#jacarandas were planted all around the city | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

archesa · 2 years

Note

💙💚💌 for Anwen?

Thanks so much for the asks!! 🥰 I'm so very fond of sharing these pieces of HC with y'all ❤️

💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around? Oh the heartache! After nearly losing him, Anwen has so much separation anxiety -- it’s not crippling but it’s definitely painful... They’ve had almost a year to heal and rest, before the world called onto the Commander under the guise of a friendly letter, soon followed by a cataclysmic explosion, the disappearance of yet another precious friend and the news of the awakening of not one but two Elder Dragons! For these, Anwen consoled herself with the thought that Trahearne was safe in Caer Aval, almost as far as physically possible from the Bloodstone, Primordius and Jormag! But after her meeting with Braham in Bitterfrost Frontier, the harsh words they had exchanged, his cruel accusations against her role in Eir’s death, she had enough! She headed back to Caer Aval the very next day -- after a brief but necessary passage by Rata Novus -- and stayed there desperate for quiet and a loving presence, before the Queen’s convocation once again called her to action. Trahearne decided to accompany her, under the guise of needing a few books from the Royal Library, and stay with her in Divinity’s Reach for as long as royal affairs needed her.

He was in town when the White Mantle bombarded the city *. You can imagine Anwen’s terror -- the Mantle everywhere, infiltrated amongst the ministers, the Queen threatened, the city under attack, its outter ramparts all-but-crumbled, fire raining upon them, and Trahearne once again thrown in the fray. He was unharmed in the attack, but that was the last straw for Anwen, who vowed to eradicate the White Mantle, for everything they had already taken from her, the threat they posed, and what she could not afford to lose. (*and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten in the story yet, so no spoil for The Head of the Snake and what comes next please ^^!)

Apart from these fits of panic, her separation anxiety has had one unexpectedly positive side effect - she’s become more prudent. Anwen’s quite thoughtful when it comes to battle -- and quite indestructible, encased in her heavy armour, dancing with her blades and her long-time companion and protector, Meryw (i’ll introduce y’all to Meryw soon!) having her back -- but if the prospect of losing Trahearne ever again is agonizing to even think about, she certainly won’t allow herself to inflict such pain onto him by getting killed on the battlefield!

💚 GREEN HEART - what things make your oc feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food? There’s no place like home. And home is where the heart is. Be it a gilded alcove curtained with jacaranda in the depths of the jungle, or a richly decorated krytian manor, if she’s in good company, if her loved ones are safe, she’s happy. But that doesn’t mean she’s one to shun from more earthly pleasures. The sight of a fire in the hearth, and the scent of spiced wine and warm cider always fill her heart with warmth. Sitting on a blanket, under the stars in her garden, sweets and wine close at hand, and good coversation at heart. Feeling the earth under her fingers, and the scent of petrichor when she tends to the plants of Caer Aval -- the joy she had felt when the first bush she had planted bore its first blossoms still sending sparks in her heart. Getting to lie down next to Trahearne every night - nuzzling against his back, her head in the crook of his neck, falling asleep to the scent of mint and mulberry of his leaves.

💌 LOVE LETTER - do they like love letters? what kind of messages do they leave for their partner?

When they were just friends, it would be packages containing things she knew he wanted or needed but would probably not be able or willing to get for himself. A box of that tea they had shared at the Priory - a recipe jealously kept by Seymur Oxbone - books borrowed from the Reach's libraries, ink of that specific kind and colour he wrote his research notes in because it would not smudge even in the humidity, and stood more sharply on parchment in dim lighting.

In the two years they spent apart after the defeat of Zaithan, she wrote him countless letters, keeping him posted of what she did, of her doubts and enthusiasm, of how she wished he could be there, of how she would visit Caer Aval soon and could not be more impatient to hear about him, about the restoration of Orr, about what new piece of lore - inaccessible till now with the influence of the dragon receding and the undead finally getting rest - he was studying lately. The time never seemed right so she never sent any.

Now that they’re together; she’s seamlessly slipped back in the habit of leaving small attentions for him -- a few words scribbled in the margin of his research notebooks, reminding him that if he reached that far into his blank pages, he ought to go to sleep ; a billet folded under a warm cup of tea on their nightstand for the mornings he spends in bed -- and decided that she would not let her letters remain unsent when she was away.

So Trahearne receives a constant flow of small, unfinished missives, written in the heat of the moment, sketches of places she’s visited and wishes to take him to when they’ll be able to travel more, long heartfelt letters with flowers pressed into the enveloppe and small packages attached -- constant surprises that could either contain delicacies from abroad, shiny trophies collected in her explorations, or strange specimens she thought he’d like to take a look at (she’s always right!).

#archesa answers #anwen evergreen #trammander #trahearne lives au #trahearne lives au!commander

4 notes · View notes

whimsicaldragonette · 2 years

Text

ARC Review: Loteria by Karla Valenti

Order

Add to Goodreads

Publishing Date: September 7, 2021

Synopsis:

Acclaimed author Karla Arenas Valenti weaves an adventure steeped in magic and mythology, exploring the notion of free will in a world where fate holds all the cards. *** It is the hottest hour of the hottest day in Oaxaca City when Life and Death walk into town, ready to begin a new game of Lotería. But first, they need a pawn, a child whose fate will be determined by the winner of the game: a long and prosperous life or an untimely death. Fate finds this child in a robin-egg blue house, tucked beneath a massive jacaranda tree. And so, the game begins. Every card reveals a new twist in Clara's fate: a tree, a scorpion, a fateful arrow, a mermaid, a deer, a treacherous rose. But Clara knows none of this. All she knows is that her cousin Esteban has vanished, and she’ll do whatever it takes to save him, traveling to the mythical Kingdom of Las Pozas in her search. And although it seems her fate was sealed as soon as the cards were dealt, Clara just might have what it takes to shatter the game and choose a new path.

