This is the female Hooded Oriole that visits the hummingbird feeder outside our kitchen window every day and dines on the hummingbird food. Continue reading
Hummingbirds and Hooded Orioles
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Category Archives: Lifestyle
Return to San Clemente Rip Curl
Yesterday we took another ride to Rip Curl in San Clemente, and discovered that there are actually two Rip Curl stores in San Clemente. Continue reading
New Board Shorts
I was in need of a new pair of board shorts, so this morning we headed for the Rip Curl outlet in San Clemente. It was a perfect destination for a ride, Martin on his Kymco Downtown 300 and I on my can-am Spyder. We traveled south along Pacific Coast Highway and through the town of San Clemente. The outlet store is at the very south end of town, so it was the perfect opportunity to have a good look around. I was sorry that I’d left my camera at home. As we looked around the store, I realized that this was the first time we’d shopped at Rip Curl without at least one of our kids. Whenever they are home for a visit we usually make at least one trip.
Above you can see our purchases. Board shorts for me, flip flops for Martin. Later we returned home by way of San Juan Capistrano, another beautiful city to ride through. We had a great ride, and it was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning.
Hummingbird Garden Update
Three weeks ago we started a hummingbird garden. You can read about it in Our Hummingbird Garden and in Our Hummingbird garden Part 2.
I’m not sure if readers realized that I potted the plants in containers rather than in the ground. The pots are sitting on flagstone tiles in the center of the yard. It is one of the few places where we get full sun during the day. Most of the sage and salvia plants that attract hummingbirds like a full sun exposure. Each plant has a drip system running to it, but I do have to supplement the water supply. Most of these plants are drought tolerant, but in the hot summer sun, especially in pots, they do need more water.
This morning I went on line to learn how to propagate sage and salvia plants. I discovered a helpful blog called Growing the Home Garden. In a short article I found what I was looking for. I finished reading, and headed into the garden to look for just the right cuttings. As sometimes happens I found myself doing things a little differently than planned, and it also turned out to be a faster way to expand our hummingbird garden.
Above is the Pineapple Sage plant, another hummingbird favorite. I purchased a small plant on May 25, and it had already outgrown its original pot. While repotting the sage, I was able to separate a smaller plant that was an offshoot of the larger one. Above you see the original and secondary plants in their new pots. I can’t wait to see their bright red flowers. I will be sure to post a picture when it happens. This plant seems to be a very fast grower, and something tells me I will soon be sharing pineapple sage plants. Pineapple Sage Tea anyone?
Hiking Black Star Canyon
This morning we decided we wanted to do something different, a hike, so we drove to Cleveland National Forest at the end of Silverado Canyon, one of our favorite routes when riding our scooters. We were surprised to find the trail head there closed to the public because of dry brush and fire danger. (You may see my Sept 13, 2014 posting about a major fire in that area of Silverado Canyon.) Disappointed and wondering where else we could go, we spoke to a woman cyclist and told her of our dilemma. She told us of another hiking trail in nearby Black Star Canyon. We’ve lived in this area of Southern California since 1977, but had never been to that particular canyon. Before long we were on our hike there. It was wonderful. Above you can see my husband, Martin, thoroughly enjoying the surroundings. 
We saw the above Mountain Lion warning as we started up the trail, but we’re used to seeing such signage in the more open and uninhabited areas of California. There were quite a few hikers on the trail, plus mountain bikers, so chances were slim that we would encounter a mountain lion. Plus there were two of us, an added safety benefit. 
Here I’m enjoying a bit of shade and a drink of water. We had started out later than planned, and it was getting quite warm. We hiked inland for just over an hour, but it took less time to hike back because it was mostly downhill. We were glad we had taken plenty of water with us, had applied sun screen, and were wearing wide brimmed hats!
I want to share one more photo with you, so you can see just how dry the brush is on the both sides of the trail. Black Star Canyon was truly a find, and we plan to go back again soon, but next time we’ll start out earlier in the day and go a little farther up the trail.