Good Morning, Sunshine

Dainty blue borage flowers that don't make it into the spinach salad reseed abundantly

It seems overnight. The borage sprouted as tall as the iris. Ask me why I planted it where it almost chokes the path and I will tell you; I didn't. The birds must have dropped seeds along the gravel path where the grass used to grow almost up to the fence- line. Then the trees and vines grew- and it was too shady for the roses shoved between fence and grass to be healthy. The dogs needed a path to run free. And one thing led to another.

speaking of birds....

Through my study window I watched as two little sparrows pulled strands from the topiary creeping fig to fashion a nest. The patio beam  appeared an early choice, but I think they decided they prefer to be a bit further from my watchfulness.  

Rosa 'Mutabalis'- the butterfly rose makes for a fairy tale thicket

Mourning doves like pecking food off the ground- but if thicket is nearby to dive into if a predator interlopes, a sturdy platform will sometime do. This cooing visitor never read the dove-instruction guide. It hung from the  the nyger thistle feeder with the regular goldfinch.crowd, surrounded much of the time like a giant among  Lilliputians



The last vestige of the Ranch that was Diamond Bar



There were no misty clouds to dull the sun's heat today when I left to gather information on the last monument standing of the ranch that was the Diamond Bar. Tomorrow the research will be corroborated and collated. If fortune shines like the sun did today, contact with one last person or two will  dash some extra spice with sprinklings  of first-person details. In any case- by close of business tomorrow, the article related to the history the welded skeleton has observed will be wrapped with photos and sources for Darren Fishell's approval where I write on local Diamond Bar history at DiamondBarPatch.com.

Windbreak finished

Followers of this blog may remember when the window glass windbreak proved not to be quite sufficient at barbecue time: the wind whistled right around it in a small space left open between window and house frame.

 Rather than surrender the footprint on the patio where my husband wished to move his prized possession, I  decided to extend the windbreak with a stained glass rendition of  potted jumiper mid-way through pruning.  Not nearly so complicated as the shed transom window  Ethel's Garden  , the side panel is up. And as tonight's dinner of

• Crusty Bread with Olive and Tomato Brusschetta toppings  
• Buttered Corn off the cob in foil
• Tossed Green Salad with Italian Dressing
• Butterflied Tri-Tip, seasoned simply before barbecuing
• Chianti

was enjoyed on the patio after a prayer of  thanksgiving for just one more day in this paradise-

the wind pattern  which proved problematic when cooking outside - it is tamed. Amen