So I’m hanging a piece of recycled art on our front patio, and I turn around and look at this welcome sign that has hung there for a few years, which was a gift from our former roommate in Hayward. I called Shando because I did not know where he got the bird figurine which was sitting there staring at me in the welcome sign. Well, there’s a good reason for that….BECAUSE IT’S NOT A figurine. It’s a real dove nesting on her eggs! I’ve seen these doves flit around our front patio in the past few weeks, but always thought they were building a nest on the roof at a “safe” distance from our front door slamming. Now I see they have been inches away from us. Even the hammering I just did today had not caused her to flinch. I love that they feel safe there and hope they come back every year now.
Some may remember the story of how I found the morning dove on our front porch. Well, now the couple’s chick has arrived! I only see one so far. If you look carefully at this video below, you’ll see its heart beating and it moves its wing just a tad. Mother actually blinks too, which is rare.
So mixed reviews on Morning Glories in our bamboo thicket from those on my various social media gardening groups. Hopefully I won’t regret what I just did, which was to “transplant” this one over the arbor at the top of the outdoor staircase. You may be able to perceive here that I planted the roots in the hanging pot. I guess I will monitor it to see how far it grows.
My own backyard garden continues to amaze me. Within the bamboo “forest” near the upstairs lookout, I found this purple flower on a non-bamboo plant. Further into the thicket, I came across this old tree stump I almost forgot about in the three years since I moved in, but now I see it’s covered with mycelia.
Some who visit our home venture up the low-rise (love it) backyard stairs to our “lookout” behind the bamboo. From there one can see the East Bay and Crockett’s C&H Sugar Factory from our backyard. It’s the closest thing we have to a water view. We recently installed an arbor at the top of the stairs and have been brainstorming how to set up the lookout for a zen area of sorts. We began the journey by making it a real relaxation point today with phase one. This phase was adding an egg/gravity chair that leans back and is like a hammock. It’s suspended and so comfortable without the large footprint of a full hammock. For years we did have a hammock in another part of the yard. We donated it recently after deciding it was not used enough to be worthy of its footprint in most of our spaces, opting for another set of lounge seating. Besides that, the full-size hammock was too unwieldy for us (and our senior dogs) to use very often due to how challenging it was to get in and out of it. Moreover, we had to worry about mold developing on the material when it rained too much. Some years that was not a problem at all. Dismantling it and putting it away during the wet season was a pain and we like to think of our backyard as everything being year-round friendly, despite the rain and wind.
Below are pictures of the arbor and the new egg chair being modeled by Polar and Peaches.
Former San Franciscans really made the most out of this yard which had been a mechanic’s workshop for years prior to their moving in. It’s so inspiring to see what they’ve done in a few short years, albeit during Covid. Michael and Ed (Blade) are bringing so much brightness to this part of Oakland with their beautiful home and garden, and it’s not a surprise in the end that their permaculture facilitates Michael’s longstanding vegetarian diet, which I identified with.