My Review:

★★★★★

This book was SO GOOD. I was expecting a magical middle grade adventure and it was, but it was also surprisingly dark. Like. I would not give this to a young or sensitive kid unless you're prepared for a lot of tears and possible nightmares. I even cried at the end. It was beautiful, and the darkness only enhanced that beauty.

It was also not focused solely on the kids as I expected. The story revolves around Clara, who is around middle-school age, and Esteban, who is 8, but also focuses on Life and Catrina (Death) who are immortal adults.

The illustrations were lovely and I enjoyed seeing some of the scenes that were described. Which brings me to the descriptions: they were lush and beautiful and made me feel like I was transported to the setting of the book. So many of the foods and plants and other details were unfamiliar to me, but they were described so well I felt I could almost taste and see them.

I also really enjoyed the book-long debate between Life and Catarina about whether anyone had choices / free will or if everything in life was predetermined, and how the story flowed around that framework and offered evidence for both sides.

Highly recommend.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing an e-arc for review.

#loteria #karla valenti #netgalley #magical realism #middle grade #arc review #shilo reads

3 notes · View notes

adaruthless-blog · 5 years

Text

In September my daughter and I started a vegetable garden, on the left and now is November and we are harvesting every day our fresh vegetables and even some fruit like strawberries, need to plant more, they are doing really great!

This garden has brought so much joy to us! Everyday we watch the stuff growing! We pull the weeds out, dig the soil, plant more, replant, have already extended and have plans for the next season. Our skin is brown, sun drenched. Some say ‘ gosh, have you been on a holiday?’ No, in my veggie garden. It is like an oasis. This garden has heeling powers, it brings back pride and future, it closes wounds and makes me grow at the same time. A veggie garden nurtures the soul. When I look up over the wall into the distance I get a glimpse of Joburg with its hustle and notorious fighting for survival of the fittest. There is no fighting in my garden, each plant gets sun, water and good soil to prosper in. Strange that this city is unable to provide the same equally for everyone out there. Do we really need to live on the back of each other?

Anyhow, where the water feature is now a huge 70 year old Jacaranda tree used to grow. It always looks romantic having an old house framed by a huge tree, but believe me nothing grew under it not even lawn, we watered and watered, but not the bushes and lawn benefited - the tree suck it all up! And then dropped the flowers for 6 weeks long, then dropped the stems of the flowers for the following 3 weeks, eventually grew leaves also on long stems with plenty of fingers and each finger having more than 100 tiny leaves just to mess around a bit- for instance dropping into the air vents of an aircon of a car, or on to windscreen wipers , or blocking the drains of the outside wastes, Jacaranda trees are to any house and pool owner a horror. And for garden owners anyhow, the shade, the foliage, the dry sucking! So the tree had to go! A tree felling team felled it for 2 weeks long. The roots in the middle are deep but branching out on the surface like a spider network. When we started the design of a half circle with pathways within the vegetable beds and dig up the soil we had to notice that everywhere were roots, 10 to 20 cm below the surface in a radius of 15 meters. It was a costly operation. After a altogether 6 weeks the vegetable beds were ready for planting, the irrigation system in place, connected with a timer and a double valve to the tap. Trellises up the wall, a little wooden farm fence to keep the dogs out and then the planting started!!!

I don’t have a particular green finger!

My daughter has. A project like this does bring one together and holds one together, not that I want to bind my daughter to me unnecessarily. No I want her to be free and independent and explore the world, the neighborhood, the nightlife, clubs and various scenes around us. I at her age had my own flat, lived my own life, drove all the way to France all by myself without my parents even knowing about it, got nearly raped on a camping ground, fended the dirty guy off kicked him in the ass and that was all...I forgot about him. South Africa is different. One needs a close network of relatives, of friends, to group up to be able to visit places or go to parties. We don’t have that, we are a mix of expats, foreigners, immigrants. So in other words we try to find our roots in the soil if we haven’t got them with people.

The plants make us local. The security hut on the way up to the Koppie where we take the dogs for a walk has a little veggie patch next to it, spinach, beetroot, kale and onions! Wise mixture!

Our mixture is a bit crazy. When I start adding up it eould a list of one hundred words at least. It’s easy to get this type of variety, just think of all the herbs! Chives are a must, cottage cheese on a slice of Rye bread with lots of freshly cut chives is a great lunch, and one can add to it leaves of Rocket and lettuce, tomatoes basil.

The bush beans were very easy to grow and quick to harvest! Delicious! I just throw them in boiling water for not even5 minutes and add them to salads.

George, my daughter, has come up with the plan to replant just before harvest the same crop again, so that we never run out. This year we are spending a lot of money on this garden, but I think we will get it right and grow from seeds! Some people are lucky, in their garden the seeds start growing straight from the bed, not yet in our garden. We have to do the trays first and then separate into the beds. Yesterday I planted the carrots into their destined spaces! In the evening I saw that they had taken! And early this morning it was confirmed by their strong ooks.

