This has been blooming in the shaded part of the patio for several weeks now, and finally all the flower pods are open. Click on the image for full sized version.
From Wikipedia:
Clivia miniata (commonly known as Kaffir lily or Bush lily) is a species of clivia, from South Africa. It grows to a height of about 45cm in the shade of trees and shrubs, and flowers are red, orange or yellow, with a faint, but very sweet perfume.
You might ask “what does increased levels of CO2 have to do with peanuts?” Well, the climate experts that blog at World Climate Report have a baseball-related explanation:
Baseball’s Back – With More Peanuts Than Ever
For many citizens in the USA, this has been a winter for the ages. From no end of storms in the Southwest to record-breaking snow in the Northeast, this has been one long winter. But in Arizona and Florida, the boys of summer are dusting off their bats and balls and spring training is now underway. Fans are flocking back to the ballparks, and our consumption of peanuts is on the rise. American will eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts this year at ballparks around the country (and elsewhere), we will eat over 700 million pounds of peanut butter, and we will spend over four billion dollars on our peanut habit.
What’s the climate change rub? Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are enhancing peanut productivity and protecting the crop from the harmful impacts of atmospheric pollutants such as ozone. Which means more peanuts to go around. So next time you raise your hand and call out “Hey Beerman, how about a cold one and jumbo bag of peanuts!” remember that elevated atmospheric CO2 is helping to keep your bag full. [more]
We took a drive to Point Vicente today, as we often do. There is a pathway there, where we take our dog for a walk. As usual, we take a lot of pictures of the area. The photo below shows the coastline looking northward. Beyond the two coves below in the distance you can see Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains through the haze. Click on the image to enlarge.
One of the shrubs we have planted to landscape the side of our house is a geranium. Every spring, it produces these really bright red flowers. The brightness and saturation of red on these flowers competes with the red, red tulips I posted about a while back. Click on the image to enlarge.
