Big, wide brimmed hats for the garden!

Rod came home with these last weekend, and I love them! A must for the bright sunny days here. I'm more a baseball cap sorta gal but these offer so much more protection from not just UV rays but those pesky, flying, giant bugs that come sweeping thru the yard now and then. I'm not kidding, we have these big black, red winged flying bugs, they appear to be about 2 inches long, and they scare the beejesus out of me! I never hear them till they are within a few feet away, that must be when they kick into dive-bomb mode and emit a loud, dull buzzzzzing noise. THATS when I run for cover, no need to look around, I KNOW they are there!

This is one of the little watermills where I get my jugs of filtered water. They have several around town, different brands of water. This one costs 25 cents a gallon, much more affordable than the bottled water at the stores. I hesitate to drink the tap water here, it just tastes flat and sorta "dead". I miss the waters of the northwest!

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Wow, in just a matter of weeks I've watched several new drilling rigs and pumps springing up at the intersection to Hwy 119, Taft to Bakersfield. The high demand for oil and the high prices per barrel ($138) is creating a flurry of activity all over Kern County. I expect to wake up any morning now to an oil drill greedily digging outside my bedroom window!

Prices today average $4.20/gal in Taft, and $4.30 in Bakersfield. I hear and read arguments of how spoiled we are as a nation, having had some of the lowest per gallon prices for years, and what we spend on gas is a small % of our discretionary budget, but the sticker shock seemed to happen almost overnite, leaving us to rethink our personal budgets in a hurry.

"Republicans in Congress are now demanding that President Bush investigate whether the oil companies are engaged in price gouging. Putting the White House in charge of investigating oil companies. That's like putting Dick Cheney in charge of gun safety." --Jay Leno

Memorial Day Weekend in the garden. Rod got out the pruning shears and went to work. I had to keep an eye on him, once started it seems something just takes over and he doesn't know when to stop! You can see some of what I mean in this other shot.

I salvaged bunches of pruned summer sage and stuffed into containers to "root" them. I love this green/gold variety and will replant in other parts of the garden.

California Strawberry anyone?

And they say they grow em big in Texas! I am making my way through a basket of California strawberries I purchased at the local Albertsons, each one is a "snack" in itself, almost like eating an apple. And unexpectedly SWEET. They are incredibly BIG on flavor as well as size.

Gas prices in Bakersfield. Happy Memorial Day travels to you :)

I read the Oil execs went before the Senate today to explain their record profits...again. Not much seems to have been revealed, but rest assured, they say they "feel" our pain. I'm relieved to hear that. Mind you nothing changes. Angry Senators sought explanations other than "supply and demand" and how they need the profits from "up" years to carry them thru "down" years. Have we had any of those yet? Senator Durbin asked "Is there anybody here that has any concerns about what you're doing to this country with the prices that you're charging and the profits that you're taking?" The titans of America's oil industry sat quietly for a moment. "Senator," replied Exxon's Simon, "We have a lot of concern about that. And we're doing all we can to put downward pressure on prices." Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa stated he had heard nothing from the oilmen that would explain "why profits have gone up so high when the consumer is suffering so much."

Oroville in the spring.

The scents of apple blossoms and lilacs were everywhere! It was a joy to return to the valley and our mountain cabin for a brief spell. All the old familiar haunts, scents and sights.

Most our time was spent on various spring projects and with my mother, who is alone now after my fathers passing last June. On one of the few trips to the valley I simply had to capture these beautiful views.



This bank of lilacs grow wild and with abandon. It has been here ever since I can remember, all that remains of a long gone homestead. For many springs I'd jog past it and stop to enjoy the intoxicating scent.


















If you click and enlarge this one of the town you can see "Number Mountain" with the snow capped peaks in the distance. Glorious!

One of the small pleasures I enjoy the most is my perennial herb garden. Few herbs would survive the winters back in Washington, but here in southern Cal they not only survive they thrive! My small garden bed has been taken over by my rosemary "shrub" (that needs constant pruning or it will become a virtual tree!), lemon balm, oregano, sage varieties, thyme, parsley and chive.
I love having these culinary enhancements at my fingertips as well.

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show