1 note · View note

thestraggletag · 6 years

Text

La Chacarita, a Rumbelle Revelry Fic

Rating: PG

Word Count: 4,557

Summary: The closer we are to the dead, the closer we are to Death.

Prompt Used: Being Hunted.

A/N: The story is based on an actual urban legend here in Buenos Aires. It is so particular to here and to what really makes Chacarita so... unique that I couldn’t really set it elsewhere. It’s been great getting to write something set in my home city and I tried to give it a Buenos Aires feel without hitting you over the head with references 24/7. Enjoy!

For visuals to help with the story go here.

The weather was the worst of it. Hot and humid to the point that he'd been forced to retire his waistcoats and pull out his less-used suits with more breathable, less weighty fabric but an easy-to-crease finish. He outright refused to wear linen, clinging to cotton instead, but it was unpleasant nevertheless. The heat wasn't a problem as much as the humidity was, an ever-permanent fixture of the city. The people were overly-friendly, knowing little about personal space. Every new person he met, however fleetingly, he was expected to kiss on the cheek, never mind he'd barely touched another human being for years. They drove like mad people, though pedestrians seemed to manage around that fact just fine, and every fucking day there was some sort of street protest that made navigating the city at all an impossible matter. Buenos Aires was, in Gold's opinion, a fucking nightmare. And yet Neal had loved it enough to relocate his entire life there. And to specify he wanted to be buried there, instead of being shipped back to Storybrooke... to him.

They had parted in such bad terms. He'd never forget the look on Neal's face, not of anger but of disappointment. Their relationship had always been strained ever since he'd gone away to college, and gotten the first glimpse of the big, big world. Suddenly Storybrooke wasn't enough, and going back home for the holidays became stifling. The moment he'd graduated he'd gotten work as a photographer in New York and hadn't looked back. He'd been angry at first, resentful of the easiness with which Neal had turned his back on him. Later he'd grown remorseful of having pushed Neal away in his resentment, but by that time their relationship was forever strained. After some years of nothing but tense holiday phone-calls and the occasional text Neal had reached out and Gold thought it was the beginning of something better.

But then Neal had told him of his plan to travel and work his way through the world and he'd grown mad. Livid, even. Neal hadn't gotten angry, as it was usually the case with one of his spats, but he had quietly told him that he couldn't stay put forever. Didn't want to live scared of the world like him.

It was like hearing Milah all those years ago, spitefully calling him a coward. Only it was his son, who used to look up to him so, saying it with quiet disappointment.

After that there had been radio silence for a couple of years. He followed his blog avidly, reading about his travels in Asia and Central America before he seemed to settle down in Montevideo and, later, Buenos Aires. And he made the city look good, with its mixture of French and Italian architecture and its sunny weather. A few months later, when he'd called, he'd been ecstatic. Neal had urged him to fly to Argentina, to take a long-overdue vacation. And though he hadn't said no he'd kept postponing it, never quite booking a flight.

And then Neal had died.

He hadn't known he was sick, hadn't known anything until a friend of his had e-mailed him with the news of his death and burial. After a night of drinking and crying he'd turned his grief into action and tried to get the body back to the US, to bury him at the local cemetery where he'd always be able to take care of the gravestone and the memories. But Neal had left an airtight will and specific, recorded instructions regarding his burial. And for some reason he'd wanted to be laid to rest at the other end of the world... that, Gold thought, was a reflection of how much his son hated him.

He was quick to set everything up with his lawyers and accountant for an extended leave from the US, getting into contact with a reliable Argentine firm to handle his taking possession of Neal's things. He'd been renting an apartment in a trendy neighbourhood called Palermo, near the Botanical Gardens, which appeared often on his blog. He toyed with the idea of staying in the apartment, which was apparently paid till the end of November, but thought it'd be too much, choosing instead to book a nice suite at the Marriott-Plaza, in the posh Retiro, overlooking the sprawling mass that was Plaza San Martín. He had to admit the city was bursting at the seams with green, the kind he'd seldom seen before. Plant life sprouted from every nook and cranny, the street lined with trees. He'd arrived in time to see an event his son had documented in detail: the flowering of jacaranda trees, which lost all their leaves to make room for what seemed like thousands upon thousands of small, bell-shaped lavender flowers, that ended up forming a purple carpet on the sidewalks and streets. It was beautiful, heat and humidity and all, but it rankled at him. Beauty and cheer seemed out of place for what he'd come to Buenos Aires to do, put his son's affairs in order and ship what remained of him to the States. He'd decided he'd pick some personal belongings, put them in a coffin and bury them and Storybrooke Cemetery so he'd have a place to go to, something to visit.

Stepping into his son's apartment was hard. It was full of him, of his personality and quirks. Deciding what to keep and what to donate occupied most of his time, and it was when he was trying to decide what to do with the potted plants on the balcony that he met Neal's neighbour, Belle French. At first it was the delicious luxury of speaking to someone in fluent English that drawn him in- most Argentinians spoke it, thankfully, but their choppy, Italian-sounding accent grated on his nerves, reminded him of where he was and why he was there. Belle French had a charming Australian lilt, a mixture between posh British and something wild, and had been in Buenos Aires for a few years. She was a bit younger than him, in her early forties probably, with brown hair and startling blue eyes. She had a soft yet pushy way about her, and had introduced herself immediately upon spotting him in the balcony, acting like she'd somehow been expecting him. She'd completely disregarded his social awkwardness, immediately inviting him to her apartment for a cup of tea- tea, good tea, was hard to come by in a city of coffee lovers, but Miss French told him of a gem in Avenida Corrientes called El Gato Negro, whose loose tea, he had to admit, was exquisite- and some medialunas- and God, were medialunas good.

