Pomegranate Fruit, 2017

My pomegranate tree bear fruit even with minimum watering due to the restrictions and conservation of water for several years as a result of the drought that affected California for the past several years.  I cut back on water usage by watering the lawn at a minimum only enough for the lawn not to die; the water saved on the lawn was used instead to water the fruit trees.

Although it had fruit last year there were only a few fruit and they are relatively small compared to pomegranate you can buy at the grocery store. This year there are more fruit and a lot bigger than last year; they look plump and healthy and I am sure the seeds will be more juicy and sweeter than last year.

Pomegranate trees are known to be extremely drought-tolerant but with more watering it will have better fruit quality, the fruit will be bigger and the seeds will be juicier. Will it be sweeter? That remains to be seen.

Just Joey Rose

Just Joey is a hybrid tea rose with deep apricot color. It a large size measuring about 5 inches in diameter with petals numbering about 35 and has slight fruity fragrance; most describe the fragrance as strong and fruity but you could hardly smell anything. The petals have dark apricot colors towards the center with lightening color towards the edges.

The flowers are borne mostly solitary with ruffled bloom form; it is a classic hybrid tea. It blooms early spring then flusher throughout summer.

It has very good disease resistance and not susceptible to typical rose diseases and insects. It is a bushy plant with deep green foliage and upright stems.  It is easy to care; full pruning in early spring is required and dead-heading sent flowers. Fertilize in early spring during pruning for healthy and huge blooms.

Bailey

My current pet dog is Bailey, a light brown mixed breed adopted from the Pasadena Humane Society a few years ago when Button was still alive. Bailey is about 9 years old; he was about 2 years old when he was adopted from the Pasadena Humane Society.

Bailey is about 15 pounds and has medium length brown hair; his hair doesn’t grow and does not

need haircuts, just the regular wash. He is mild mannered which does not make him a very good guard dog; he is very friendly including to the food delivery guys.

One peculiar habit of Bailey is to hide dog biscuits, under the couch and between the couch pillows. So every time he is give dog biscuits, he always gets 2, one for hiding to be consumed for later and the other for immediate consumption.

Peach Tree

I planted my peach tree about 14 years ago and have borne fruit year after year except for the last three years which is definitely related to the drought in California for the past several years. I thought of cutting the tree last January as it did not bear fruit for the last three years. Fruit trees are normally deep rooted and can tap water stored deeper in the ground but with several years of drought, moisture in the ground probably got deeper.

Fortunately I did not cut it down; it looks healthy and had no reason to cut it other than it has not borne any fruit for a few years. I decided to keep it with the abundant rain last winter; I thought it may bore fruit again. Luckily, it did have a lot of flowers which I’m sure it will develop into fruits.

Every branch is loaded with pink flowers, I’m sure there will be a lot of peach fruit come summer and fall.

Bird Nest

After the drought for the past five years, rains finally came back to Southern California. It came back with vengeance this year and has been raining almost every week since December. Because of the rains almost every weekend, I did not have the time to prune the roses on time.

Finally had the time to prune the roses last weekend. What I found is an empty bird nest on one of the tree roses. The nest is nicely tucked on the center of the crown of the tree rose. There are some pieces of broken egg shells which indicate the bird who owns the nest laid eggs and perhaps hatched into chicks. Would have loved to see the small birds.