People: California beach sirens......

Come summer and california beaches are swarmed by sirens....human sirens...........
Some of my shots.......

Lady with seaweed..........

Thought: Memento from Mission San Diego.......

I am neither religious not Christian, but Mission San Diego occupies a special place in my heart..

I have spent three years visiting this place..every few days...

While we were about to leave Mission Valley, where its situated in San Diego, I collected some succulent twigs and planted in my patio garden..Its  a foot-high plant now..and has produced several progenies...

Observation: Good things in life........

Best things in life are free...............I agree to it...

Breeze, rain, grass, bird chirping, sunset, simmering water, flowers............

Observation: Pretty garden flowers...

Mandevilla and daylily.........

Joy: Bliss..........

I vaguely know about Tasha Tudor.......like her bucolic house settings and the pioneer way of life..

I like the below quote from her....

“Nowadays, people are so jeezled up. If they took some chamomile tea and spent more time rocking on the porch in the evening, listening to the liquid song of the hermit thrush, they might enjoy life more.” 

When I sit in my patio with a cup of ginger tea or a roasted corn and gaze at these views, listening to the birds, I agree with her............

Joy: Reminiscing the neighbor's Maine Coon cat Pippi........

While living in an apartment in Costa Mesa, one neighbor has a graceful cat..a Maine Coon, with the name 'Pippi'...pet she was but she had feral instincts......would never contact eyes with us.....once she incapacitated a dove and was having fun watching its agony......

The master once asked me to take pictures of the cat......I was glad to take her shots...

And when my kid nephew asked me write a story for his school project I wove a tale around "Pipi" .

Then they moved to a nearby apartment, and the cat, who loved to roam outside, got lost.....the owner requested me to prepare a flyer......

Though I have never owned a cat, I made one..

"Our cat “Pippi” is  missing from Park Mesa Villas, since 10th July 2013. We recently moved to this apartment and she seems to have got lost.

She has long hair, white lion-like mane in the chest, brow-black fur on the back and light green eyes. She has a microchip ID. She likes to rest under garden plants.

Please help us find her by calling if you spot her.

CONTACT:  xxxxxxxxxx"

Anyway, after one two day, they found her themselves, hidden in a bush....who responsed to her name calling and ran to them.....

Happy ending....

Observation: Opulent gardens of South California.......

An opuntia..tender cladodes........seems ideal for nopal recipes...

Profusion of lemons...

Passion: Garden in the new apartment.....

My garden in the new apartment, in Mission Viehjo..
This garden is getting ample sunlight, for which I am very happy ...

I see much potential........

Plants: Their volatile oils...........

I love plants....and try to understand them...

A number of them liberate so pleasant fragrances that are almost magnetic in their attraction.......

I remember getting enchanted by night blooming jasmine (Cestrum Nocturnum), shefali (Nyctanthes arbortristis), tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa), marigold (Tagetes patula) and others in India.......

In spring, mango (Mangifera indica) and neem (Azadirachta indica) blossoms  and in summer mahua (Madhuca india) would intoxidate with their fragrance...

Inn California, mock-orange and Callery pear would impress me with their strong smell..though the latter was not exactly pleasant..

In winter evening, on our way back from work, the volatile oils of paperbark tree and eucalyptus was overpowering...

And in late spring, the camphor trees bloomed, liberating scent which reminded me of mango blooms.....

People: Hiker kids.........

Some kids are introduced to hiking very young..like these kids..

I guess its good for the environment....and the kids too...