Extending

The previous owner had planted a relatively small Dutchman's Pipevine (the only Pipevine native to California) in front of a metal trellis along the West walkway. For the first few years I lived here I diligently watered the Pipevine. The amount of growth was amazing. In the desire of fostering the process from egg to Pipevine Swallowtail I wanted the Pipevine to have ample room for extending itself. 

Since I was already in Sebastopol yesterday for a 9 a.m. Jazzercise class, I drove the Harmony. Unfortunately, and not very smart on my part, I was negligent enough to go without measuring the trellis in place. Thus the first trip I brought home way too short trellis. Back to Harmony for a second time, WITH measurements, I purchased two six foot, metal trellis just like the trellis that is supporting the Pipevine. 

I hammered one trellis into the ground on either side of the original trellis. I then began the tedious process of untangling the Pipevine and extending it from the old onto the two new trellis.  

Dwight created this sculpture for one of my past birthdays.

My dear and longtime friend who has taken care of the Butterfly Lady's bust had her power washed. I then picked her up. Before settling her in her new home I reglued a butterfly that had become unattached. Once the glue was dry she was set in her PageRefuge site. Perhaps, I certainly hope so!, she will bring good vibes for bringing the targeted visitors to the blossoms. These visitors will put into place the cascade of events to bring Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies to my garden.

Blossoming of the Dutchman's pipes are just now beginning.

Hopefully Pipevine Swallowtail eggs will follow

Then very small Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars

A stunningly beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar

This was the lone caterpillar from the eggs 
my friend Rob shared with me last year.
Unfortunately this caterpillar "disappeared" during one night. SAD!

Pipevine Swallowtail chrysalis

Dutchman's Pipevine fruit

Unfortunately I possess no pictures I have taken of this beautiful butterfly but you can be view here. You can also check out this informative article written by a Master Gardner.

During the picture taking at PageRefuge as well as reviewing pictures from MuRefuge, searching the web and writing of this post I enjoyed a frequent hearty belly

Ready

Today, the day before the beginning of the 2023 Chinese New Year of the Water Hare (Rabbit), all is ready at PageRefuge. This week, Wednesday through Friday, Travis Hatton sent 3 skilled painters to paint the outside of my house. 

The front extremely small porch looks more attractive! It now boasts a white ceiling, green door trim and post as well as rain spout.  

The back Northwest corner of PageRefuge
including a very convenient shed,
fencing along the West side  
and an exit from the back addition to the original house.

Once all these wooden structures, including the screen door on the front door, have completely dried out Travis will have his employees treat the wood. This will extend the life of the wood. He cautioned me that this was probably not going to be until some time in midSummer. Hopefully not since we certainly need an extension of our rainy season.

Travis has an outstanding eye for taking in the whole picture. He is also a stickler for detail in both paint color and overall ascetics of the entire project. He had the person who mixes his paint come by and match exactly the green paint on the medal framed living room windows. I LOVE the color which I find richer and more eye popping with its contrast to the white stucco.

One can barely tell
where the metal ends
and the wood begins.

He orchestrated the painting of the inside of my house when Dwight, Shasta and I moved in. After that was completed, he talked to both Dwight and I about the need for painting the exterior. So many other projects took precedent.

Several week ago when I got up (early like 4 a.m.) I discovered the oak flooring beneath the two kitchen windows was flooded. I asked my neighbor to take a look but he could not see where the water was coming from the outside to the inside. The following morning I found a repeat of the water issue. I called Travis who came over and caulked around both of the front kitchen windows. No rain came inside the kitchen after that. When he was here, he reiterated the need to paint the outside of the house. Soon thereafter we picked out time that worked for all of us. 

Today the sky is a vivid blue just like in the first picture. With no cloud cover overnight the temperature dropped into the mid 30's which was not nearly as cold as to what my friends in the Santa Fe area awoke to though. The frigid temperatures there are in the teens at night and only warming the low morning temperatures at PageRefuge. I remember Shasta and I taking our morning walk in those temperatures! No worries for Shasta, she still wanted extended playing time with Hobbes at Lopez Park. 

