Taking a long-term view

[zebra363]

The trees/shrubs/groundcovers/rushes I ordered last year were delivered today and they didn't seem as voluminous as I expected, so I drove to a local tree farm and picked up a few more.  (Actual numbers censored to avoid alarming anyone who's planning to come out to my place next weekend.  Don't worry, we don't have to finish them all.)I'm not

Comments

[imkalena]

(The little twig-like thing in the foreground is one of today's Fiery Bottlebrush, while the tree behind it was that size last July.)

YOUR TREES GROW FIVE FEET A YEAR. *amazed*

[zebra363]

Some of them grew 10 feet! It really is amazing, because the ground is rock-hard here from November to May: virtually no rain, no dew, impossible to dig into. Yet somehow the trees kept growing! I had a huge amount of fun measuring them off against body parts over the summer - waist high! breast high! nose high! Whoo-hoo: taller than me!

[zebra363]

I had no idea how much fun it would be to watch them grow. I've never been much into gardening, but it's different when you're talking native plants in a big area.

No urbanisation will happen as long as I'm here and can pay the mortgage!

[killabeez]

Gorgeous photos. I wish I could come plant. :-(

[zebra363]

Oh, that would be great!

I'll plant a tree for you and name it "Duncan" in your honour.

[true_enough]

When I lived in Ventura County there were creeks like yours that ran through Santa Paula and Ojai. I use to get off of work at 7am and walk through the trails. It's one of the few things I miss about living there. When I think about being sucessful I always end up imagining myself sitting on a porch looking out on property that looks amazingly like yours. :)

A rainbow in your backyard... ::happy sigh::

[zebra363]

Most of the year, the creek is just a long snake-shaped hole in the ground. I guess that makes me appreciate it all the more when it actually contains water!

It's funny that it's only after I gave up on being conventionally successful in a career sense that I've been able to live like this. My place is a long way out of the city, so it isn't actually worth much, but it's just the kind of thing I always wanted to have, too. Don't ask me about the amount of time I spend in the car or my petrol bill, though - my lifestyle still needs some fine-tuning!

I had an interesting time last night reading about the eucalyptus forests in California. It sounds like what seemed like a good idea in the late 1800s didn't turn out that way, something that I guess is often the case with introduced species. I spend a lot of time trying to clear poisonous South African garden plants from my pasture (but at least they're smaller than eucalyptus trees!).

[justacat]

Oh, lovely! It looks like fantastic riding terrain!!

[zebra363]

This sounded like an opportunity for more photos, so I took a camera with me when I rode today! Next best thing to going for a ride together, I guess.

About 2km from my house along gravel roads/tracks like this, you get to a bush area with tracks like this.

This is at the top of my street on the way home, and just to be silly this is looking backwards!

The only thing I don't have much access to that I'd like is a big open area suitable for a nice gallop!

[justacat]

I just realized I'd never responded to this ... finally looked at these pictures. What absolutely wonderful riding terrain! I love the big, wide dirt roads and tracks, where you can run - I don't have any of those near me. We do have fields, but they are often filled with groundhog holes, which are well-hidden by the grass, so running can be dangerous. And most of our tracks are much narrower and rockier. It looks fantastic - I'm envious!

And I loved the horse ears (and tail *g*) in the pics - so very cute...