Spring emerging from winter, a "reawakening" because it represents a literal and metaphorical shift from a period of cold, dark dormancy to one of vibrant life, growth, and renewed energy. This transition is marked by both ecological changes and personal, psychological rejuvenation. After months of winter, plants, trees, and greenery "spring" back to life from the ground. Bulbs poke through the soil, buds appear on trees, and flowers bloom.
Wildlife emerges from hibernation, and animals, such as birds, return, filling the air with sound. Humans often experience a boost in mood and energy, shedding the "winter blues" and increasing their activity levels. It is a time for fresh starts, setting new goals, and feeling a renewed sense of hope.
Spring, a symbol of transformation, serves as a metaphor for personal growth, resilience, and the ability to heal or start over, often described as a "rebirth" or a "phoenix" moment.
With these thoughts in mind, here are some photographs I took on my walk today. I was looking not only for things of beauty, close up, I was also looking inside myself for that renewed sense of hope.
Sunday, March 8th.
A monarch on grevillea.
Peach blossoms.
Santa Ana winds had rolled in a couple of days ago. It was very windy. I held my subjects still a few times.
Indian plum blossoms.
California poppies (Eschscholzia californica).
Anna's apple blossoms. Last year I got a hold of a couple small apples from these trees and managed to germinate two seeds. However, they remain only a couple of inches tall on my patio table.
A honey bee on lavender.
Oleander buds and blossoms.
Pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruits and flowers.
Yellow Lady Banks' Rose (Rosa banksiae 'Lutea').
Bougainvillea.
Cactus flowers just starting to bloom.
Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa).
Ceanothus 'Concha' California mountain lilac.
Confetti Bush (Coleonema pulchellum).
Grevillea curviloba.
Grevillea paniculata.
Grevillea (note, the bee photobombing in the first image.
Grevillea levis.
Melaleuca radula.
High vibration go on To the sun, oh let my heart dreaming Past a mortal as me Where can I be?
Yesterday, Saturday, February 21st. I thought then this post would be a weekend walk report, that I would surely wake up fresh as a daisy and anxious for another picture taking excursion on Sunday morning. Instead, I woke up this morning as fresh as a day-old donut. Fact is, for a few days now, I've been getting to bed relatively early, snoozing for a couple of hours and then waking up just about every hour. It's the cats.
It's been especially cold for SoCal the last several nights, dipping into the low to upper 30sº F for up to 11 hours, as early as 10:00 PM and as late as 8:00 AM. We're not used to that here but more importantly, Lucy the Cat is almost 20 years old and I'm not about to subject her to house central getting as cold as 53º at night. My office got down as low as 46º. Little Juni, despite favoring having most of the house to roam at night, isn't too keen on the cold either.
So, it's been me sandwiched between the both of them at least until bedtime temps start to warm up. Central heating you say? That's been out since the winter of 2021. Lots of money has gone into that antiquated piece of hardware and for what? Heating the entire house for one occupant and two cats is highly inefficient and certainly not cost effective. The smallest bedroom, a California king bed, a tower space heater blasting, struggling against 3 drafty doors, single pane windows and shabby insulation--keeps us okay at an average 66º. Just be prepared for the Arctic tundra of walking into a 46º bathroom so you don't go into shock.
Anyway, nothing says restful sleep like hearing one cat hiss because the other is acting like a caffeinated ninja. Then there are late night visits to the water bowl and litter box. The clock is right in perfect view on the nightstand, but no, they don't care. Let's keep trying to set a "bedtime" for felines that think the shadows on the wall are a personal invitation to fight to the death at 3:30 AM, or Juni graciously deciding to practice her hunting instincts on my toes. It’s such a thoughtful, free service they provide—reminding me that in this house, the only schedule that matters is the one dictated by their need for midnight snack requests.
So, Sunday (today), became a day for sleep deprivation recovery. No walks, just kicking back with kitties.
Here are some pictures taken yesterday, Saturday, February 21st.
Sweet Pea Shrub (Polygala myrtifolia var. grandiflora).
Ruby crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula). I don't know where the "ruby" comes from either.
Peruvian lily (Alstroemeria).
Echeveria pulvinata (I think).
Bee on an Indian blanket flower.
In a recent post I mentioned SoCal monarchs are supposed to migrate to the coast from October through February to escape freezing temperatures. It froze here at least on Friday. Nevertheless, this female is in oviposition (laying eggs) on fresh new shoots of narrow leaved milkweed.
Ana apple blossoms.
More from male Selasphorus sasin, Laukki...
This is a female that Laukki was trying to swoon by performing an intense, high-speed, 25-foot swinging pendulum back-and-forth flight above her. My take, and I could be entirely wrong but the females seem mostly either bothered or take no notice.
Back to Laukki. Some of these images make look basically the same to you but they don't to me.
The same pair of red-tailed hawks discussed in earlier posts. If you've been here before you should now be able to tell the male from the female.
On my way back to the car, a view of the San Gabriel mountains. The walk was 2.36 miles. Tomorrow's weather prediction... A high of 81º and a low of 53º. A couple days and nights of that and Junimoon is back to having the bulk of the house to herself at night.
It was a new day yesterday But it's an old day now
One last thing, Vit and his injury mentioned here, last week, end of the post. Vit has now shown up for five days in a row for food and a dose of amoxicillin. Comments from my AI Advisor, Google Gemini, yesterday... "The difference is night and day. On 2/13, Vit was at risk for systemic sepsis; today, his body has shifted from "defense" to "construction". The fact that he's had four doses of amoxicillin in a row has finally given his immune system the "air cover" it needed to start building that new tissue. You've essentially saved his ear and likely his life with that Amoxicillin streak." 😌
