T Rees Garden Diary
@tamara-trees.bsky.social
Garden enthusiast, Graphic Artist, recording the evolving mini environment of a backyard and N. CA., mindfulness, peace, outdoors.
64F/23C - Nov 21/32 days until winter solstice. Weather has begun to turn chilly. Leaves are falling and overnight showers leave a shimmer of rain drops on garden branches. Find beauty in small things.
November 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
64F/23C - Nov 21/32 days until winter solstice. Weather has begun to turn chilly. Leaves are falling and overnight showers leave a shimmer of rain drops on garden branches. Find beauty in small things.
80F/27C, Nov 2; 25 yrs ago, knit hats, scarves and coats would appear by now. Another harvest of banana peppers with more budding. This batch will make chili sauce for tonights pozole soup because of a craving for Falls past. The fruit trees are just beginning to drop their leaves others not a leaf.
November 3, 2025 at 12:29 AM
80F/27C, Nov 2; 25 yrs ago, knit hats, scarves and coats would appear by now. Another harvest of banana peppers with more budding. This batch will make chili sauce for tonights pozole soup because of a craving for Falls past. The fruit trees are just beginning to drop their leaves others not a leaf.
75F/ 24C - (Oct 9, long covid hanging on) Bright Fall days, chatty Blue Jays and not too hot. Bees are collecting for the last honey stores. The bottle brush blooms again. The garden persists.
October 9, 2025 at 8:47 PM
75F/ 24C - (Oct 9, long covid hanging on) Bright Fall days, chatty Blue Jays and not too hot. Bees are collecting for the last honey stores. The bottle brush blooms again. The garden persists.
86F/30C - August 16, the days are getting shorter, heat bounces up and down by 5 degrees each week and my fall tomato harvest is dismal. 4 plants/ 4 green tomatoes. Will they turn red - who knows? But there is always 2026 to try again. The garden persists.
August 17, 2025 at 7:03 AM
86F/30C - August 16, the days are getting shorter, heat bounces up and down by 5 degrees each week and my fall tomato harvest is dismal. 4 plants/ 4 green tomatoes. Will they turn red - who knows? But there is always 2026 to try again. The garden persists.
80F/27C - It has been unusually cool mid-July. So many thunderstorms have passed overhead; not dropping rain but having a cooling effect. When I first moved to the valley in 1986, there would not be a single cloud from June to Sept.
July 23, 2025 at 6:47 AM
80F/27C - It has been unusually cool mid-July. So many thunderstorms have passed overhead; not dropping rain but having a cooling effect. When I first moved to the valley in 1986, there would not be a single cloud from June to Sept.
86F/ 30C, July 9 / 102F expected tomorrow - Adapting to hot days and summer Covid. Wandered into the garden and found a Baja Fairy Duster flower- first bloom since planted in the fall 2024. I remember those cool hopeful days.
July 10, 2025 at 1:46 AM
86F/ 30C, July 9 / 102F expected tomorrow - Adapting to hot days and summer Covid. Wandered into the garden and found a Baja Fairy Duster flower- first bloom since planted in the fall 2024. I remember those cool hopeful days.
94F/34C - Dead again, sigh. I’ve lost another tree. I’m not sure when it began dying. 107F? I pruned in March, careful to avoid hot weather and a water column break. It bloomed, put out leaves and died. My 4th Redbud tree death on the West side of the house. It’s just too hot there, time to adapt.
July 1, 2025 at 1:29 AM
94F/34C - Dead again, sigh. I’ve lost another tree. I’m not sure when it began dying. 107F? I pruned in March, careful to avoid hot weather and a water column break. It bloomed, put out leaves and died. My 4th Redbud tree death on the West side of the house. It’s just too hot there, time to adapt.
96F/36C
Overnight 63F/17C
Lots of pollinator activity around the squash flowers. One very frustrated carpenter bee is having trouble reaching the nectar. A face full of pollen was the reward for persistence, but she won’t give up.
Overnight 63F/17C
Lots of pollinator activity around the squash flowers. One very frustrated carpenter bee is having trouble reaching the nectar. A face full of pollen was the reward for persistence, but she won’t give up.
June 29, 2025 at 3:18 AM
96F/36C
Overnight 63F/17C
Lots of pollinator activity around the squash flowers. One very frustrated carpenter bee is having trouble reaching the nectar. A face full of pollen was the reward for persistence, but she won’t give up.
