April in Oregon and Excitement in California

Tomorrow will be another day of rushing up to check scores on the computer. My grand-horses (Jessica's horses), Lily and Rudi, are at the big Del Mar National horse show near San Diego. They competed in open classes today and did well, with Lily getting 4th out of 10 horses in Grand Prix with a score above what she earned at the Golden State Dressage show 3 weeks ago, (the one I attended.) Rudi was 2nd in his 2nd level class, also bettering his scores from Golden State.

Tomorrow Rudi has a first level class and Lily has another Grand Prix, this time a CDI class, which means international competition. At this particular show, all the top riders in the U.S. are competing, so it will be mega scary for Nicki... but great experience. There's no way for a horse and rider to become accustomed to the pressure of international competition other than by competing in it. So tomorrow I will again haunt the Fox Village site for scores until those classes are completed. Or until I have to leave for the Linfield Chamber Orchestra concert tomorrow night. A hard life I lead, eh?


Between computer checks, I worked in the greenhouse today. No matter how nasty it is outdoors, I can always clean up, water, transplant, fuss, whatever... and breathe in all that oxygen. There is always something blooming. Soon the orchid cacti (Epiphylum) will be in full flower. They make May a colorful month in the greenhouse. Right now, just one red one is beginning to bloom. Plus these little floriferous pink jobs, whatever they are. And Tiny Jewels (Delicate Jewels?), the pink one that blooms off and on most of the year. The name comes from the fruiting bodies, which are not only jewel-like, but also very tasty. I'm told that these epi fruits are considered gourmet items in Mexican markets.
It's also amaryllis blooming time. One red one is open with many more in bud. I should pass them out to the many people who have given me their bloomed-out bulbs to bring back into flower. I let amaryllis bloom when they want to, in the spring, rather than forcing them for Christmas blooms. I'd happily give them back to people if only I remembered who the people were. If I owe you an amaryllis, come get it!

Between rain showers, I dashed outside to try to capture the incredible color of this crabapple. I just could not figure out how to get a photo that looked like the tree, which is covered in blooms, many yet to open.







As the clouds again began to roll in, I snapped a couple photos of them before diving into the house out of the rain. It's amazing how fast the sky can go from blue to gray, from sunny to pouring rain. It's April in Oregon!