Its SPRING!!

The kumquats did survive all that nasty mischief that Jack Frost tossed at them in January! Whether it was the sheets ever so carefully (not) wrapped around the tree or the natural canopy of the olive trees, the fruit was saved from freezing. (whew. What a crummy sentence that is!)

Somewhere I have a formula for yummy sounding kumquat/oatmeal cookies. Its probably hiding under my cauldron. I will miss having fresh citrus when I move back north.

More signs of spring; The clematis is coming back to life. Make that "clemati"...there are several.



And of course, there is the Sea of Chasmanth..

Annoying, yet it is bound to be prettier than the mc mansions that will no doubt be built over it. I won't ever come back to see the progress (destruction), preferring to remember the place as my exclusive play area, as my parents' wonderful flower and vegetable gardens, as the place my dear brother handed sweet, little, innocent me an olive right off the tree and said "Here eat this." It isn't easy to give up the homestead but its too much for one person to keep up. The water costs keep going up, gasoline for the mower keeps going up, I keep getting older...the house keeps getting older...the traffic continues to get worse...and Oregon is calling me back. Thank goodness (and my wonderful friend, AL) for digital cameras!

It is possible that the guys won't get their funding and the sale will fail. I hope its a "go". It would be nice, I think, to spend my later years doing something besides mowing weeds & chasmanthe and moving sprinklers all the time. Now if I could just convince my friends and brother to move north too!