Bienvenidos a el Verano
(Welcome to the Summer)
Just a tad humid so far, and still the occasional marine layer hanging around, but summer is definitely here in Southern Baja. It’s so quiet around here too, as those with 2nd homes have gone to parts elsewhere. I like it quiet, but most folks would say it’s quiet even when it’s high season. Just depends on what you call quiet I guess. El Pescadero and Todos Santos are not big cities. Más como pueblos pequeños. (More like small towns).
Here are some sights around my place:
Sour Pitaya
“The sour pitaya is a sprawling, much-branched cactus, with branches up to 3 metres long (see also the image below). The stems are dark grey-green. Where their tips touch the ground they can take root, so that eventually this cactus can form thick, impenetrable thickets. This cactus is a near-endemic of the Baja California peninsula, although it also grows in a small region of mainland Mexico. It is a dominant plant in many desert regions of Baja California. The name “sour pitaya” refers to the fruits, which are edible but not as sweet as those of the organ pipe cactus. The plant produces large white flowers, usually in July – September.” Taken from http://archive.bio.ed.ac.uk/jdeacon/desertecology/cacprof1.htm
Santa-Maria Barrel Cactus (This one is huge)
or
Ferocactus santa-maria
The flowers are so pretty on these cactus. What am I saying? All cactus flowers are gorgeous.
Barrel Cactus in Bloom
Bananas soon!
Golden Barrel Cactus
These aren’t native to Southern Baja, but they are all over in pretty landscaped areas.
We used to have two, but one died after about a year.
Agave (front and center) and Cardon
Traveler’s Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) and Arika Palm (on right)
Travelers palms are actually members of the bird-of-paradise plant family, and is more closely related to the banana tree family than the palm tree because of the shape of the leaves. It’s a fast grower. The traveler’s palm gets its name from the fact that thirsty travelers could find stores of water in many parts of the plant including the leaf folds, flower bracts, and inside each of the hollow leaf bases each of which may hold up to one quart of water.
– See more at: http://www.palmtreepassion.com/travelers-palm.html#.V2rDrle_2u4
Ah, the fragrant and lovely plumeria!
Our Finch on our Cardon
We call him ours, as he and his main squeeze have been nesting here and raising their babies.
They sit on our kitchen window bars and watch me cook.
“Stand up and be Counted!” says my hibiscus.
Our friends planted the top of a pineapple and lo and behold…a baby comes into their garden.
A tree in our friends’ yard puts out this beauty. We don’t know what it is. Do you?
Wouldn’t be summer without bougainvilleas and mangoes.
The flower of the nopal cactus graces our front yard.
Hibiscus that haven’t opened and a visiter. Look closely at the photo above in the bottom, left quadrant.
Here’s a close-up of the dragonfly on my plumeria bud.
Mangle–Mangrove
Coastal region native plant.
We were lucky enough to have a lot of these mangroves on our property. They don’t transplant well at all. We give them a little water and they are flourishing.
All the low growing bush-like plants are mangrove. In the summer they have those pretty red berries.
See more @https://tosea.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/mangroves-the-trees-of-life/
Next time I will include the beach. It’s not summer without spending time at the beach, right?
But wherever you are, enjoy your life. Every single moment.
or the crash or the splash
Riding in my VW Van down the dirt road, I’m singing that old Elvis Presley tune, “I’m all Shook Up.” That’s because dirt roads are anything but smooth. Everywhere we go here in the Baja, except for the highways and a few select roads here and there, we’re bouncing around getting all shook up.
