Duck, Duck, Goose

Good morning, my friends. I told you we were going to take it easy yesterday, and boy, did we. Even the kitties napped most of the day. The only somewhat productive thing I did was to get outside with my Olympus DSLR, mounted with a 50mm 1:2 macro lens. So, if you're looking for me to say something pithy today (as if), you'll be disappointed. Instead, I'll just show you some of the things I saw on my walk. Here's the thing about macro photography: to my mind, it's about extreme close-ups, texture, and shape. Also, the depth of field is very narrow, and so I can only get about one inch of depth in focus in any given image. The rest will be in blur. It can be both good and bad...the blur, I mean...but mostly I like it.

So here's what I saw on my walk. I'll post these mostly in the order I took them. Also, I'm learning as we go, so I'll be inviting The Google along on this journey. This first one is a banana tree leaf.

This is the flower I showed you a few days ago. It's called "Mother of Millions." It's a succulent native to Madagascar.

This is what the plant looks like.

Bark of whatever tree is growing around here. An oak, maybe?

This is a geranium.

This is another type of ice plant, different from the one most commonly seen around these parts. The flower looks almost like a straw flower. My phone tells me it's a "Coppery mesemb."

Okay, now these geese were pretty funny. They were across the creek from me...a distance of about 20 feet. The second we laid eyes on one another, they started honking furiously. I was sorry I'd scared them, and they started walking down the embankment to hop in the water and swim away, one presumes.

Sorry, guys. That was terribly rude of me to walk around here, I know.

Only, they just swam over to me, as if we were old friends.

And then they followed me...clearly looking for a handout.

Got any Cheetos? Doritos? Fritos?

I was unmoved by their pleading honks, and moved on. Next, this is an ornamental grass someone was growing in a pot.

This is the bark of a eucalyptus tree.

Here's that blooming Jade plant again.

This is the bud of an aloe plant.

A rose. These, in particular, are wonderfully fragrant.

A red rose.

Another red rose.

This is the aloe plant.

I was going to tell you this next one looked like some sort of herb. In fact, it's "Mexican Bush Sage." I inquired of The Google whether this had any culinary use. Check below the image for what The Google had to say about that.

From The Google:

No, Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) is not recommended for culinary use; it's primarily an ornamental plant grown for its beautiful, pollinator-attracting flowers, unlike common culinary sages (Salvia officinalis) that are prized for their flavor in cooking. While some sources mention its leaves having a mild aroma and suggest using flowers in salads, most experts confirm it lacks the strong flavor of culinary sage and isn't traditionally eaten. 

So there you ago. Another dream dashed. 

Moving on, a yellow rose.

I might have thought this was the Mexican Bush Sage seen from a different angle. In fact, this is salvia yangii. But...salvia, right? So another kind of sage?

So, I inquired of The Google again. Can salvia yangii be used culinarily? And The Google tells me...

Yes, Salvia yangii (Russian Sage) can be used culinarily, though with caution and moderation, as its edible flowers add a mild, sweet flavor to salads, desserts, and drinks, while its leaves offer an earthy, peppery taste for meats and teas, but some sources suggest leaves are somewhat toxic, so focus on the flowers or ensure leaves are from culinary-safe plants, using them sparingly for seasoning. 

So, okay...flowers, yes; leaves, probably no.

Moving on...this one is called "Society Garlic." And, "garlic"? Really? Okay...so you know what I did next.

So, Google, can society garlic be used culinarily?

Yes, society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) is culinarily useful; its edible leaves and flowers offer a mild, subtle garlic-onion flavor, perfect for garnishing salads, soups, and dishes, or as a chive-like addition to pastas and butters, providing flavor without the pungency of regular garlic. 

Cool. Well, we're learning a lot today, aren't we?

Moving on...this is the flower of the ice plant that grows virtually everywhere in southern California. When I was young and still living with my parents, we lived in a terraced neighborhood. The neighborhood was build on a gently sloping hill, and so the lots were leveled off and terraced in order to use the land efficiently. Where the terraced embankment was, this succulent was planted. It grows fast, and it will quickly serve to prevent erosion of that kind of embankment. Also, it requires almost no water, and almost no maintenance, which probably explains the ubiquity of it in this area.

Here's the aloe blossom again.

So, I asked my phone to identify this one, but all of its suggestions were wrong. This was some kind of succulent. The flowers were tiny...about the size of a pea.

Here's a peachy-yellow rose.

This is a rosebud from the same plant.

Here, a tiny seed took root in the bark of this tree.