From then on, she'd been a staple of his days, sometimes the only person he held a conversation with all day. He knew of her before, of course. Neal had mentioned her often, in her blog and in conversations, to the point that he'd at first thought that he'd harboured a bit of a crush for her. Later he'd started dating a rather stunning blond and so he'd dismissed his original impression.

But it was clear Belle and Neal had been close, from how she talked about him. And as a different picture began to form itself in his head Gold grew resentful and angry. She'd acted as a sort of a guide for Neal, and later on the implication was that she became a sort of mother-figure, a parent to the still-young Neal. Other than Neal's girlfriend, a close-lipped American who seemed reluctant to tell him anything about his boy's last few months, Belle was the only source of information he had about Neal in Buenos Aires excluding his blog, and she seemed both willing and able to help with the details regarding dealing with Neal's will and his personal belongings. There was an air of loss about her that he found both comforting and insulting, a part of him feeling he ought to be to only one mourning Neal in any meaningful way. He had raised him, had thrown his childhood birthday parties, had walked him to school on his first day, had sat by his bedside whenever he'd been sick...

Only that last part wasn't entirely true. Only Belle French had been the one to sit by his bedside the last time, the most meaningful one. She'd shared with him of his son's last days, of the peace that had seemed to envelop him and he'd hated and loved her for telling him, for knowing he needed to hear it.

She became so indispensable to his efforts, and so vital in the way she could account for Neal's last days and could help him navigate everyday life in Buenos Aires that as much as he wanted to push her away he didn't. Or so he told himself every time he sat down in her living-room- or was it a library? Every room in her home seemed like a library- listening to her tell him about her happenings at her job in the AACI library, funny anecdotes about Neal or sometimes more hard-to-swallow details about his illness. She'd always break out some of the nicer patisserie treats when he enquired about his son's last days, as if she sought to soften the blow with cañoncitos and masas finas. And then, whenever he found himself lowering his defences, whenever he seemed too tired to hold on to the inexplicable, unreasonable animosity he felt towards her, she'd say something about Neal, pointing out a preferred masita, a particular taste or habit he'd acquired in Buenos Aires, and he'd retreat instantly, anger coiling again in his gut.

His attraction to her, rather than lessen the dark turn of his thoughts, seemed to enhance it. The way he sometimes caught himself staring at her hair, the way it softened her rather sharp features and contrasted with her eyes, the way he got a little thrill every time she smiled or chuckled at one of his rather dark jokes, it all seemed to only make him angrier at her, more resentful. Neal was his ghost to mourn, his child to grieve, and yet Belle spoke of him as if he was her own too, as if she'd gotten to know what being a parent was like in the measly time she'd shared with Neal as an adult. It didn't work that way, it didn't. For better or worse Gold was Neal's parent, irreplaceable and definite.

He hadn't planned on telling her so, had remained resolute to keep it to himself. And it was strange how he found himself breaking that resolution not in a moment of anger but in a moment of strange tenderness. Belle had offered to show him some pictures Neal had sent to her via WhatsApp, pictures he'd never seen before, and had left for a moment to use the bathroom. Gold, guiltily, had scrolled down the conversation, eager for one more glimpse of Neal's personality, his easy-going nature. And there he'd noticed that Neal called Belle "Mama". And though he knew, he knew, it was likely some sort of inside joke, some horrible, petty part of him roared awake.

What had followed after that felt like a bad dream. He'd cut right into Belle, into what his manipulating, scheming nature had noticed. He'd torn into every weakness, had used every bit of his abilities to forcefully push her away, rip her from whatever place she'd attached herself to, somehow.

"He was my family, mine. Yours is long dead but this is my pain to suffer, my loss. I'm sorry you're alone in the world, dearie, but you had no right to take advantage of my son's nature and weasel your way into a family."

The moment he said it he knew that he'd gone too far, that he'd crossed a horrible line out of fear. Belle's face had gone completely blank in a way that was unnatural in someone so expressive. She had then calmly taken her phone from him, told him she'd see him to the cemetery when he was ready and walked out. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of her since then and tried to tell himself it was for the best, in the end. He'd stayed too long in Buenos Aires, had lingered too long where the memory of his boy's last days was. He needed to say goodbye, a proper goodbye, and be gone.

La Chacarita could not be avoided any longer.

The neo-classical entrance was a pale pink, washed out by the sun and turned into an almost peachy colour. He was almost sure that, like all other old buildings, it had originally been painted with a mixture of blood and lime, but it seemed more than a bit tacky to have done so to a cemetery entrance. The cemetery itself had apparently been created in a rush to house the remains of victims of the 1871 yellow fever epidemic. Unlike its posh counterpart, La Recoleta Cemetery, La Chacarita was... rawer, far less polished. There was an air of pathetic decay about it even if it was well-kept by the city. Some pantheons were veritable works of art and others were old, dilapidated mausoleums crammed together into diminutive, spectral cities of tombs. But by far the most garish sight was that of the "nichos", veritable walls of tombs, small squares with nothing but a plaque to identify the remains. Some looked clean, with small flower arrangements attached, while others looked abandoned and some of them were smashed open, the corpses, hopefully, long removed.

