What's Blooming In Autumn

It's been a banner year for gallardias in my garden.  This variety is called "Goblin".  They've been blooming nonstop since last winter and grew taller and bushier than ever before.  They make a great cut flower and even the seed pods can be attractive in assorted bouquets.  They're easily grown and not a favorite of snails or slugs, although caterpillars and grasshoppers seem to like them.

Yesterday On The Beach

My daughter and her godmother joined me for a beach walk at low tide yesterday.  The waves were so small, it was more like a lake, with an extreme low tide and barely a breath of wind.

Thomas Recovers From The Weekend

Thomas had a big weekend - lots of turkey leftovers, admiring visitors, and the usual bird baths and gopher holes to monitor.  He stopped by last night, plopped himself down and went right to sleep.

Paper Whites

 Paper whites are a dependable bloomer.  These broke ground during the summer and have been blooming since last month, along the driveway where they've withstood the north winds.

What's Blooming In Autumn

Wild melons in the field next door.

Thanksgiving Day

As Seen

 In Los Angeles, a taco cart pulled by a Range Rover.

More Impressionism

"The Boating Party", painted in 1894 by American Mary Cassatt.

November Day, Looking South

The only footprints were mine.

Up The Coast

  

We took a drive up the coast for hamburgers earlier this week.  It was 70 degrees out, low tide, with way few people on the beach.

 

Above, looking north from where we parked on the bluff, and below, later that evening, my daughter and Thomas the cat stopped by to visit.  Thomas has become the ever entertaining subject of countless iPad pictures, which he has taken quite in stride.

Bringing Up The Rear

On The Road

 My favorite neighbors took me along to Los Angeles yesterday.

 From the back seat of the car, my eye was caught time and again by mannequins.

They were as varied as the passers-by.

 

More Impressionism

"Promenade de la Femme" painted in 1875 by Claude Monet.

Looking Back

In San Diego, last century, company bigwigs gathered to inspect a new passenger train engine as a photographer prepared to capture an image for posterity.

Bright

 The sun washed the water silver as my daughter waited for a few last waves before calling it a day.

Blinking

 

To both their delight, Thomas and my daughter's visits overlapped yesterday.  She snapped this picture with her iPad mini, catching him mid-blink, as he waited semi-patiently in the kitchen for his bowl to be filled.

Veterans' Day

The torch of liberty still shines thanks to the good people who serve in our military.

More Impressionism

"Woman's Back" by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901).

Yesterday On The Beach

 

My daughter took me along while she surfed yesterday.

The wind was out of the north, the tide was going out and the way forward across the sand was covered with patterns.

 Curlews were working piles of seaweed and patches of sand for food. 

A Day In The Life

Autumn Sky

Looking west last night, out the living room window, a rainbow sherbet sky.

More Impressionism

"Almond Blossom" by Vincent Van Gogh, painted in 1890.

Hummingbird Silhouette

A wee hummingbird perched on a patio palm frond last night as the sun set.