59 EL CAMINO

A nice ride from when cars were art.

This is a 1959 Chevy El Camino.

It`s going for $32,000.00.

On Planet Earth, some purple plants & a couple of gates at the end of the street where my project is.

I went up there to release a bunny that was inadvertently caught in a "live catch" trap.

It had been set to catch raccoons who come fishing in the Koi pond.

SUCCULENT WAFERS

From my succulent garden, these red wafers stand out in the setting light of dusk.

The linked shots are from around here today.

On Planet Earth, a "Where`s Waldo" moment.

Have a great day ahead. Please.

THANKSGIVING ANGELS

I like to spend special days like today, outdoors.

I went for a long ride with Coconut on my bike & took these shots.

Tomorrow it`s time to set up a tent for the boys who will be arriving from Australia for a month.

Hopefully I`ll trade the use of one of my vehicles for their help in building another large shed here.

It never seems to end.

Sometimes I think I might just welcome a few days of rain, but please, I need another month of great dry weather.

Have a great day eating those leftovers.

WORKSITE VIEW

This is my view from where I spend my days working outdoors.

I live on the point with the white cliffs, beyond Paradise Cove.

I also took a few shots of the other side of the site from a higher vantage point to show the lush growth around the place.

On Planet Earth, a hummingbird shot from a little too close.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it, & "Hi" to Olivia, who already did.

ALOE SUNSET

My Aloe`s are in bloom now & the hummingbirds love it.

This is the aloe that you break a piece of to rub the milk on cuts & burns.

If you are not familiar with these beauties, mine are blooming to over 8 feet high.

The single main foreground bloom spray is over 1 foot high.

I had set out to shoot the squid boats at sunset but realized I was going to be too late, so I exited the highway stage left onto the beach where I just got a quick glimpse of the 'go down'.

I whipped into a parking spot, left Dave Brubeck on the radio, jumped out & plopped my camera on the top of the car.

What you see is not a lagoon but the reflection of the sunset of of the top of my car.

Tomorrow I will attempt the squid run again.

The sunset is linked to the aloe fireworks shot.

Enjoy the great weather while you can.

I sure am.

HOLA AMIGO

"Hola amigo", is how my little friend greets me on the street at my house.

He walks out there with his nanny every day.

He always asks about Coconut, since the day Coconut flew over to the nanny.

At that time he ran & hid behind a tree, but I convinced him & her, that Coconut was just introducing himself to new friends.

Today he asked me if I knew that all the blue trash cans on the street were really stinky.

He was right up to the door of the car & I asked him if I could take his picture.

Once I snapped off a quick shot, he asked to see it.

When I showed him the LCD screen with his picture, he told me, "That`s not a good picture".

What do you think?

GARDEN PRICK

These are images of my new garden & some individual inhabitants.

As you can see, some are showing their "stuff".

I`ve mixed up a few shots taken in my other garden on the beach side of the house, but all were taken today.

Between the ones linked to this shot & the ones linked to Planet Earth, you can see the whole shoot.

Have a great day.

I`m getting sunburnt here again.

FUMONGUS FUNGUS

The other day on my cactus hunt, I drove by a tree I`d been by before.

A few years ago it had a huge fungus on it, which I shot.

I even entered it in one of the FotoFairs.

The other day, same tree, same fungus, but only fresh, & not the original one obviously.

I hope I haven`t already posted this new one.

I just took these shots last week, so I tend to doubt it.

There`s a series of them behind this one.

Enjoy, & have a nice day.

SEED BIRTH

This is a seed breaking on through to our side.

It is from a Magnolia tree.

It smells very nice upon breaking it open.

It tastes real good at first nibble, but then turns quite bitter within seconds.

I`d consider it to be not an edible seed, although at this time I`d consider it non poisonous.

So far so good.

I also posted a sequence of shots taking you on a flagstone path to the "CRYING LADY" & back out to the front lawn area.

These were taken today to show you the greenery & beautiful sunshine here in Southern California.

I regret I can`t send more than images.

Have a great day.

Cactus Garden Preview

This is what I`ve been doing for a week.

One hour every morning before work.

I got a jump on it last Sat. (A week ago), when I had six guys in to help build a new parking area, up by the street.

I expect a load of Pea Gravel to be delivered this week to cover all the plastic sheeting, put down to prevent weeds from growing.

It`s not the nicest spot to be crawling around in pulling weeds.

The cactus area is almost 40 feet long by 13 feet wide.

Use of these kind of plantings bring down the cost of watering to zero.

I still have a bunch of cactus to go in, but that`s something that I do all year as I collect more & more.

When it`s completed, I`ll post more individual shots of the specimens.

Have a spine free week.

BTW, I did collect a few hundred tiny fine spines from one particular cactus, while one of my workers had a large cactus spine go through his work shoe.

I pulled that one out with pliers, as for mine, I burnt them off with a lighter, leaving them flush with the skin & not so aggravating. I got away without burning my fingers too much either.

SLIP & SLIDE

A bunch of shots I took today on my project site.

There are more on the other side.

Have a great day.

I know most of your greenery & flowers are gone till next spring so I`m simply trying to provide you with what I have to offer.

Remember, you have snow, something I have to drive an hour for.

ADAM`S APPLE

I wish I`d had more time to shoot this squirming beauty, but I convinced the owner of it`s mild manners & hopefully I`ll get another longer opportunity.

Have a great day.

Night Sky

Tonight`s sky at sunset in three merged images.

I also included a few daytime sky shots from earlier today.

My garden is coming along fine.

I`m going on a cactus collecting mission tomorrow to keep filling it out.

It`s starting to look like I pictured it.

Soon you`ll get to see it.

Have a great day.

COASTAL RUN

I did a run up the coast on Sat. to get my head clear for my new garden & parking design at my place.

It had been in planning stages for about a year. Now it`s all coming together, as you`ll shortly have the privilege to critique.

The coastal fog was more persistent than usual but it was a fun ride.

On one side the palisade cliffs & on the other (linked to the image), the aquamarine Pacific.

Have a great week ahead.

I`ll be working on my garden an hour a day with some of my crew, before heading to the job sites I`m on, so I may have it done by the end of the week.

WATERCOLOR SCALES

The scales on my Marine Betta look like they are painted on.

Beyond this shot I have the rest of the shoot I did of some of my reef inhabitants.

I installed a new set of lights in it over the weekend so I should be seeing some marked improvement in growth of the corals.

I am intending to go on a shopping spree in about a month once the lighting has balanced out the reef better.

Have a great day.

I`m very busy these days running different crews on two jobs so please bear with me.

Thank you.

GRAVEYARD ROCKER

A little slice of my neighborhood on Halloween.

I took the day off today o put new lights in my reef.

I`ve been working on two projects simultaneously.

Luckily they`re next door to each other.

I can easily be at both places at once, so as long as I keep progress at full pace with my crews on both jobs, you can`t really call it double billing.

Did I mention it`s also in the high 70`s to low 80`s, & I got a bit sunburned last week.

The weather forecast is basically, a whole lot more of the same.

I just can`t catch a break now can I.

It`s just more shitty days in paradise.

Have a great week.

Don`t worry about our weather here.

We`re supposed to have El Ninos this year.

That means storms out into the Pacific coming in every 3/4 days for months.