Succulent Sirens

I’ve been getting so discouraged and depressed because of the news, and I know I’m not alone. So if you are feeling like I am, and are interested in plants, this might give your heart a boost. I started watching Plant One On Me videos on YouTube just to watch the host Summer Raines tour botanical gardens. But her latest video about growing plants during the pandemic is amazing. She talks about conservation projects, seed banks, land sharing, and localized food growing and sh...aring projects happening around the country. People are good and they are smart and we can get through this because of them. Summer was able to interview Professor Monique Simmons, the Deputy Director of Science at Kew Gardens. Seriously. Check it out. So awesome. https://youtu.be/tJB90ieBZD4

Excellent to-do list, once the heat lessens.

I have very large chickens. I tried to pick up Pip from the perch in the coop this evening and my hands are not big enough (nor strong enough!) to contain his wings. He is almost as broad in the chest as a turkey. #backyardchickens #backyardchickensofinstagram #urbanhomestead #suburbanchickens #brahmachicken

It’s almost 3:30 pm. I went outside for 15 minutes - to give the chickens frozen veggies and iced electrolytes (like pedialyte but for chickens) and to pick some of the ripe peppers. 15 minutes. JFC it’s fucking hot. Fuck. I think a couple spots on my forehead feel sunburned. So here’s today’s harvest. Tomatillos, Cristata de cocina and sugar rush peppers. The rats are taking everything else. It makes me super sad. But at least I’m getting peppers. And my basil has gone compl...etely feral so I will be saving seeds. I do have a bunch of tomatoes that are green so I need to figure out a way to protect them from rats. Arg. I’ve been watching a lot of Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t on youtube to make me feel better. That guy is hilarious! @crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt Thanks for being you. #gardening #vegetablegarden #summer #northerncalifornia #fuckinghotasfuck See more

Holy crap. My stapelia gigantea bloomed! And it’s a fuzzy one! I didn’t know it was gonna be fuzzy!! #succulents #cactus #stapeliagigantea #succulentflowers #stapeliaflower #weirdplants #bestplants #southafricanplants #starfishplant #starfishflower #kissofthestarfish

I am super bummed. I wanted to help people grow victory gardens, but several big things kinda changed that plan for me. And now even my own garden has been eaten by rats. They have eaten all of the beans, strawberries, and tomatoes. They haven’t touched the basil, tomatillos, or cucumbers tho. Thank goodness. I’m an animal@lover and I absolutely hate to have to do it but I am going to need to set traps. I ordered the humane shock traps. Ugh. #backyardgarden #victorygarden #gardenpests #vegetablegardening

What’s goin’ on over here?? #backyardchicken #brahmachicken #nopersonalspacechicken #backyardchickens #urbanhomesteading #chickenadventures

If you are getting mosquito bites during the day please contact the department listed in the article.

Sanctuary in progress #backyardgarden #sanctuary #garden #backyardchickens #ifyoulistencloselyyoucanhearstuffgrow

Well, maybe that too!

Monday morning commute delays due to traffic jam on the interstate. Some angry drivers out there. Don’t drive angry like Magdalena does. Geez. #chickens #backyardchickens #organicpestcontrol #teamsparklefarm #urbanhomestead #suburbanparadise #home

Teeny tiny beans. #kentuckypolebeans #garden #vegetablegarden #victorygarden #covidgarden #eatmorebeans

First day in the coop!! The coop is all but finished. Tonight will be their first night sleeping inside. My feathery babies. So many feathers now. #backyardgarden #backyardchickens #chickencoops #handbuilt #handmade #carpentry #reuse #needsabombasssoundsystem

My garden at sunset this evening. I love the long evenings. It’s almost Soistice. #gardening #gardener #garden #greenthumb #plantwitch

Had some seriously CRAZY dreams last night. Was living in a big house. Lots of people. The cats kept flipping their litter boxes over. One cat kept pushing theirs down the stairs. Gary the cat was there. He was being cool tho. There was a ship that sailed on a weird lake of darkness to explore it, and it had a hole in the bottom that you could fall through (wtf?). ... I was lying naked in a bathtub full of water that was outside somewhere. People kept walking by, but they couldn’t see me. I was lying there trying to figure out how to switch careers, really coming the conclusion that I need to go back to school to become a landscape designer. I was walking in a very futuristic place that had a lot of different rooms (like a university) but it was where I worked, and was talking with an old boss of mine about a career change. Also came to the conclusion that I needed to go back to school to do what I really want to do. One of the trees in this part of my dream had flowers that could alight and flutter like butterflies, and they flew from tree to tree. Picture is a bloom on a Cup of Gold tree I saw at @greenthumbnursery in Ventura. #careerchangecoming #backtoschool #dreams #goals #plantwitch #growingyourownfood #growstuff