When Belle turned towards one of the sunnier, neater parts of the cemetery he sighed in relief, knowing that seeing his son's name in one of those ghastly niches would have broken him. He'd bought a rather large flower arrangement, a bright collection of chrysanthemums, and he made a big deal of arranging them in the vase he'd brought with them, after Belle managed to find a tap to fill it up. The quiet of the moment unnerved him. Belle was naturally prone to chatter, or to in some way communicate, whether with her body language or otherwise, but she remained closed off from him, either smarting from their fight or giving him what she thought he wanted. What he'd thought he wanted.

It made it real, seeing Neal's grave. It was nice and modest and his name was spelt correctly. It was also heavily decorated with polaroid stills, drawings and posts its with final messages, all the marks of someone who'd been well-loved. And that reminder of how social and outgoing Neal had been, how different from him, warmed him a bit.

After a while Belle left his side, though he knew she was hanging around. It gave him the opportunity to whisper all his regrets into the still-fresh soil of his son's grave, tell him of all his mistakes and how sorry he was. He talked until he was hoarse, until he could not think of anything left to say. After years of pauses and silences he'd finally been allowed to say his peace.

But Neal would never get to say his.

It felt like a job half-done, like he'd almost had that one last conversation with his son, but not at the same time.

At some point Belle came back to his side, and he could tell without much looking at her that she'd soften towards him. He must have looked downright pitiful, the way he'd been bawling his eyes out and kneeling all day, making his limps heavier than ever before. He didn't begrudge her support when she leant it, though he resented her better nature. It was darker than he'd imagined it'd be, and the outside of the cemetery was deserted but for a newspaper stand in which an old couple drank mate. It took the longest time to see any signs of a taxi, even though the crossroads of Avenida Corrientes and Federico Lacroze was one of the popular exists to the cemetery, and they'd almost given up when one appeared as if of nowhere. Usually taxis in the city were new-but-not-much Renault models, with some Peugeots scattered about, but this one was an old Ford Falcon, kept in rather pristine condition. Though it sported a taxi medallion it did not have one of the tell-tale signs that indicated it belonged to a radio-taxi company and he'd been advised to avoid such for fear of robbery. But it was late and the taxi driver looked old, thin and tame and stared fixatedly at him when he pulled up instead of shying away from possible future recognition.

"No, señor, no, no ese taxi. José, José, paralos, por Dios!"

The lady in the newspaper stand seemed to be pitching a fit as they pulled out of the street, calling for her now-absent male companion as if there was some sort of emergency. Everyone shouted in Buenos Aires, for the stupidest sort of reasons. It was a loud city full of crass, loud people. And now that he'd visited his boy he could finally make plans to leave. He hadn't gotten around doing a lot of the things he'd read about on Bae's blog, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He felt... empty. Casting a furtive look to Belle on the other side of the backseat he saw she'd closed her eyes and was apparently trying to sleep. He'd run himself ragged the past few weeks seeing to Neal's things but so had she, every day for weeks after work. And he'd thanked her by reminding her that she had no family to call her own. By taking Neal away from her.

An uncomfortable wave of guilt washed over him, making him squirm. To busy himself he buttoned his suit jacket up, feeling cold creeping into his very bones. For an old Ford Falcon the AC system was state of the line, silent enough that he couldn't pick up on it and dreadfully good at lowering the inner temperature of the cab. He stared out the window at what looked like an almost deserted street, few cars passing them by, getting the strangest urge to fall asleep.

A glance at the sideview mirror on his side, though, caught his attention and woke him up: amid the sleek, usually grey- Argentinian's cars were all diverse shades... of grey- cars there was a smaller, older model, speeding down the street at an amazing, chaotic sort of speed, its lights flashing. A feeling of dread came over him, especially as the cab began to take turns only for the car to follow along, reckless as ever. At some point it began to honk, and fully-fledged fear took over Mr Gold. His harsh childhood and difficult adolescence had geared in him a survival instinct, the ability to sense danger on a deep, primal level. And it had never flared before quite like it was then.

"Belle, I'm sorry, but could you tell the driver... Belle?"

He first noticed one streak of grey hair, then another, until he counted at least five. The change to her fully-brown hair was so stark he didn't notice at first how pale she looked, and how gaunt. When he raised a trembling hand to touch her the skin beneath the pads of his fingers felt icy-cold. He tried shaking her but she didn't wake up or even stir. In a panicky half-English-half-Spanish he told the driver to get to the nearest hospital and though he got no reply the taxi began to go faster and seemed to change course. A quick glance back at the window, though, let him know the other car was still following them, having almost caught up to the backseat window. It was a beaten-up yellow Bug, the kind that he hadn't seen in years. Its colour was faded and looking directly at it made it seem blurry. The driver was a young man with shaggy hair and...

"Papa! Papa! Get out!"

It was Neal.

He wanted to talk, to shout and bang the window and tell the taxi driver to stop but it felt as if someone had drained the vitality out of him. Glancing at his reflecting in the window made him aware he, like Belle, was deathly pale, and gaunt.

