Hummingbird images from years past

Botanicals Inside

Gerbera Daisy

Leucospermum cordifolium

Detail of Leucospermum

Epidendrum Orchid

Epidendrum Seed Pod 

Detail of Epidendrum seed

Hibiscus

Protea "Susannea"

Christmas in July means Protea seedlings!

I have nice little sprouts of Protea Cynaroides and Protea Neriifolia

Leucospermum Conocarpodendron and Protea Nitida both have sprouts but they look suspicious so they might be weeds. 

My Protea seed guard kitty...

Protea heads from my bouquet drying. I am going to see if I get any seed from any of these...

Wildfire and lightning outside Kingman Arizona

While driving along the 40 freeway from Flagstaff Arizona to San Diego California I was treated to a spectacular show of thunder and lightning. Flagstaff had a very nice heavy rain and thunderstorms for the better part of the afternoon. The mountains of Arizona Snowbowl were gorgeous.  As I left Flagstaff and made my way past Williams Arizona I caught up with the storm again. For most of the trip the main show of lightning was directly in front of me. 

At one point lightning was striking about every thirty seconds to one minute. Several times the winds were so strong both my tripod and I started to get blown over.  As I got into Kingman Arizona I got out from under the storm and could only see flashes of light behind me. Once closer to the Hualapai Mountains I started to notice a strange glow which turned out to be the Dean Peak Fire which was making its way towards Kingman.

I passed through Kingman at 1am and at the time it was 96 degrees.  A combination of high winds and heat made the fire look like it was swirling. 

California Protea Association Meeting

I attended my first California Protea Association meeting this past Saturday. I got to meet some very nice protea growers and was treated to some good food and a grafting demonstration by Cory Krell of California Rare Fruit Growers. 

The meeting was hosted by Ken and Sammie at Hancock Ranch in Valley Center. 

Thanks guys it was fun!

Here's a few picts of protea at Hancock Ranch and pictures of the lovely protea bouquet Sammie was so nice to share with me. I love waking up to these beautiful blooms every morning! 

Banksia at sunset

My protea bouquet