Lopez Park in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
No snow but it was cold I remember.
Shasta has not found another
beloved playmate like Hobbes.

All in all I am fully prepared for the beginning of the Chinese New Year.

Unfortunately I have not found a great Chinese restaurant in the area of PageRefuge. Dwight and I use to go to San Francisco but alas when the pandemic shuttered businesses this restaurant closed it doors permanently.

I will, and invite each and every one of you also, partake in a hearty belly

Gray Water Hare

 January 22, 2023 is the Chinese New Year. It begins the Year of the gray water hare (rabbit).

To begin each Chinese New Year
I change the paper cut.

These paper cuts come from Artistic Chinese Creations so I can order them online. During the two, month long visits Dwight and I took to China with Charlotte and Da Jin Sun, I saw paper cuts for the first time. I was so impressed that someone could cut these intricate paper cuts!  So at  each market place we visited in various cities I looked for paper cuts. Some came in a "bundle" while others came singularity. I purchased many that I brought home to be used in card creations for friends and family members' birthdays, anniversaries and such. That supply has long been exhausted so now I order only a paper cut to frame for the beginning of each Chinese New Year. 

I like to use Taoist Astrology: a handbook of the authentic Chinese tradition by Susan Levitt with Jen Tang each year to read about their astrological viewpoint. In addition, I receive a regular email from Susan. Below is a copy of her email: "2023 YEAR OF THE WATER RABBIT" that each of you can read.

Join me for my annual Chinese New Year talk on Zoom:
2023 YEAR OF THE WATER RABBIT
Saturday January 28, 2023 at Noon PST.
Water Rabbit year is time for peace, healing, and diplomacy after Tiger year. Rabbit Year info link.

2022 GEMINI FULL MOON in RAT LUNAR MONTH

December 7, 2022 at 8:08 pm is a full Moon in Gemini. Air sign Gemini rules the third house of ideas and communication. Therefore, the remaining weeks of December are good for planning, interactions, and travel before Mercury retrograde on December 29 until January 18, 2023. The Mercury retrograde influence begins the week before on December 23, so get your affairs in order and stay healthy during this bustling holiday season. Contact me for your tarot reading or astrology forecast for 2023.

This full Moon conjuncts Mars in Gemini. Mars in Gemini can be a bright strategist with the natural ability to see both sides of a situation. But a full Moon blended with Mars can bring irritability leading to confrontations. For some, it can be challenging to maintain your equilibrium. Plus Mars is retrograde until January 12, 2023. Avoid extremes of temper, especially during this Tiger year.

Stay balanced by using foresight and planning instead of acting impulsively or exercising your will. 

This full Moon marks the peak of Water Rat lunar month. Rat is an excellent strategist and planner. With the element Water, it will be easier to follow your instincts and intuition. Do not get swept up in emotion as the full Moon, and Sun and Venus both in Sagittarius, all square Neptune in Pisces. There could be a gap between reality and your ideals, and unrealistic expectations of loved ones.

Opportunities for new ideas and approaches are for all, and are strongest for Air signs Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius and those born in Rat, Ox, Tiger, and Pig years.

Happy full Moon,
Susan

SUSAN LEVITT
Tarot - Astrology - Feng Shui
susanlevitt.com

I am relishing the sunshine. It is coolish outside: in the low 40's but the actual sunshine is absolutely fabulous!!! Below is a picture of the fava beans stretching towards the sunshine. They seem to fond of both all the rain and now the sunshine. I am so looking forward to have fresh fava bean soup as well as fresh fava beans atop pasta. Both are delicious. I have always enjoyed them seasonally since I only prepare them when they are fresh.  I do plan to dry for keeping some for planting this upcoming early Fall.

