April 18, 06
morning in the Cohn garden, East Sac
The sound of water falling over rocks provides a soothing background and a light breeze plays a Japanese styled wind chime. A little bird calls from a corner of the yard.
I wander a bit, soaking in the sun and the garden. A woodpecker drums out a quick set of notes. The fish pond with the big koi beckons me and I spend quite some time just watching, then trying to capture fish on film.
Diane is the one who first greets me and lets me in - she tells me how their little dog Maddie likes to herd the fish around in the pond - at one point Maddie looks ready to jump right in.
Diane also tells me about how all of this land (they have a full acre here) once belonged to a man with ties to the local paper and how he helped with the planting of trees at the state capital, so he planted his own trees on this land at the same time. The huge old redwoods that shade much of this garden are part of his plantings.
Diane's husband, Mark, comes out to introduce himself and make sure his fish are being cooperative, which I assure him they are, but that they are also smart enough to know that I'm not the one who feeds them and are appropriately cautious.
I wait and watch the sunlight move across the yard, seeing how it changes what it touches. It's getting warmer today - the skies are clear and it feels so much better than all the recent rain.
afternoon -
Gann residence, the next stop on my garden tour.
Lovely tudor style house and garden in deep shade out back - a huge old sycamore stands sentry in front.
Squirrels race through more tall redwoods in a neighbor's yard - Joan tells me that she'll be bringing in more and larger impatiens in the next couple weeks - so we agree that I'll return then.
A mourning dove coo's softly nearby, Joan's husband tells me there's a pair nesting in the small pine tree next to the back door. The garden is in deep cool shade right now, just the way a garden should be when Sacramento's summer hits. I figure by looking at where the sun is that the mornings are more well lit, so I'll be back in the morningtime.
A little later -
at the Kastanis garden -
The warm sun releases the sweet scent of orange blossoms just beginning to open and drop. Terry says they'll drop through June.
Trickling water and the tiny tinkle of wind chimes accompany the orange blossoms scent - the warm sunlight moves at an amazing rate as I watch the light play across the peaceful garden.
Last stop of the day -
Beverly Lamb's garden, complete with Bev watering and a little muddy.
The dogwood out front is in full bloom, proclaiming spring is truly here.
Bev's garden is another that has not quite hit it's stride yet - I'll be back -
