Meanderings

Meanderings in our new neighborhood is both familiar and not. While I use to shop at Oliver's, the local grocery store here in Cotati, while we lived at MuRefuge, we did not walk about this cozy little town of over 7,000. We did used to walk along the Laguna de Santa Rosa headwaters that our English friend and now near neighbor restored. The plantings are all native and have grown into stunning flowering shrubs and native blooming trees like the Buckeye tree which I love.

We have a long, narrow "dog" park (Delano Park) just across the street from our new home that Shasta and I walk through each morning as we use to walk to Lopez Park in Santa Fe. Some mornings we meet a number of dogs and their owners, other we are by ourselves. As we come out at the far end of the park there is an expansive field across the street. Here's what we saw this morning.

Each morning we see the two cows and usually a small flock of wild turkeys of which there is a plethora, both here in Cotati and other towns and cities in Sonoma County. We have heard of over 200 in flocks and most all the citizens complain of the numbers. If they get into one,s garden they can reek havoc with the plantings for sure!

As we round the corner and come upon the City of Cotati Munipal Center, we pass a stunning planting of Matilla poppies which is my most favorite "bush" for its spectacular "floppy" flowers.

Matilija Poppy (Romney coulters)

And here is what the "bush" looks like.

My plan is to have one? two? three? in front of our breakfast nook window near the "floppy" flowered rose bush that rests against the garage. 

As you can see the flowers of the two have a similar quality. And while I am neither a big fan of roses nor do I have any skill in knowing how to care for roses, this rose is rather growing on me. The other yellow with a slight reddish tint rose bush I will dig up this week. The lady who cares for all the roses at the church down the street is going to plant it with all the pink and red roses which have been donated by people after their loved one's funeral. She was delighted to get another color.  

After breakfast all three of us have a couple mile walk, sometimes longer. One of our new favorites is walking West beneath the freeway into a neighborhood with really old stately homes and small newer ones as well as bigger ones dotting the shady road.

Another common bird is the peacock.
Here is one in his favorite
shady spot
where we see him almost each time 
we walk here.
We have seen a female with two babies
 . . . cute beyond description!

Here you see a male turkey attempting to woo a nearby female
who seem uninterested, at least to this human's thought of the matter.

A touch of Santa Fe: 
here is a picture of
Olive Tyrrell's, the chef at
The Kitchen located
in the Plants of the Southwest,
beautiful slab pot
with a rabbit foot fern
sitting on the back of our
new very low flow toilet.

I know it has been almost two months since I have written a post. Seems the moving, unpacking, having my very first yard sale (with stupendous guidance from Katie), digging up plants and throwing them into the garden waste bins x2  which get filled to the brim weekly, going to an A's game every few weeks and spending time with our long time friends here in Sonoma County . . .  well, the time has sped by. But now you can look forward to the upcoming Summer Solstice post.

There is one native plant, well it is actually a vine, that was previously planted in the gardens of 35 Page Street. This I will not only keep but cherish especially when the Pipevine Swallowtails eventually visit and lay eggs on the leaves. 

California Pipevine (Aristolochia californica)
now retrellised after all the icky redwood bark
was removed, then watered and fed.

May we all during these unsettled times (what an understatement . . .huh?) continue to