Happy New Year 2010!

Kayakers entering Elk Horn Slough by the sea lion dock

Sea lions at the Moss Landing dock (see below)

Vireya blooming in the cool greenhouse (as promised in first blog)

Happy New Year, one and all! While I know that legalistically the first decade of the 21st century is not over till December 31, 2010, I am happy to bid farewell to the '00s. So, may the '10s be healthy, prosperous, and full of joy and love for you all.

Northern California has been enjoying the most incredible weather the past 4 days (today it's supposed to be sunny and 64 when the fog lifts). On Sunday, January 3, Rafael and I took his sister Tracy, sister Marty, and Marty's husband Bob to Point Lobos State Reserve, which is one of the most fantastic places on the planet. The sun was shining, the temperatures were right at 60, and, yes indeed, we were lucky because the gray whale migration was in full swing. Armed with three sets of binoculars and two fancy cameras with telephoto lens, we perched on the highest point above the seal rocks, and right away I saw a spout. Unfortunately, no one else caught that one, but over the next hour and a half, Tracy actually got a photo of one, and everyone saw some spouts and backs emerging as the whales traveled south to Baja. While I was waiting at the ranger station for everyone to come back, I peered a few last times through the binoculars and even saw one lift its tail totally out of the water in preparation for a deep dive.

On the way home from Carmel we stopped in Moss Landing at a dock built for kayakers and boaters that was finished in April 2007. It was almost immediately hijacked by hundreds, yes, hundreds, of sea lions. So many pile onto it that it almost sinks under their weight when it's fully loaded down. Since it is against the law to come close to or harass them, not a single kayak or canoe has probably been launched on the pier since it was built! The Reno television news did a great video story on them recently. For some reason (safety in numbers?), usually you can spot sea otters near the dock too. Sunday there was a whole gaggle of them--or whatever groups of sea otters are called--all lounging around on their backs eating shellfish. Pretty easy to spot, since the males get four feet long and weigh up to 65 pounds. (I have to confess I did not know that they are a member of the weasel family! They most be the most beloved member of the weasel family, that's for sure.)

New Cattleya in Bloom

There's just something a bit miraculous about walking into the warm perfumed greenhouse in the middle of winter--yes, even a California winter, which is normally mild--and watching an orchid flower unfold over the 2-4 days it takes for them to come into perfection. I was worried that this cattleya wouldn't open with nice blooms as the greenhouse heater malfunctioned earlier this month and the temperature went down almost to 40. This one (Blc. Volcano Pastoral 'Volcano Queen') is from the famous Akatsuka Orchid Gardens on the slopes of the volcanoes on the Big Island. I bought it last year when we flew from Maui to the Big Island for the day so Rafael could see the latest eruption.

No trip to Volcanoes National Park (http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm) is complete without a trip to Akatsuka (and eating at the great restaurant called Thai Thai in the town of Volcano). One problem with Akatsuka is that they are so famous that they are on the tour bus schedule: huge buses pull into the parking lot and 60 tourists from each bus flood the display room. But if you're on the way to the park and love orchids, you have to stop whether there are tour buses or not. (Another reason to visit in person is that their website--http://www.akatsukaorchid.com/store/default.aspx--could use some work. They could do an incredible mail order business if they would actually list their orchids and show photos!) They do a spectacular job shipping orchids or you can have them wrap them up and take them home on the plane. (Don't worry--there's no hassle taking them on the plane except for size and carry-on restrictions.) Don't forget to grab a spectacular calendar--they're free if you buy some orchids or other items.

If you like art glass and want to watch some fantastic glass blowers, also be sure to stop at 2400 Fahrenheit Art Glass (http://www.2400f.com/), which is also close to the park. Their work is sold in the great arts and crafts store inside the park, but you can also visit the studio/gallery and watch them work and buy work there. We have three pieces, and think they are spectacular artists.

So, why is this blog called Naglee Park Gardening? Because Rafael and I have a house in Naglee Park (http://www.nagleepark.org/history/info/index), a historic section of downtown San Jose. The rough boundaries of the neighborhood are South 11th Street to the creek by William Street Park in one direction (roughly South 17th), Santa Clara Street to Freeway 280 in the other direction. There's a fantastic mix of Arts & Crafts houses built in the early 20th century alongside examples of other kinds of architecture too. I'm lucky because my house sits on a lot and a half; the half lot is all garden (from front to back: navel orange, roses, perennials, lapageria collection, vegetable garden, chicken coop). I have a small warm greenhouse (9 x 12) in the back and a cool greenhouse (17 x 17) next to it for cymbidiums, hibiscus, a lone dwarf banana, and all those plants that would freeze on the few nights the temperatures dip below freezing. The cool greenhouse just got finished on December 18, 2 nights before the temperature plummeted to 28 degrees. It had been a covered gazebo, but now it is all walled in with double-walled polycarbonate and the temps stay between 40-60 with just a little supplemental heat at night.

The tropical rhododendrons (vireya) got moved in with all the other tropical plants, and one that had been badly neglected almost immediately had two buds that opened. The picture of that one is coming in the next blog.