"Papa, get Belle and get out of the cab! Jump out!"

Hearing his son panicking jolted Gold into action. A quick look at the rear-view mirror showed him what, for some reason, he'd not noticed till then: the cab driver was almost skeletal in appearance, eyes wide and black and skin tight against his bones. Whatever it was it didn't seem like it planned on slowing down, so he gathered his courage, unlocked the door on his side and held on to Belle, throwing himself and her out of the moving vehicle with as much care as possible. Even so the impact stole the air from his lungs, and all the strength he had left, leaving him with only enough to roll them both towards the safety of the sidewalk. A sharp glance around showed no sign of the taxi or the Yellow Bug, and it was only then that Gold allowed exhaustion to overtake him.

When he next opened his eyes, Belle was staring down at him, one of her hands gently combing his hair back. She looked pale still, but awake and smiling at him, relieved. With a bit of effort, having left his cane on the taxi, they got themselves on their feet, realising that, for some reason, the taxi had lead them back to the cemetery. It only took them a few steps to encounter the old couple in the newsstand again and the woman rushed to their side as soon as she saw them, shouting in Spanish and herding them towards where the older man was. He looked relieved and friendly enough, vacating his chair for Gold just as the old woman gently sat Belle down in hers. They said much, though most was lost on him. Belle listened, though, and slowly began to give him an idea of what the couple was saying.

"They tried to warn us about the taxi, apparently. It's... it's notorious here in Chacarita. Takes people from the cemetery, drives them around, and the next morning they're dead on the grave of whoever they were visiting. The cab... it senses... grief? It's attracted to it, somehow. They're surprised we're alive."

The couple shoved small glasses of a brown liquid smelling strongly of herbs in their hands. A sip told him it was Fernet, and though he hated it with as much passion as the Argies seemed to love it he had to admit it did a wonderful job of warming him up and soothing him. Belle sipped gently at hers, still intent on whatever the couple was saying.

"They want to know how we escaped... How did we? How did you know, how did you not fall asleep?"

Slowly, brokenly, he told her about what he'd seen. Told her of the yellow Bug, and Neal shouting for them to get out of the cab. When Belle went to hold his hand, he grabbed tight to hers, surprised when he noticed telling her about seeing Neal hadn't left him as raw and exposed as he'd feared. It was different with her, different for reasons he'd been trying hard to rage against. With his permission, she told the old couple, who seemed to nod wisely, as if unsurprised by the notion.

"Los de La Chacarita cuidan de los suyos. Su hijo debió haberlo querido mucho para poder manifestarse como lo hizo."

Belle's eyes went soft as she translated.

"She said the people from the Chacarita Cemetery... they look after their own. She said that your son must have loved you very much, to be able to manifest like he did. And he did. He told me so over and over, I want you to know that."

He managed a tremulous whisper of a smile at that.

"He was such a loving boy, always. I'm sorry for wanting to jealously keep it all to myself. I'm glad he knew you, I'm glad he loved you. And how could he not?"

Whether it was the near-death experience or the ghostly apparition of his son come to save him, something felt like it had changed on a fundamental level. He felt... freer than he had in a while, daring and open. The old couple fussed over them good-naturedly, showing the classical Argentine dislike for space that this time he found comforting. When they felt healthy enough they called a radio-taxi, checking twice to see that the cab driver looked normal and the taxi itself did as well. Gold gave the old man directions and for a while there was comfortable silence in the backseat, only interrupted once when Gold inhale deeply at having Belle's hand sneak into his and hold tight. He wondered again about all the times Neal had mentioned Belle, how he'd talked about her quirky humour, her love of books and antiques and her good looks and a new, funny idea occurred to him: Neal was playing matchmaker. And though of course it seemed to him utter foolishness to think someone like Belle would ever look his way he couldn't deny the way she looked at him sometimes, as if she wanted to explore him all over. With a sign such as that it felt almost easy to be brave for a change.

"There's a lovely ice-cream shop near my hotel, Rapanui. It's open until ungodly hours, and I think we could both use some sugar in our systems. Would you... I mean, would you let me treat you?"

Belle's smile was radiant, though it turned a bit shy as she tucked a few locks of hair behind her ear.

"I'd be happy to, if you don't mind being seen with an old lady. I will have to start researching hair dyes, though it certainly beats the alternative."

In for a penny, in for a pound, Gold traced some of the silver streaks, pleased when she seemed to lean into the touch.

"I rather like them, myself. They suit you."

He'd tell her so again over ice-cream, and in the days to follow. And she would finally believe him one night while out on the balcony of his hotel suite, him wearing a bathrobe and her the bedsheets, looking a bit like some untouchable Greek goddess. And below them the city would be noisy and bright and strangely beautiful, and they'd talk about buying seasonal tickets for El Colón and doing Gallery Nights on Friday, and Gold would tuck away the secret of having looked into the paperwork involved in staying in Argentina. Retiro had a sprawling, thriving antiques business, the food was heavenly and he'd begun to take Spanish lessons. The World Cup was fast approaching and as a true Scotsman he'd grown up rooting for whoever England hated the most, which usually meant Argentina. It was a horrible place, but it was also wonderful and he had lots of things from Neal's list still pending.

He still had a lot of life to live. Death would have to drive around the city and wait.

