Our first major storm of the season is on its way, and is welcome, for the ground is so dry I had to use a mattock and breaker bar to dig some large holes for planting shrubs yesterday. Today, before dawn, there were stars, but soon after the sky clouded up giving a beautiful dawn. I didn't get a picture, but here is a picture of the hyrid Nerine I have called 'Dawn', in bloom now.
In recent days the dawn sky has been clear, the mornings very brisk, with occasional patches of frost here and there, and the smell of wood smoke in the air. I love a wood fire. To me, it is one of the joys and consolations of winter, compensating somewhat for the long dark evenings. I enjoy all parts of it, stacking my wood, splitting kindling, trundling the wheelbarrow full of logs up to the house, then sitting by the fire, feeling its primal warmth and listening to the sounds of logs shifting in the grate, flames crackling and flaring when I give it more wood. These last evenings I have been cleaning the seeds I harvested from the bulbs this summer, and a very pleasant (although somewhat messy) occupation it was, sitting by the fire, both dogs stretched out on the rug. I read in the paper that more and more towns are banning wood stoves, citing air quality as a reason, and most recently saw that Chico was about to pass regulations severely restricting the use of wood stoves, so one day we may all be condemned to sitting in front of gas fired facsimiles of wood stoves, with no sound of burning logs, not smell of wood smoke, and none of the pleasurable chores that go with a wood fire. I find this intensely depressing, especially since I know for sure that the poor air quality in the region around Chico where I used to live is due to automobiles and trucking, not to lawnmowers (they have also been blamed) or to wood fires.
Many Nerines are in bloom now. I have posted on Nerines before, and that posting can be found under South African bulbs, since the genus has members that are summer growing, winter growing, or evergreen, so I don't want to repeat myself. The winter growing species are the ones that bloom now, and some are truly magnificent.
I am slowly propagating the best ones, hoping to be able to list them before too long. Here is Nerine 'Rosa' to the left. To the right is Nerine 'La Pasionara".
There are many more in bud, like the lovely 'Razzle Dazzle' photographed last year, and seen here to the left, and I am hoping for some new surprises from bulbs that have not bloomed before.
Shipping continues, but will start to wind down soon, although I can ship some bulbs year round, especially members of the Family Amaryllidaceae, so shipping never stops completely. This is a very busy time of year, getting ready for seed sowing and repotting, and with my new greenhouse benches, I feel prepared for the tasks ahead and for the winter storms.
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