This is the bark of a palm tree.

This is a palm frond. These look a lot like the saw palmettos we met up with in South Carolina. So, you know me...I had to check in with The Google about this. (See below.)

So I said to The Google: "palms of California vs. saw palmettos of South Carolina." Here's what The Google told me:

California has diverse palms (like Fan Palms, Date Palms) suited for drier heat, while South Carolina features native Sabal Palms (Cabbage Palms) and shrubby Saw Palmettos, differing in structure (tall trunk vs. low mound) and leaf stems, with Saw Palmettos having "saw-toothed" petioles and Sabal Palms featuring distinct triangular leaf stem bases and "boots" on their trunks. Saw Palmetto is extremely cold-hardy, unlike many typical California palms, thriving in the Southeast's humid, coastal plains. 

So, there you go. As for the one above, I believe it would be called a "Fan Palm." And looking up from the spot where I took the picture above, I saw what you see below: 

Okay, walking on...I was nearly back to the RV by this time. I noticed this hole apparently recently dug out by some critter. It's a little hard to see with the high contrast in this image, but his excavation can be seen in the bright light at the bottom of the image. I imagine this is the home of a squirrel.

Walking along and looking down at my feet, there was a tiny forest of clover-like stuff. My phone tells me this is Mentha cunninghamil, a kind of mint.

Finally, I was nearing the RV, and I captured these two ring-necked ducks. 

I've really enjoyed the landscaping and the wildlife here. As I said at the outset, this place is nothing fancy, and we are set up in one of the least desirable areas. (It's not all that bad, but the price seemed high, given the lack of amenities and such.) The folks on either side of us live here permanently. The RV to our left has a leaking tank, dripping into a bucket 24 hours per day. And you know how a dripping faucet will drive you crazy? This is the same thing. 

The folks to our right haven't been seen for as long as we've been here. It's as if they're storing their rig here, but there are bicycles and signs of life all around, and it's hooked up to utilities. And that's kind of weird because the park has trailer storage, which would be a lot less expensive than taking up a full hook-up site. So...one wonders about that. Last night, I wondered aloud if anyone had done a welfare check there. Even their Christmas decorations are still out. In any case, the site was littered with leaves and mold and every other nasty thing that collects when a place is abandoned. 

So we asked the park yesterday evening if we could move to another site. They suggested a very nice site, but it was at the outer edge of the park, and very close to a US Highway 395 and a I-15. It was a LOT noisier than the spot where we are. So, all of that to say that we've decided to stay put in this spot. We're still going back and forth about whether we'd want to return to this park next winter. The lakes and birds would be a big draw, but we're leaning toward a "no" on that question. As compensation for the site we're in now, they've offered us a credit on a future stay. It'll probably come down to that...dollars and cents. Also, a maintenance guy came by to clean up the abandoned site to our right. At least it looks better.

Okay, so our friend is feeling good enough to meet up for a late lunch today, and I'm looking forward to seeing her and giving her a big hug...although I'll have to check first about the hug. Surgery, you know. In any case, she selected a place that serves good pie. And who doesn't love pie? And as anyone knows, pie is good medicine. 

And I can't end today without a little private message for my friends in Minnesota. Read on, if you like...or not. If not, then have a good day!

To my friends in Minnesota...I'm hopeful y'all are out of the line of fire back there. I'm sickened by the videos and images I'm seeing. Please know you're in my thoughts. If you're one of those choosing peaceful protest in response, I wanted to share this advice seen on a Facebook page I follow:

Please stay safe, my friends. We can only hope for a return to sanity, and the sooner, the better.

Another Nice Day

Good morning, my friends. Despite the rain early on, we've hit the jackpot in the Escondido weather department. We're expecting a high of 81 degrees today, and the warm weather will continue through next week. 

We had a lunch date with our friends yesterday. We tried out a new-to-us BBQ restaurant, and the food was delicious. When we left the kitties, they were acting as bookends.

We've been on the hunt for some wheatgrass for them. We'd visited a Sprouts and a PetSmart the day before. No luck. Then, we found plenty at an Albertson's store. The kitties have been nibbling at it ever since. 

Usually, I think about finding wheatgrass before we leave home, but I forgot about it this time. Sounds like I need to add it to my packing list, doesn't it? Smitty likes to add it to his smoothies in the morning.

We got out for a short walk yesterday afternoon. Right away, we came upon this group of ducks walking along the road. We made the ducks nervous as we walked by. I like how ducks will quack-mutter when they're faced with a potential threat. 

