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12 Years Later: Low Chill Cherries in Southern California [Update]

12 Years Later: Low Chill Cherries in Southern California [Update]

12 years ago, my neighbor, K, volunteered her narrow front yard space for us to try two new low chill cherry trees, Minnie Royal and Royal Lee. She finds it funny that every January and February I start checking up on the trees, sometimes daily just to look for new blooms or to add more grafts of other cherries. One of her tree’s bloom time is always ahead of the other, and in warm years by as much as two weeks. It is frustrating they don’t always sync up their bloom in really low chill years.
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Urban Wildlife Sighting…Osprey in the backyard?!

Urban Wildlife Sighting…Osprey in the backyard?!

Yup. On Monday, I was in the back yard doing some pruning, when I heard an angry crow.  Looking up to the power in the next door neighbors’ yard, I noticed a huge hawk trying to enjoy its lunch in peace with a crow incessantly harassing it.  In addition to bugs, chickens, and plants, I am also a nerd about birds.  I ran inside and grabbed my old camera.  When I uploaded the photo on the computer to see it…

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Southern Alligator Lizards

Southern Alligator Lizards

July 17, 2010:  I was astonished to almost step on a lizard on my front lawn last week.  It scurried into the irises, so I ran into the house to get the camera.  I managed to get an okay photo, but not a full body shot.  It was thin and almost 12 inches in length.  The color was yellowish with almost some pink, a really pretty lizard! When I showed the photo to one of the neighbor kids that knows…

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Surplus of Garden Produce

Surplus of Garden Produce

  Like most gardeners, at different times of the year, I often have more than our family can use, with a large surplus of tomatoes, stone fruits, oranges, grapes, and more.  Instead of always giving it to friends and neighbors, the chickens, or having it go to waste, I donate it. SoCal Harvest is a local volunteer organization in Long Beach, established to allow home gardeners to share extra produce with needy local families. Gardeners can plant an extra row…

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