I went for a bicycle ride this beautiful morning; and what a gorgeous morning it has been. The weather is rather perfect here in my part of northern California at the moment - not too hot, but still warm enough so's you know it's summer. I hope these photos aren't too blurry, I took them all with my iPhone camera.
I consider myself fortunate that we live in a part of our town that borders country roads...I ride about 4 blocks and I'm out of the neighborhoods and on the roads going past farms and orchards. The time of day is important for me- I ride around 9:30-10ish a.m. after I've fed the flock [George the parrot and Pippin the parakeet] and had my breakfast. The people heading to work are already off the roads and there is little traffic.
It's an awesome thing just to breathe in the fresh air and marvel at the blue skies. I've lived in several states in the US - Oregon, Virginia, Michigan, Hawaii - and except for the island of Kaua'i, northern California is dearest to my heart.
Because of a brain anomoly I have [my husband and I call it that] my balance isn't the best. In the spirit of authenticity and transparency [kind of catchphrase words for the 21st century] I had a small stroke about 11 years ago which damaged the part of the brain that let's you know what's around you, and I can still get panicky in a crowd. But it also seems to have negatively affected my balance. I did fall with my bicycle last autumn and it scared me, so I'm a slow and careful rider [the good part is that I have an excuse to stop and take photos whenever I want]. Actually I look a bit like a middle-aged "dork" with my helmet but hey, who cares? I was a teen during the 60's and wearing helmets or seatbelts just wasn't done - the whole born to be wild era. And, truthfully, I wouldn't wear a bicycle helmet now if my family didn't insist and I wasn't so wobbly. However, here's the thing: I'm so in favor of my kids and grandkids wearing helmets!
Where was I? Oh yes. On my ride this morning I cycled past what looked like a flower farm. And because I was going slowly, I saw a small sign announcing that this was California Organic Flowers. Cool. When I got home I looked up their website and my gosh! I had no idea - what an awesome business. California Organic Flowers ships all over the U.S. and the photos on their website of the flowers are gorgeous. In fact, they have a video on flower arranging that I'm including at the end of this post for your enjoyment.
I had never before consider 'organic' flower growing. I buy organic milk and other food products but had never considered organic farming techniques for flowers. On their website Marc and Julia [they don't give their last names] say, "...It's this simple: you bring flowers into your house to bring the joy and beauty of nature into your home. If there is a sad story of chemical sprays and exploited workers behind your flowers, the joy of the flowers is diminished....for us it's more than all that scientific rational stuff, it's a celebration of everything beautiful, natural, and healthy...." I like this!
Back on my bike and heading home I coul
dn't resist stopping to admire a huge planting of white oleander bushes [at least that's what I think they are]. Just gorgeous. Don't know why I didn't bring along my little happy snap Canon...will have to from now on. You never know when you're going to find something interesting to take a photo of.
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