Notes from my patio

Grampa Don said:
It's full of tiny little berries, each containing a seed. You eat them seed and all. The berries are packed tightly on a white membrane that's really bitter. The taste is very tart but sweet.
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Part of the enjoyment for me, as a young person, was the time it took, working the little pips out of their spaces, one at a time.
 

Grampa Don said:
Only one pomegranate on the tree this year. If the squirrels don't get it before it's ripe I'll give it to my son. He planted the tree on his 16th birthday, 40 years ago. The tree had blossoms this Spring, but only a few set fruit. Maybe there was a lack of pollinators. The squirrels got the rest of the fruit. Somehow they have missed this one so far. Here's a photo of a good year.

pom-ripe-small.jpg


Pomegranates are messy but fun to eat. The kids (me too) throw them hard on the ground to crack the outer shell, then pick them up and break them apart to reveal the ruby red berries inside. Then you pick the berries off the white membrane with your teeth, being careful not to get any of the bitter membrane. While doing this, try not to get any juice on your clothes because it stains really bad.

You can also score the shell with a knife and break the berries loose in a bowl of water if you want to be neat.
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I love pomegranates..
 
smiley said:
I can feel loneliness coming from this thread Grandpa - if not my apologies - if yes then welcome you have many new friends!
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I'm not sure what you mean. I'm not looking for sympathy. I just thought I would share a bit of my life, which is more comfortable than some. I have a good son who lives close by and sufficient income. I still drive, walk without aid and have only minor aches and pains. I have enough wind to play my harmonica. I consider myself very fortunate. I have lost my wife and one son in the past three years and that has taken getting used to, but I'm dealing with that.

As for welcome, thanks. I've been a member here for 8 years.
 
Grampa Don said:
Thank you. I built the picnic table from scratch. It's all redwood.
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Your built the picnic table...WOW. It's beautiful. Those tables are such great gathering places. We used to have one and we were always sitting around it with our friends.
BTW, what is the name of that bush by the fence w/the yellow flowers? (behind the mulberry tree)

p.s. I love pomegranats too
 
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dobielvr said:
Your built the picnic table...WOW. It's beautiful. Those tables are such great gathering places. We used to have one and we were always sitting around it with our friends.
BTW, what is the name of that bush by the fence w/the yellow flowers? (behind the mulberry tree)

p.s. I love pomegranats too
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Thank you. We've had a couple previous store bought tables that were kind of flimsy. One of my hobbies is woodworking and I decided to build something better. This one is sturdy. It's finished with spar varnish and is due for a new coat.

The bush is a hibiscus. I have two more in the back yard and one in the front. I had a couple more in back that got some kind of disease and had to be removed. My wife liked them. Here is a closeup of one of the flowers.

hib-small.jpg
 
CallMeKate said:
You're doing great, Don... I didn't know what was meant by that comment, either, and saw nothing but a calm and relaxing atmosphere in the thread. Carry on... you have a lot of people sitting here in your back yard. Feed us! Got a grill? 🍔 🌭 😁
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Thanks. I do have a grill. It's a small one but big enough to cook weenies for me and my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
 
Campbells original condensed chicken noodle soup and a cup of buttermilk for lunch. Comfort food on a grey morning.

This is my marketing day. Renee checked me out. I asked her if she knew that the building used to be a bowling alley. She said she had heard that. I bowled there once. Didn't do too well.

The squirrels like the mulberry tree. I see them go up and down it a lot. Recently two young ones came down. I could tell they were young by their size. Then they did a strange thing. They sat there and touched noses for the longest time. Then one went off one way the other one a different way. It was like they were kissing goodbye.

I searched and found that squirrels do this to recognize family. They were swapping scents.

In the Spring, the squirrels eat the buds of the mulberry, and the rest of the year they chew on the bark. Sometimes I will find a small branch on the ground. Here's what the buds look like.

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Squirrels are rather recent in our neighborhood. We first noticed them about 15 years ago. I used to put out peanuts for them and some became really tame. A couple would come up to me when they saw me because they knew I had a peanut. From what I can gather they are eastern fox squirrels and were introduced to California. They aren't native here.
 
That is interesting about the squirrels! I have a lot of them here and never knew that about trading scents... or saw them do it. Are yours the gray or red squirrel variety? Gray ones here... know what mine like to eat? Bird food! The little stinkers always find a way to climb up to (sometimes by leaping or jumping) the bird feeders.