Overnight 63F/17C
Lots of pollinator activity around the squash flowers. One very frustrated carpenter bee is having trouble reaching the nectar. A face full of pollen was the reward for persistence, but she won’t give up.
93F/34C day/overnight temps are high 58F/14C. Backyard gardeners greet the day, “Hello, my pretty”, nose pointed near spiky tomato flowers, hanging from twisted fuzzy stems. Are there tomato buds today?
June 28, 2025 at 3:00 AM
93F/34C day/overnight temps are high 58F/14C. Backyard gardeners greet the day, “Hello, my pretty”, nose pointed near spiky tomato flowers, hanging from twisted fuzzy stems. Are there tomato buds today?
86F/30C - NNW 14mph. Wind hot and dry brings wild fire risk. Warnings to check defensible space for dry leaves. 3 hawks whirl overhead. Marigolds for those lost. Determined but small jumping spider holds fast.
June 22, 2025 at 8:48 PM
86F/30C - NNW 14mph. Wind hot and dry brings wild fire risk. Warnings to check defensible space for dry leaves. 3 hawks whirl overhead. Marigolds for those lost. Determined but small jumping spider holds fast.
90F/32C - Hold fast and grow. The garden persists.
June 19, 2025 at 1:45 AM
90F/32C - Hold fast and grow. The garden persists.
Cool on a plate; discard liquid: blend 1 tomato, skin, pulp with all peppers; set aside for heat control; blend other items; add hot pepper mix 1 tablespoon at a time; taste for chili level. Salsa keeps 1 week in fridge. Freeze extra pepper mix in ice cube trays. - Gracious Mama Coco y Tia Lilia.
June 16, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Cool on a plate; discard liquid: blend 1 tomato, skin, pulp with all peppers; set aside for heat control; blend other items; add hot pepper mix 1 tablespoon at a time; taste for chili level. Salsa keeps 1 week in fridge. Freeze extra pepper mix in ice cube trays. - Gracious Mama Coco y Tia Lilia.
90F/32C - Salsa day!
5 banana peppers
5 cups tomatoes of various sizes from store or garden
1/2 large yellow onion
1/3 cup large chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
tablespoon white vinegar
4 large cloves chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
How to: boil peppers and tomatoes until the skin splits;
5 banana peppers
5 cups tomatoes of various sizes from store or garden
1/2 large yellow onion
1/3 cup large chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
tablespoon white vinegar
4 large cloves chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
How to: boil peppers and tomatoes until the skin splits;
June 16, 2025 at 6:25 AM
90F/32C - Salsa day!
5 banana peppers
5 cups tomatoes of various sizes from store or garden
1/2 large yellow onion
1/3 cup large chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
tablespoon white vinegar
4 large cloves chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
How to: boil peppers and tomatoes until the skin splits;
5 banana peppers
5 cups tomatoes of various sizes from store or garden
1/2 large yellow onion
1/3 cup large chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
tablespoon white vinegar
4 large cloves chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
How to: boil peppers and tomatoes until the skin splits;
87F/31C - June 12 - 2nd Pepper harvest. No these are not too hot. Kings they are not.
June 13, 2025 at 5:04 AM
87F/31C - June 12 - 2nd Pepper harvest. No these are not too hot. Kings they are not.
94F/34C - June 4, pepper harvest has begun and the cooking possibilities are stirring.
June 5, 2025 at 2:39 PM
94F/34C - June 4, pepper harvest has begun and the cooking possibilities are stirring.
86F/30C - A bit cooler today. Brilliant orange CA poppies bloom on, visited by a tiny sweat bee weighted down by her pollen harvest. Find beauty in small things. The garden persists.
June 1, 2025 at 10:37 PM
86F/30C - A bit cooler today. Brilliant orange CA poppies bloom on, visited by a tiny sweat bee weighted down by her pollen harvest. Find beauty in small things. The garden persists.
103F/39C May 30 - First day of triple digit heat, 2025. The columbine flowers have moved from electric yellow to beige. Petals curling into fuzzy ripples around ebony seeds, the hope of new life.
May 30, 2025 at 8:03 PM
103F/39C May 30 - First day of triple digit heat, 2025. The columbine flowers have moved from electric yellow to beige. Petals curling into fuzzy ripples around ebony seeds, the hope of new life.