Shasta is now insistent about getting her midday meal so I best bring this to a close and "get to it". 

Shasta tuckered out after a long day.
She is such a dear and wonderful companion.

May each and everyone of us have a frequent and full belly

Wildlife Habitat

The sign that hangs near 
the street on the wooden fence
that separates my property from
the property just to the West.

Conservation efforts are afoot by the American Bird Conservancy by working with both the United States Congress and the Biden Administration to pass a 2023 Bird Friendly Farm Bill. This bill possesses the single largest source of conservation funding in the United States. ABC's focus is to make this bill stronger for the conservation of birds.

Muhlenbergia rigens (Deergrass)

of which I have three large clumps 

growing in front of the Pesticide Free Area sign.

Sideoats Grama (Boutelous curtipendula)

a stunningly beautiful grass 

native to the Western United States,

into Canada, Mexico, Central and South America.

This is one of my very all time favorite grasses! 

One of the national focuses is to support native plants which are garnering attention not only in this country but globally. Our love of "something different" than what thrives in our region has driven the transplantation of vegetation from all over the globe. Now there are both public and private partners with the goal of protecting native plants as well as federal with non federal partners who have cooperated to develop the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration.  

Nassella pulchra  (Purple Needlegrass)

which is extremely attractive with the fading 

light of the setting sun shining through fluttering seed heads.

When I began serious gardening South of Sebastopol at MuRefuge, I began with alien plants. Nurseries I frequented seemed to specialize in dramatic plants from "across the pond". As I educated myself about natives plants through my membership with the local chapter of the Native Plant Society I became enamoured with natives. Shopping for plants at their annual Fall plant sale I discovered how aesthetically pleasing native plants were to me. Being a bit dramatic creating the "correct" effect with natives I tore out all the nonnative plants. Then instead I began focusing on planting native grasses and sedges, perennials, shrubs, trees and vines. 

Romney coulteri (Matilija Poppy)

became my all time favorite flowering

perennial. It is NOT for the faint of heart to plant: 

I had a 75% death rate of these plantings at MuRefuge.

Unfortunately after losing a

dozen plants here at PageRefuge

I decided I would instead enjoy several nearby

opulent plantings rather than growing them myself here at PageRefuge.

And ducks were added to MuRefuge
for their voracious snail eating. 
I would gather by bucket loads from all over 
the 3/4 acre and throw them near the
ducks. The snails disappeared in a nanosecond!
A far superior way to "snail bait" ridding land of snails

Since I have focused on planting natives both here in Northern California and in Santa Fe, New Mexico my heart is warmed to know there are more powerful people now joining together to do likewise. It seems to me that a awakening on a very deep level is happening. Is it too little, too late? Maybe . . . maybe not

Chocolate Daisy/Flower (Berlandiera lyrata)

and

Rocky Mountain (Penstemon strictus)

In Santa Fe when the Penstemon flowers were spent and went to seed the goldfinches came as huge flocks settling on the stocks scarfing down the seeds. This was not a one time experience but happened annually as they migrated from the Canadian border South to Mexico for the winter. Of course, reversing the migration in the Spring

Helianthus annuus macrocarpus (Hopi Black Dye Sunflower 

Hopi name: Tceqa' Qu' Si)

The migrating Fall birds going South swarmed to the seeds created by this gorgeous sunflower. Nary a seed remained after the migration was over. If I wanted seeds to plant the following season, I found I had to do so BEFORE the birds ate them all. Here at PageRefuge the birds do not seem to interested in eating the seeds so when I cut down the plants I remove all the seeds and put them into the tray hanging in the back. Then the birds do open and eat every single one . . . the pesky squirrels love them too! When Shasta notices these critters she is out the door lickety split. Sometimes I worry she'll catch one which she has come close to doing.

The sign that hangs on the fence
separating my property 
from the apartments to the East.

