things happening. First, the “Whittier Fire” west of Santa Barbara is still 87% contained, with the remaining 13% along a rocky steep ridge that the firefighters can’t get to. There were Sundowner Winds predicted for last evening, but they apparently did not materialize — if they had, the fire would have burned much farther down the hill towards the ocean.
The last time I photographed the hydrangeas along my front walk, I believe there were two flowers in bloom, and a bunch of buds. Those have all bloomed, and I took the following photos a few days ago, just before I cut off the dead-heads.
There are a few more buds, and the 2 flowers that still have color were spared for now. It has been close to 100 degrees today, and will continue this hot for a few days, so I don’t have great hopes for more flowers — but stay tuned!
Today has been very hot and humid — there have been lightning strikes in the area, which is quite unusual for this area. They even had to evacuate 8 miles of beach at Huntington Beach this afternoon, along with a surfing contest, due to the lightning. At one pint, I walked outside my front door and shot the next 3 photos — on the other side of the house, the sky was blue!
During the month I had visits from three good friends. A Xanga friend (Trish Ambrose) who used to live in Pennsylvania and now in Oregon was in town with her husband for a conference — they called and asked if I had time to see them — we had a delightful dinner on the edge of the Marina at Dana Point Harbor. And a colleague who moved from here to South Carolina about 10 years ago was in San Diego for a national financial aid conference, followed by a weekend visit with relatives. She stopped off along the way for dinner as she traveled between San Diego and LA.
In the midst of all this, it was the time of the year when I have all my annual doctor’s appointments within the month. I am fine — all tests came back normal except one which will be redone in 3 months — but that takes a lot of time that I would rather use for fun things. I will try to post a little more frequently from now on.
Comments (10)
The hydrangeas are beautiful! I may have to buy myself a bush.
It sounds like you're having Indiana summer weather, not So. Calif.
Glad the Dr. app'ts went well. I saw my cardiologist and had blood tests. I'm fine.
The flowers are beautiful. I've heard you can feed them certain things to change their colors.
The hydrangeas are gorgeous, even the ones without a lot of color. Our garden areas are getting wilder by the day without Brett home to keep them in order. I did go out the other day and pull out some dead raspberry plants, but that's pretty much the only maintenance I've done.
It's cloudy, cool and windy here today. Feels really nice!
@ata_grandma: It's still warm, but the humidity is breaking, so it feels much better now! The last week has served to remind me why I live in Southern California!
@mcbery: You can determine the oolor of hydrangea flowers -- I think it has to do with the acidity of the water you use. These are side by side, and have received identical treatment, so there must be something else at work here too!
@saintvi: Thanks! I was surprised at how pretty the flowers are as they begin to die down and lose their color! These flowers get so little care that it amazes me that they do so well!
Puff ball flowers. I like that they come in a variety of colors.
Heat and humidity... sounds like here. Ugh. Makes me miss New England at times, but then I remember that there is bad weather of different sorts everywhere. We had blizzards and tornados when I was growing up.
I'm glad the fire is mostly contained, but still rather amazed that it's still burning at all. That has been quite awhile. A lot of trees and forest plants must've been destroyed, and animals displaced. Sad.
They are! They're almost like soft marshmallows, with color dependent on the chemicals in the water!
The humidity has broken here in the last couple of days. It's still hot, but not as uncomfortable as it has been! Yes, there is bad weather of some sort everywhere!
The fire is still burning hotspots, and still apparently at 87% containment! The other 13% is so rugged -- focky and steep -- that they can't get to it except for water drops from the air -- they will keep it controlled with water drops, and hope that the winds don't change! It could burn that way for a long time!
I love the hydrangeas here Janet. They are so vibrant with color. I have been trying to paint these flowers for a while, but just not getting the right texture to the medium. I think last night I read where you were getting ready to start moving or planning the move etc. ALL THE BEST.
lOVE AND HUGS.
Thank you, Zakiah -- the hydrangeas have been beautiful! Please feel free to use these photos (and the newer ones too) as models if you wish. Not yet moving, but having to pack up my house so the re-piping project can be done -- I am in the middle of a jigsaw puzzle tht won't quit, though, and am a little crazy! Will write a separate message shortly. Love and hugs!
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