Today it felt more like fall. Fall is a tricky season in San Diego. Unlike other parts of the country, October can be a very hot, dangerous month - the vegetation is (if not irrigated) completely dry and the Santa Ana winds can kick up hot air and throw it around till you feel like a raisin. Tiny's preschool asks the parents to send in colorful leaves. While there are a few colorful leaves around, they do not seem to understand or appreciate the concept of fall in San Diego. Why must we always conform to the temperate (Western European, Eastern US) version of 'fall?' I have decided to reject the hegemonic discourse on this subject and embrace our kind of fall. I wish others here would, too, instead of lamenting 'the lack of seasons.' Seasons exist - the apples in our backyard are ripe, the tangerines are still green, the foliage is primarily green with a few red leaves appearing on the pomegranate tree to complement the slowly ripening fruits. The plum, however, is completely confused. It started to lose leaves nearly a month ago and yesterday I noticed it has put out new flowers. One of the newer varieties of plums might have done better - we have to tinker with temperate climate plants to have them conform to our kind of fall. The neighbor's sweetgum litters our driveway, the roses keep blooming, the jasmine had to be trimmed again - they creep up around the pillars and send out trendils that seem to wait for an unsuspecting UPS delivery person...
Today it felt more like the euro-normative fall. And we have begun to prepare the fall gardens - because even though it might feel slightly cooler, we are not preparing to hibernate here but instead gardeners and foodies are rejoicing the return of cool season veggies - fresh salad! arugula! kale! broccoli! radishes and carrots aplenty! Once Mr. Burli finishes our revamped garden beds (the front is ready, the soil is just resting and awaiting a cool planting day), the fun part can begin.
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| Two beds extended towards the garage with a narrow stone walkway replace one wider bed. |
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| Pomegranates in the frontyard. |
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| The last of the tomatoes are gone. (I had enough tomatoes to last several months, and if needed, I froze some. I just washed them and threw them in plastic bags - perfect for a quick sauce. |
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| The chicken fence awaiting its touch-up - a patch of grass will be replaced by these stones set in DG. Less grass to water, replaced by plants in pots hooked to the drip. (And a new water barrel will attach to the downspout to the left.) |
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| BMX Birthday - JT's best friend celebrated at the BMX track/ Don't you love how chubby their cheeks look squished into the helmets? |
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| The crowd eagerly awaiting the start signal. (The youngest was 3 - on the balance bike in the middle. One girl rode a beach cruiser - and is now begging her parents for a real BMX bike, JT was nervous (I was nervous for him!) but handled his one or two spills like a pro and kept going. |
1 comment:
only you could use hegemonic to describe what everyone knows fall really is - leaves changing! pumpkins! cold! ;-p
anyhow, nice job with the BMX - i think that would make me a little nervous too, even with a helmet. well done.
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