It’s officially my challenging time of year to find unique themes to photograph, especially being limited to the same old scenery every day.  Almost time to transition to my indoor “greenhouse”.  Yet for some reason the California poppies are still blooming profusely and multiplying, to the point that I’ve had to expand the rock garden to accommodate them.  Next year I’ll add more desert-like flowers to the mix.

It just makes me more determined to keep surrounding this place with more trees and wildflowers, to create at least an illusion of a wild green space.  Many of the tiny cedars, pines, and deciduous trees I transplanted a year or two ago are now towering over me (which doesn’t take much!) and filling out.

Eventually the little tree babies in the “prairie” will catch up.  As soon as I finish clearing and mulching around them, I’ll broadcast more native wildflower seeds out there, to “stratify” over winter.  (They require a cold period in order to germinate in spring.)