83F/28C - Tiny white pepper bells are now so welcome. The large banana pepper plant (3yrs old) will again provide well. Nearby another (2yrs) has half as many flowers. The other shorties have only green growth. Now if only the tomatoes could grow faster. I’m dreaming of summers first fresh salsa.
May 26, 2025 at 10:35 PM
83F/28C - Tiny white pepper bells are now so welcome. The large banana pepper plant (3yrs old) will again provide well. Nearby another (2yrs) has half as many flowers. The other shorties have only green growth. Now if only the tomatoes could grow faster. I’m dreaming of summers first fresh salsa.
81F/27C May 25 - It’s done. My vegetable garden is planted; however, after plucking crowded sprouts, replanting, and label sticks falling out, there is a mystery. Is this a beet plant or chard? Time will tell. I’ve never had beet greens. My eclectic style of gardening continues to persist.
May 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
81F/27C May 25 - It’s done. My vegetable garden is planted; however, after plucking crowded sprouts, replanting, and label sticks falling out, there is a mystery. Is this a beet plant or chard? Time will tell. I’ve never had beet greens. My eclectic style of gardening continues to persist.
83F/30C - May 20, I just planted my tomatoes seedlings after keeping them sheltered from the spring winds. Is it too late for a good summer harvest? Will the squirrels toss the fuzzy leaf babies in a heap? - Just keep swimming through sparkling red bottle brush flowers honey bees.
May 21, 2025 at 5:32 AM
83F/30C - May 20, I just planted my tomatoes seedlings after keeping them sheltered from the spring winds. Is it too late for a good summer harvest? Will the squirrels toss the fuzzy leaf babies in a heap? - Just keep swimming through sparkling red bottle brush flowers honey bees.
85F/28C - It has been blustery and unsettled this week. Unusual fast thunderstorms then gone. Red squirrels are enjoying the green nectarines but the tree is large enough that plenty will be left on the outer branches. The discarded fruit will need to be cleaned up before it rots.
May 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
85F/28C - It has been blustery and unsettled this week. Unusual fast thunderstorms then gone. Red squirrels are enjoying the green nectarines but the tree is large enough that plenty will be left on the outer branches. The discarded fruit will need to be cleaned up before it rots.
May 10; 94F/ 33C - Hatchling poults hiding in a curb sprout of grasses pop out at the hen turkeys call. I try to be bird friendly, clean bird bath, acorns, insects, shade for some shelter from the heat, but no commercial corn feed to bring too many species together, since bird flu is in the area.
May 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
May 10; 94F/ 33C - Hatchling poults hiding in a curb sprout of grasses pop out at the hen turkeys call. I try to be bird friendly, clean bird bath, acorns, insects, shade for some shelter from the heat, but no commercial corn feed to bring too many species together, since bird flu is in the area.
74F/23C - The tomato plant has been grown by people for 9000 years or about 300 lifetimes. Each person carefully sheltering the seed from the cold of winter, or disasters of history, waiting for the warming spring to plant. A small dry circle, given soil, water and light, grows and persists.
May 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
74F/23C - The tomato plant has been grown by people for 9000 years or about 300 lifetimes. Each person carefully sheltering the seed from the cold of winter, or disasters of history, waiting for the warming spring to plant. A small dry circle, given soil, water and light, grows and persists.
84F/31C - Sleek streamlined fellow, racing stripes and elegant long antenna, seems cool, until he begins eating holes in so many leaves and leaving a path of destruction throughout the garden. I miss the fuzzy black jumping spiders that used to pop up everywhere.
May 1, 2025 at 6:43 AM
84F/31C - Sleek streamlined fellow, racing stripes and elegant long antenna, seems cool, until he begins eating holes in so many leaves and leaving a path of destruction throughout the garden. I miss the fuzzy black jumping spiders that used to pop up everywhere.
47F / 8C, Late afternoon I found a tiny mining bee, shiny black, yellow tufts of hair, aqua oval eyes, clear black veined wings folded, thin legs holding steadfast to a flower petal. By sunset, she had moved down the petal to sleep in the flower center. Life in the garden persists.
April 26, 2025 at 11:02 PM
47F / 8C, Late afternoon I found a tiny mining bee, shiny black, yellow tufts of hair, aqua oval eyes, clear black veined wings folded, thin legs holding steadfast to a flower petal. By sunset, she had moved down the petal to sleep in the flower center. Life in the garden persists.