Care to take a turn about the grounds?

My garden courtyard. Formerly very shady and green. Since the neighbor removed his giant ficus tree, we'll be getting a lot more sun. But that's alright, it just means a wider variety of plants and more colorful blossoms! :



Leaving the courtyard...



...looking back into the courtyard.

Outside, there's much more sun, so this is where we've located the portable, intensive gardening flats. (converted tupperware, really. this is over packed with herbs, and green beans and Japanese eggplant. herbs here include: basil, parsley, cilantro.)

Our newly converted chicken coupe. It's huge, dontcha think? Far more than three little hens would need.

The little mischief makers! The hen on the left is foremost in pecking order.

Small shot of this years vegetable garden, on far side of property. It was started a wee late but that doesn't matter a lick in SoCal's perpetually balmy weather. Lord willing, these plants will produce fruit all summer and fall for us.

I will say it feels mighty domestic indeed to have both a chicken coupe and a vegetable garden. But I will remind you we are in fact in "the heart of the Valley".

This is the side of our garage. When we bought the house, there was no ivy at all. Over the years I've watched it stretch its tendrils lower and lower each summer. Like a typewriter, starting a new row each time. It's almost there now! We're wondering how the house painters will deal with the ivy this summer.

That there is my bedroom window. Isn't it lovely and huge? It's practically my whole fourth wall...In the morning the light streaming in is tinted green from the ivy canopy. It's truly heavenly.

These little "flame plants" were bought for me especially as a present. Thank you! I have always loved them.

As you can see, one of these orchids actually has about ten blossoms about to burst. I cannot believe it. Both of these orchids were given to us at my father's funeral and I didn't expect them to survive past the month. We certainly haven't been taking care of them very well, and I almost felt like, why bother, because orchids or notoriously hard to have reflower. But looky here! This one sure is happy! And we are very pleased to have them both sticking around for so long, despite our neglect.

The newest member of our family, Gracie. (We did not name her.) She has done a great job protecting the chickens already by alerting us to the presence of two young possums already. I beheaded one, the other, I was pulling an all-nighter for finals and didn't feel like bloodshed. If it comes back I guess I'll dispatch it. But she's a wonderfully well-trained and very smart Australian Keplie. We are grateful for the surprising way in which God provided her. Perhaps I'll blog about that sometime during the summer.

Pretty flowers! This healthy bowl reminds me of Disneyland and their bounteous floral displays.

Love the different shades of Impatiens.

Some more herbs, scattered about. Chives, Italian Basil, Thyme, and my darling Peppermint plant! Which provides fragrant and fresh morning teas.

My sister's gourmet cooking. This picture doesn't do it justice but that was a portobello mushroom burger (vegetarian). The mushroom is saturated for days and imbued with organic herbs from our garden. Then sauteed to retain texture, juices, and flavor. The buns are buttered and grilled and spread with a thin layer of fresh made sauce, a mixture of pesto and mayonnaise that is to die for. Then add a lot of Arugula, fresh basil leaves, and a slice of Provolone. Mmmm, mmmm. The crazy part is? She cooks like this all the time! So long as she's not working on her thesis or overly busy with park affairs. I love being able to contribute with items from the garden when she asks. For instance, this morning, our scrambled eggs (home grown!) were seasoned with thyme, the first time we've implemented that particular herb, as well as lots of rosemary. So I run out in my pj's and cut away! She does all the hard parts. ;)

Well, that was a wee tour of some of the highlights of our backyard. Hope you enjoyed! And now for bed. As tomorrow is church and I'm actually taking a friend from Calc class to first service. Hoorah.

See you there...