Succulent Succulents & an Eagle.

This past weekend, I was in San Diego. Well, the northern outskirts. Besides earthquakes, it was a good visit, and I got to see my grandmother (which was the main purpose of going).

I also got to enjoy my parent's patio, which my mother has slowly filled with interesting containers of succulents. They are delightful, and I had to get some photos of them.

I gave her this hanging pot (it's neat; if you twist it, it collapses and stores), and she's filled it with pots crammed with multi-colored plants.

The jade peeks through here, but there's also a neat purpleish plant at the bottom.
Meanwhile, on the adjacent hillside, there was a golden eagle (the blob on the far left) eating what we think was a rabbit. There are two vultures hanging out for leftovers. This, of course, prompted my dad and me to walk around, shoulders hunched (like vultures), asking each other "hey man, ya gonna eat that?" Because, that's what we figured the birds were saying across the way. And I should add, these are MASSIVE BIRDS. They're huge. Wingspan of at least 10 feet.

Back to the succulents (though I'm sure the rabbit was succulent too). I like this one for the orange color, but the green one is like a mini topiary with a thin trunk. NEAT-O.
Ok, this is a type of palm (I think it's called an elephant palm or something like that...), but it's just so darn neat with that blop at the bottom.
And, finally, the creme de la creme of the patio. It may not be a succulent, but it's DARN cool. Ready? It's a plumeria (aka frangipani). Yes, those little hawaiian flowers that are so fabulous-smelling. Somehow, they got them to grow on their patio. It's coming out of dormancy right now. In the summertime, there will be beautiful leaves and flowers.
The patio is also riddled with hummingbird feeders. In the springtime, before the little ones know they should bicker amongst themselves, my folks will sometimes get 15+ little hummingbirds at one feeder. They whizz by your head, and will even sit on your fingers if you put your hands up next to the feeder (so they can slurp down nectar as they perch). The days I was there though, there were a few controlling bully birds, so only one bird at a time. I still snuck in a photo.

Being down there makes me realize all the plants I cannot grow adequately right now. Someday, I'd love to build an atrium. I'd have to have the funds to keep it temperature controlled and to add additional light certain times of the year. But I'd love to have orchids, plumeria, and a few of the other heat-loving lush plants that don't grow easily in our area.

Speaking of which, this house is for sale near us. Ignoring that it might be in a flood plain (something I'd check out if able to be legitimately interested), it is gorgeous. There's some updating that needs to be done (kitchen, ahem!), but it has such good bones. And that area is gorgeous. So green and lush, yeararound. This is the perfect house type for us. Not a massive fixer, but not 100% updated and non-fixer either. Definitely livable during the fixing that needs to occur.