EDIT: hehe You posted a pic while I was asking about the color! Thanks.
 
Pappy said:
Grampa Don. Where did you find buttermilk. Most stores don’t carry it and it’s not very good when I do find it. I remember when it had real chunks of butter in it. Oh so good chilled.
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Knudsen cultured buttermilk is common here and I like it. The first time I tasted buttermilk I almost spit it out. But I've since learned to love it. It wasn't something that my Mother ever served when I was a kid.
 
Grampa Don said:
I've been thinking about my response to @smiley. He or she was trying to be thoughtful and I responded as a jerk. I need to think more before I type. If @smiley reads this, I apologize.
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apology accepted - but in fact I was not invited to make personal comments - I thought I sensed an inner loneliness and why not - but it was not the area to discuss this anyway - so my apologizes too - I was once a health care counsellor but perhaps a little rusty now??
 
I appreciate all the positive feedback. But, I’m a little intimidated by it. Where do I go now? What might be worth reading? I’m basically a shy introvert and my daily life is pretty mundane. I don’t know how much I should share. I have to think about it.

Anyway, here’s my thought for the day:

Carl Sagan said that we are made of star stuff. What he didn’t say is that we are only borrowing it. The atoms that make us of have existed for billions of years, and they will continue to exist for billions more. Eventually the Sun will expand and they will all be blown into space again. It may be that some time in the future they will be part of another Sun or another planet, and possibly even creatures like us.
 
Grampa Don said:
I appreciate all the positive feedback. But, I’m a little intimidated by it. Where do I go now? What might be worth reading? I’m basically a shy introvert and my daily life is pretty mundane. I don’t know how much I should share. I have to think about it.
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I can't speak for everyone, but for me I can honestly say that I come to the forum for relaxation, downtime, and friendship. I truly am interested in things like what you had for lunch and even when something is giving aches & pains 'cause we all get them. In other words, just share the parts of your life that you're comfortable sharing, and be convinced that we *are* interested.
 
Grampa Don said:
I'm basically a shy introvert and my daily life is pretty mundane. I don’t know how much I should share. I have to think about
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A pretty mundane life to you, might not be so for many others. Your garden, patio etc is so beautiful.
Do you have a change in your garden, during the change of seasons? Such as we have in the Northeast?

I have only been to California on work assignments, so I really never saw too much outside of the job locations, hotels, and airports. Maybe there are others here with the same experience, or lack of it, as I do.

Maybe you can share a picture or two of something interesting once or twice a week? Don't make it a job, just share something that makes you happy. It will make others happy as well.
 
Kika said:
A pretty mundane life to you, might not be so for many others. Your garden, patio etc is so beautiful.
Do you have a change in your garden, during the change of seasons? Such as we have in the Northeast?

I have only been to California on work assignments, so I really never saw too much outside of the job locations, hotels, and airports. Maybe there are others here with the same experience, or lack of it, as I do.

Maybe you can share a picture or two of something interesting once or twice a week? Don't make it a job, just share something that makes you happy. It will make others happy as well.
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Thank you. My garden is pretty sad right now. It's just bare dirt. And, I don't garden as much anymore. This year I had two Early Girl tomatoes. They got leaf curl and end blossom scab but I still got a lot of good BLT's from them.

I'm in pretty good shape, but I poop out fast doing anything strenuous like digging. I'll try to do some happy pictures.
 
We do have seasons here in the LA basin, but they're subtle. I can tell it's Fall because the daytime temps top at about 80 and nights drop to 60. The pomegranate leaves are starting to turn yellow and fall. In early December the mulberry will start dropping leaves too. We usually don't get hard frost so most things can last all Winter. All the deciduous trees will eventually be bare.

I fired up the heater the other day to make sure it still works. The air conditioner died during a heat spell this summer due to a relay that failed. It's 19 years old so you have to expect things like that.

There's a chance of light showers on Tuesday but I'm not holding my breath. Last year we only got 5.5 inches of rain all winter.

When I was a kid we sometimes could smell the smudge pots burning in the orange groves when it got cold. Then later they changed to running big fans and you could hear them at night. That's all gone now. There is one tiny orange grove left here in town just as a memorial.
 

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