#rumbelle revelry #rumbelle #rumbelle fic #La Chacarita

43 notes · View notes

ndowne · 4 years

Text

Hayes Valley trees

Department of public works have a proposed replacement plan you might like to see:

http://bit.ly/tree-plan-hayes-valley

In short, lots of lovely flowering trees that support local ecology like birds, bees and butterflies and evergreen trees to continuously scrub toxins out of the air and improve our air quality all year round.

Any questions or comments please email Susan Cieutat susan AT sfdonors.com

Some background

Hi all! You will likely by now have heard about or seen some trees coming down in the neighbourhood. These were Ficus trees that the city wanted to remove because of concerns about branch failures on some of the larger trees.

Info as to why they plan to do this here:

https://sfpublicworks.org/ficustrees

Tons of people either emailed or showed up at the initial protest hearing and voiced their opinions, so thanks to everyone who did that! Susan Cieutat and Josh Klipp filed official appeals after that and more people turned up in support, overall nearly a hundred people have taken part in this process! It’s been a really great turn out.

Why did we protest

The main things being protested were:

SF has one of the worst urban canopies of any city in the United States, a blanket rule to remove all ficus trees all in a short space of time would exacerbate matters.

Lots of little trees planted as replacements in our neighbourhood have been vandalised and have died, we wanted to give the replacements as big of a chance as we could.

We wanted to keep as many non-dangerous mature trees as we could for shade with climate change and increasing local temperatures and for carbon sequestration to fight climate change.

To have removals take place with minimal impact to the local wildlife of birds and bats. And for replacement trees to have ecological benefits for those species. San Francisco is part of the incredibly important great Pacific Flyway where lots of birds use our urban canopy as a stopover on the long migrations North and south.

To get planting replacement trees committed to and have community input into this.

What happened as a result

It’s been a long year or so of discussions, protests and appeals and we wanted to update you on how things went through both the initial community protest and the appeals process.

The initial proposal by the Department of Public Works (DPW) was for 39 trees to be removed, the protests of the community were heard and the Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF is a Department of DPW) went back and looked again at the individual trees and decided we could keep some by heavily pruning them. As a result we are only loosing 28 - there may be plans to remove more in five or so years but that will be a separate proposal later down the line. - This is a 30% reduction in the amount of trees scheduled for removal, a significant slowdown in the reduction of our urban canopy.

A passionate appeal by Jacky led to her favourite tree outside what used to be Cafe La Vie, being one of the ones saved.

With regards for replacement trees, the mandate from the board of appeals was to have a planting plan in place that had community input, before removal of the trees. While this didn’t happen exactly because of a request from hvna to speed up the removal process in advance of eateries re-opening, there is a plan in rough formation now. And thanks to everyone who filled out the survey on replacement trees! (More on this in a moment)

With replacement trees we tied them to a 3 month replanting schedule from the day the tree is removed. This, by BUF/DPW standards is a super fast timeline and it also guarantees that budget is set aside for the replacements whereas it might have been lost in the shuffle and we could have ended up with no replacements.

To help the little trees get their best start in life, we got a mandate from the board of appeals that instead of the usual small 15 gallon trees this had to be increased to a 24” box, which represents a few more years of growth and hopefully more robust trees!

There is budget set aside as a commitment to watering the replacements for 3 years which should be enough to establish them such that they can support themselves.

BUF have been planting up some of the empty basins in the neighbourhood and are continuing to plant more and considering the possibility of making more basins.

Tree replacement plan

Thanks again to everyone who filled in the survey Josh posted in this fb group and John Nulty sent out on his mailing list. There were over 60 respondents!

The most asked for tree was the Jacaranda tree. After that magnolias were popular and overall a strong preference for flowering trees.

(While a few people in the comments section requested Cherry blossom, it has been observed by BUF that they don’t grow well in San Francisco as a street tree, have a look at the ones in Japan Town, they are old but still very tiny)

There was a preference toward evergreen trees over deciduous with a preference toward clumps of the same tree on a street. (Deciduous means they drop their leaves seasonally and evergreen means they keep their leaves all year round)

Evergreen trees are great because they filter the air all year round, scrubbing the air and improving our air quality!

With replacements BUF is limited to what is available in the larger 24” box size and they have been working very hard and diligently in trying to meet the desires of the neighbourhood from the survey, health considerations for the tree, availability of trees in the nursery and the requirements of the individual basins (for example choosing shorter trees under power / muni lines etc)

All the replacement species are designed to be drought tolerant once established, as we seem to have little sky-water over here (I’m from England, we have too much of it over there!)

Here is a map of the plan from BUF / DPW as to which trees are due to be replaced and with what:

bit.ly/tree-plan-hayes-valley

The key to the map is looking at the colour of the little tree markers:

Pale green = Ficus trees that were proposed for removal but are staying.

Purple = Jacarunda trees

Blue = California Lilac / Ceanothus the ‘Ray Hartman’ subspecies

Dark red = Catalina Ironwood

Dark green = Magnolia (st Mary’s variety)

Black = being removed but because of where it is a replacement is not possible

A little about the replacement species:

JACARUNDA

Flowering - Deciduous - Not California native

Beautiful Purple flowering tree, can grow quite tall and keeps its flowers for a long time during spring and summer once the tree is mature.

As someone with hayfever, personally I had reservations about flowering trees but it turns out that Jacarunda is pollinated by bees, not wind, so it doesn’t need to spread its pollen far and wide which is great for us summer-snifflers!

