Fava flowers

Light rain this February morning. The fava beans have shot up in size and are flowering.

Rumi: You are not a drop in the ocean. You are an entire ocean in a drop.

First toadflax bloom

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878~

It has been unnaturally colder than normal the last week, with the lows in the mid 30s, F, a lovely visit from the jet stream which normally doesn't traverse our way. I am not used to cold like this. Amazingly, I still have green plants in my garden, and these include fava beans, peas, chard, parsley, potato plants and cilantro.

Not surprisingly, weeds continue to do well despite our cold spell, and right now, the toadflax is just coming up. I keep toadflax around for the dainty Easter egg colored flowers. Family Plantaginaceace, species Linaria. They were originally in the Scrophulariaceae family, which was my first guess. I don't think they do well as a cut flower because they only seem to last a day in the vase, after which the tiny flowers fall off and form a mess both on the table and in the water. Still, I occassionally bring them home for the table, if only for a day.

For a new year

Do not dwell in the past

do not dream of the future

concentrate the mind on the present moment Buddha

Although I am not buddhist, I like the reminder. I don't do new year's resolutions because I believe we get to start over again every day, every moment. But this doesn't mean I think you should feel the same. Resolutions can be a nice way to start the year.

About the nasturtium above, I saw this vibrant fleur peeking out today at on the path, as if it was saying hello.

Rain and hollyhock

Taken this summer. It is fitting it is raining this weekend.

It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince"

First green is gold

Thornless boysenberry leaf

Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

The first leaf this season, on the boysenberry. I was struck by the gold in the green, almost vibrating.When I revisit the Robert Frost poem, I always forget it ends with sadness, my interpretation of his piece.
Would you think it sadness? Is it possible to have loss without sadness?
I don't know. I do know first green is often gold, especially out in the chaparral after a good rain and especially after a fresh burn.  Funny, there I see the gold as a promise, one of hope.

A blessing for the new year

Something just beyond the horizon beckons us forwards to become who we already are but do not know it yet... Rilke

This natural impulse for growth: I see it in the seeds I sow, the plants that grow, the flowers that bloom. What is that all about? I don't know but this drive for growth seems to be something quite fundamental about life. With that thought in mind, sending this blessing out to all: may this new year be a good year of growth for all, in whatever form it may take!

Outdoors

Outdoors is where the great mystery lies, so going into nature should be a searching and humbling experience, like going to church. Skip Whitcomb

I'm constantly amazed by the little things, such as how the drops of water rest on the petals of this mallow.

Emerging white california poppy

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin

Love this quote and have been waiting to get the right shot before I posted it. Except I always get distracted by the shot, thinking isn't it cute how the cap on the poppy is perched on top.

See the world

See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ray Bradbury