Across the lake, we saw our friend the Great Egret.

He looks like he has a bead on something here. We watched for a while, but didn't see him catch anything.

Of course I took pictures of every blooming thing.

My phone tells me this next one is Duranta.

And this is another blooming Jade plant. Who knew?

Okay, and I spent the remains of the day finishing off this section of the Raggedy & Friends block.

And then I started on the second section for this block. I'll start here this morning. It's mostly words, and so it should stitch up pretty quickly.

We have no plans for the day. Probably, I'm going to get out with my DSLR and macro lens today to take some macro shots. (My friend, Kate, inspired me with her macro photography.) I expect naps will be in the bargain. How are y'all spending your long weekend? Traffic being what it is around here, we'll probably stick pretty close to the RV. We have some more hikes planned for next week. We'll decide as we go. 

Oceanside, California

Good morning, my friends. It's another beautiful day here in Escondido. We're meeting up with some friends for lunch in a couple of hours. Aside from that, there's not much going on today. As for yesterday's wanderings, I took the first stitches on the smaller embroidered section for Block 11 of Raggedy & Friends.

We were meeting up with friends for lunch at the Oceanside Broiler near Oceanside Harbor, and then we were going to walk on the Oceanside Pier. When we left the kitties, they were clearly distraught about being left alone for a few hours. Sadie was snoring on her window hammock. (Don't mention the snoring, though. You'll embarrass her.)

Smitty was crashed on the couch, having already cried his eyes out.

I didn't take any pictures of the harbor yesterday, but here's one I took during a previous visit. It was cloudy on the day I took this picture, but the weather was perfect yesterday. We were out in short sleeves. (I actually wore shorts a couple of days ago.)

After lunch, we headed over to the Oceanside Pier for a little walk around.

We were in the process of taking a selfie...

When a woman offered to take our picture with my camera.

Our friends on the left, Tom and Deb, and I were all in our high school band together. Deb and I played clarinet (I played alto clarinet), and Tom played the saxophone.

Okay, so let's go for a walk, shall we? Please obey the rules.

Don't embarrass me now.

If you're riding your skateboard, please pick it up and carry it from here.

It's a beautiful and long coastline here in Oceanside. Looking north toward Los Angeles, it looks like this:

Looking south toward San Diego, it looks like this. That road you see on the left side of the image is known as "The Strand."

It was a good day for surfing

When we're here, I always take a picture of the Roberts Cottages below. You can read about the history of this Oceanside landmark right here. When I see them, I renew my commitment to make a quilt of them some day. 

I haven't yet taken a picture of them that I really like for rendering them into fabric. On the other hand, when I looked for that link about the history, I found lots of images online. One of those might do for my quilt.

Looking in the other direction, there were boats offshore.

We walked to the end of the pier. Since our last visit, the restaurant that was here burned down, damaging the end of the pier. It's now fenced off to prevent folks from walking out there. We know of no plans for rebuilding, but I expect the pier will be repaired eventually, even if the restaurant is not rebuilt.

As we were leaving the pier, these musicians were setting up for some entertainment.

We walked south on The Strand. We were on the hunt for the house you see below. 

If you've ever watched the program "Animal Kingdom" on TV, this is the house that Baz lived in on the show. We enjoyed the show because it was mostly filmed right here in Oceanside, and it's always fun seeing places you recognize on television. (And if you haven't watched "Animal Kingdom," it's a good show. Some violence, but an interesting story and engaging characters.)  We tried to locate Deran's bar (also on the show), but couldn't find it.

Turning directly around from the house above, we could see the length of the pier...a little shorter now with the loss of the restaurant.

Walking along, I took a few shots of the landscaping. I'm not sure what these are. They look like huge rosehips, but this is not a rose plant. The "berries" are about the size of a cherry tomato.

Also, this...it kind of looks like a double daffodil to me.

Okay, and we headed for home mid-afternoon. We got into some terrible traffic, making our drive longer. We tried looking for some wheatgrass for the kitties, but couldn't find it at the two stores we visited. We'll try again today. 

As for today, lunch with these same friends, as I mentioned earlier, and then probably home to relax for the rest of the afternoon. (I can't rule out a visit to a quilt shop.) The good weather is expected to continue into next week. We still have two weeks here in Escondido, and we still have some items to check-off on our to-do list. Also, we're hoping to get over to see our recently-hospitalized friend the weekend. She's home from the hospital now, and slowing feeling good enough to meet up again.

So that's all I have for you today. I'm going to get busy with my slow-stitching next. Have a good day, Everybody!