As we plant native plants, may we also consider the soil. Luckily I was focused enough to use cardboard then wood chips to mulch the entire yard here. I am so grateful I did this because I notice that even with all this rain we are getting there is no "run off". Depending on the exact location, already 3 to 5 times the average amount of rain for the entire month of January has fallen. At PageRefuge the rain is soaking in for all the plants to thirstily drink their fill. 

When one mulches, there is no need to use toxic chemicals for weed abatement either. All the BEings that come to PageRefuge are not subjected to toxins that can shorten their life spans OR detrimentally affect their offspring. Mulching is an all around worth while activity that I have done on all three gardens I have created. 

Every BEIng, including a diverse bird population, not only thrives but reproduces vigorous and healthy offspring here at PageRefuge! So I am delighted to hear of ABC's focus for making this year's Farm bill more bird friendly with their push toward conservation of birds. Certainly we will all be more happy with an abundance of birds.

This is Shasta's Auntie T's annual "card" for 2023.
I particularly like the quote she chose this year.
It seems to sum up this blog post well.

So as we "stand in celebration" may we also

Rocks

Within the circles of our lives

we dance the circles of the years,

the circle of the seasons

within the circles of the years,

the cycles of the moon

within the circles of season,

the circles of our reasons

within the cycles of the moon.

Again, again we come and go,

changed, changing Hands

join, unjoin in love and fear,

grief and joy. The circles turn,

each giving into each, into all

Only music keeps us here.

each by all the others held

In the hold of hands and eyes

we turn in pairs, that joining

joining each to all again.

And then we turn aside, alone,

out of the sunlight gone

into the darker circles of return.

WENDELL BERRY

In the tradition of my mother I collect rocks. These rocks come from places I visit or in the case of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I lived for a short while . . . something like an extended vacation of 4 1/2 years. I have no idea why rocks draw me other than I watched my mother pick up rocks from various places. She took them home with her, often in her suitcase. Her rock pile grew, grew and grew. I often wonder what happened to that huge pile of rocks?

This rock came from Butterfly Beach
in Santa Barbara, California.
A man in Sonoma County 
cut the enneagram symbol.

The pebbles that created the "walkways" in
the backyard of the home Dwight and I
bought in Santa Fe, I raked from the entire
backyard. The bigger rocks lining this 
walkway came from the Santa Fe 
River. The river was without most of the
year so finding just the right rocks was
easy. Bringing them to the backyard
was done by loading them in the car trunk.

Tufted evening primrose in bloom
in front of a water catchment
filled with rocks that were on
the property. 
It grows throughout the West
in sunny, dry, infertile, rocky,
well-drained soils.
Apparently before San Felipe
Circle was built and filled
with Stamm homes, the area
was covered with this lovely plant
that is larva food 
for hawk moths.

This stunning heart shaped rock
came from the Santa River bed.
Dwight carried it home to me
for an anniversary present.

Another water catchment,
beneath a rain spout
in the back of the house,
is filled with rocks
that were on the property.

The rain chain was Christmas gift that Dwight bought me from a nursery in Santa Fe not far from our Stamm home. It now hangs above the green flat bowl that Dwight created. It is pictured below filled with rocks I found in the dirt here in Cotati as I established my native plant garden.

The view of the Santa Fe house from the middle
of the street. Waving around the entire front
and side yards are rocks
that were already on the property.

The rockslide to the West of Mono Lake
is where the below rock was found.
It now sits on my back patio in Cotati.

This is a collection of heart shaped rocks 
from various places visited.
They are on a narrow shelf
beneath the bureau mirror in my bedroom.

I love collecting rocks as you can attest from viewing this blog post. Truly I am my mother's daughter as I follow in her footsteps of her love of rock collecting.

This day is gloomy with intermittent rain. Rain has been falling off and on now for a week with more predicted this upcoming week. The reservoirs state wide are filling which is excellent since many have not been full for some while. May each of us, in spite of whatever kind of weather is happening wherever we are,