It's alive!

So nice to be home. Traveling is wonderful, but it feels so good to sleep in one's own bed. Maybe that is why going away is so great - to appreciate home that much more.

I promised to report back on how everything did during our three-week absence. Well I am happy to say, everything did just fine. The boojum tree looks good. The vegetable garden did okay. Some of the tomato plants were stunted from the start and they looked bad before we even left. They made some tomatoes but never really filled out. It is not due to the water system, but rather the young plants were pot bound before I got them in the ground. I must remember that if the young tomato plants aren't strong and healthy it is not worth going ahead with them.

The tomato plants in the far back ('Delicious') are producing very nicely and they taste great. They were planted late last summer. In truth, they were not great plants either, having been sitting in small containers for the whole season. Anyway they made it through the winter without forming tomatoes (too cold). They started filling out this spring and now, as I said, they are producing nicely. Right before we left for Europe, Krista and I whipped up a netafim drip hose and put it on a timer. A last minute decision and a good one at that. The tomatoes are delicious, just as their selection name suggests.

Pictures, though, are clearer than the words coming from my jet-lagged, sluggish brain.

'Delicious' tomatoes are, as their name suggests, very tasty.

Two 'Delicious' tomato plants on netafim drip irrigation. 

Young lime tree is a bit drought-stressed. I watered it thoroughly before leaving
on July 7th and made sure that the soil was covered by a 4 inch thick layer of mulch.

Curled leaves on lime indicate drought-stress. I am watering right now.

Palmer's mallow (Abutilon palmeri) did remarkably well
(thanks to Krista, I am sure).

California bay (Umbellularia californica) is quite drought-stressed. I watered it well but am not sure how much
this plant can take. 

California brome (Bromus carinatus) is the brown grass in front of the green deer grass
(Muhlenbergia rigens). Calif. brome is a cool season, short-lived perennial
 in contrast to deer grass which is a warm season, long-lived perennial.
It will be interesting to see whether the brome comes back next year
and whether it reseeds.

So the good news is that the garden did quite well. True, we did not have any extreme heat but it is nice to know being away for three weeks in July did not result in any serious losses.