backyard walkabout...past a money tree and a cat sneeze grand finale

posted by:  jennifer


on a recent walk through the backyard this week, i brought my camera.  these are a few things that i wanted to share:

*our mandarin/tangerine tree.  after rough and not at all scientific calculations.... i figure that this tree has saved us in the neighborhood of $5963.00 over the course of the 15 years we have lived here.  you see, not only do we eat it's fruit, but it is the source of our go to gifts for the holidays.   when you package up a couple dozen tangos all cute like, it looks like a $25.00 gift.  and i must say, even when my husband hands off the fruit in a plastic grocery bag, it is still appreciated.  onward!

*one of our blooming aloe plants.   we now have approximately 29 aloe plants in our yard.  and they all started from one pup.  is that the right term mom? 
my family would sometimes take weekend getaway trips to laguna beach... well we still sometimes do.  but back on a fateful day in august of 1990, my now husbands family was also on a weekend getaway trip there.  our paths crossed, and even though he went back to san diego, and i went back to fullerton, the story was set into motion. 
umm... where was i... oh yeah.  aloe.  so anyway, about 11 years ago, my mom and dad gifted us with a family trip to laguna.  and on this trip, my husband snapped a piece of aloe from the property at the laguna riviera hotel.  this one piece of aloe, has morphed into many.  incredible.  and isn't it beautiful?

*a lovely surprise.... i am guessing placed there by my 5 year old.  it is always nice to find something beautiful in an unexpected place.  such as a nasturtium flower in the crook of the nectarine tree.

*my dryer is broken.... and i have decided i should force myself to line dry again.  i was all gung ho about it a year or so ago... and then i stopped.  i figure i should wait the repair out, so i don't have it as a crutch. 

*our chickens

*our lemon tree.  funny little story.  last spring (memorial day).. we returned from a trip to the colorado river.   on the answering machine was a message from our neighbor.  he wanted to know if he could borrow a few lemons from the tree. when i next saw him, i asked if he had gotten the lemons.  he said yes. but that they tasted awful.  he proceeded to let me know what the tree needed. and i pointed out that the lemons that were left on the tree come late may were old.... lets just say that we are in early january, and they are just coming in ripe.
isn't there a saying about this... but you know i just started to type "beggers can't be choosers" and i don't like it. 
hmmm.. i am going to work on a new saying.  any suggestions?

*our cat.  cali jane.  as i was taking this picture, she sneezed.  and as you can tell by the perspective, i am below her.   the cat sneeze spray rained down.  lovely! 
sorry to end on such nasty note.  but life is like that sometimes.
sometimes as you are walking through your yard feeling so good about your awesome tangerines... that everyone loves.... you get sneezed on...
the important thing is to just keep walking on... after that is you clean yourself off.

cheers!