The Early Bird Gets...His Picture Taken

It seems I always find the time to get my garden work done but I'm not so good at finding the time to sit and enjoy the fruits of my labor.  So on this labor day it was a pleasure to sit back and watch the visitors to my garden.

Tomato Time in San Jose

Most of the gardeners I know here in San Jose are enjoying bumper crops of tomatoes this year. I certainly am. I planted mostly heirloom tomatoes this year and was worried that I might be plagued with all kinds of tomato diseases but my tomatoes thrived and they couldn't be tastier. My two favorites have been Gold Medal and Japanese Black Trifele. The Japanese Black Trifele has its shortcomings (uneven ripening, tough core) but the flavor is spectacular. With my abundance of tomatoes I give them to anyone who comes near me and I've made 6 quarts of spaghetti sauce and of course Caprese Salad, pictured above.

Rear View

I love the rain, we need the rain, the landscape is photogenic in the rain BUT this is my vacation week! Oh well, I guess I'll do a lot of reading and take in as many Academy Award nominated movies as I can.

A Porch with a Step Ladder with a View

About two years after I had moved into my house, my neighbor commented on what a good view I had of Mt. Hamilton. Honestly, in the two years I'd been here I had never noticed it. In my defense, the view is best seen when standing on a chair or better yet a ladder on my front porch. It's not like I could see it through my front window while sitting comfortably on my couch. But the other reason I never noticed it was that I spent the first two years here preoccupied with making the house habitable. Any time I did sit down I noticed something just crying out to be fixed. Anyway, the view is there and never better than when Mt. Hamilton is covered with snow as it is today.

First Frosty Morning of the Year

The temperature was 45 degrees in my house this morning. Outside everything was covered in frost. Finally, my irridescent purple gazing ball looked cool and the English daisies looked determined.