There is one flowering on Grove st between Laguna and Octavia if you’d like to see one in action right now.

Fun fact: the bloom in Pretoria, Australia coincides with the year-end exams at the University of Pretoria, legend has it there that if a flower from a jacaranda drops on a student's head, the student will pass all their exams.

https://www.thespruce.com/growing-jacaranda-mimosifolia-3269356

CALIFORNIA LILAC

Flowering - Evergreen - California native

This is a pretty blue flowering tree that is really great for our native pollinators! Butterflies, Bees and humming birds love them!

It’s fast growing but doesn’t get very big so it’s a good tree for places that have overhead power lines. They are also known as ‘nitrogen fixers’ which means they can help keep the soil healthy.

Fun fact: The seeds of this plant can lie dormant for hundreds of years and are typically dependent on forest fires to trigger germination of their seeds!

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-variety/ceanothus-california-lilac

CATALINA IRONWOOD

Lyonothamnus floribundus

Flowering - Evergreen - California native

This tree can grow up to about 15 metres (nearly 50 ft) and has glossy dark green leaves and small woolly white flowers.

Planting trees native to the state is a great way to support local wildlife, even though this tree is native to the islands around Catalina and not to San Francisco specifically, it will be great for nesting birds and native bees and other wildlife that live in both places.

Fun Fact: natural populations of this tree grow in distinct groves. Each grove contains up to several hundred genetically identical clones!

https://www.fuf.net/tree/fernleaf-catalina-ironwood/

MAGNOLIA

Flowering - Evergreen - Not California native

Magnolias have lovely thick dark glossy leaves and produce really good shade. They have big white fragrant flowers. It’s slow growing but long lasting and has a lovely big oval canopy once mature

The St Mary’s magnolia is a medium sized tree and it sequesters a good amount of carbon

Fun fact: San Francisco botanical gardens has (when it’s open) over 200 different species of Magnolia, one of the best collections of its kind in the world. When they bloom in late-winter / early spring you can take a tour round the gardens with their magnolia curator!

https://www.sfbg.org/magnolias

https://www.fuf.net/tree/southern-magnolia/

Here’s a link to that replacement tree plan again if you want to look at it in google maps:

bit.ly/tree-plan-hayes-valley

The above is a shortened link to:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1ZOdYbNxJP7-dsB92GIp-LZGzQ9w487cU&usp=sharing

Any questions or comments please email Susan Cieutat susan AT sfdonors.com

#ecology #trees #hayes valley #san francisco

0 notes

giaitritonghop123 · 4 years

Text

Jacaranda flowers add charm to Vietnam's 'Little Paris'

Da Lat is tickled purple as jacaranda flowers bloom all over the Central Highlands resort town.

The trees are grown along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, leading to the center of Da Lat Market, a 5-minute walk from Xuan Huong Lake.

Da Lat is dubbed 'Little Paris', given its colonial standing as a summer hideout for French officials who built villas in the hills to escape the heat and humidity of the lowlands.

In addition to its market and Xuan Huong Lake, the trees are grown at Truc Lam Zen Monastery and Love Valley, adding to Da Lat’s "city of flowers" claim.

Flowers bloom vigorously along the banks of Xuan Huong Lake, considered as a symbol of Da Lat.

A golden ratio of purple blossoms at Xuan Huong Lake.

Jacaranda flowers are native to South America. The first trees were planted in Da Lat by the late engineer Luong Van Sau. He is one of the first Vietnamese agricultural engineers to receive formal training at Versailles Agricultural School in France.

The flowers are 4-5 cm long and grow in clusters. In 1962, Sau brought seeds from France to Da Lat, famous for its year-round cool climate, ensuring successful propagation.

The trees have become a local attraction, especially along Yersin (pictured), Hoang Van Thu, Nguyen Van Cu, Tran Quoc Toan, Tran Phu, Hai Ba Trung and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai streets.

Da Lat is one of Vietnam’s largest flower-growing regions, producing around three billion flowers each year, 10 percent of which are exported to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and mainland China.

Photos by Tran Quang Anh

from Tin mới nhất - VnExpress RSS https://ift.tt/33pn959 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Tin mới nhất - VnExpress RSS

0 notes

vondehnvisuals · 5 years

Text

Hello every One, and welcome to the Simple Solutions Saturday Edition. Today I Will be tall King more about why I chose to withdraw My application to the Divisional Court, and I am also thing King it is in perfect Harmony with some Simple Solutions for this Saturday’s Edition.

Today’s photo shows just how receptive My little Jacaranda Mimosifolia Bonsai is to the redirection of Energy.

And some People are thing King that Plants aren’t conscious! That’s ONE night! It now looks just as comfortable as it did before the new twist. Sunflowers follow the Sun across the sky. Before I go off on too much of a tangent, the point is that the Microcosm reflects the Macrocosm, and the new bend of My Bonsai represents in My Microcosm, the redirection of My Energy in Man’s Macrocosm.

There are a couple of other very encouraging Signs in My Microcosm ever since I moved into My new Space. I started a Pinterest account in February of this year because I heard it was a great Way to promote Blog content. I was gaining somewhere around 3 new followers a day in beginning and it was gradually increasing, but not in any Significant Way. It has been providing a lot of Blog traffic for Me though (roughly twice as much as Twitter, and I have +5000 Twitter followers), and although I don’t spend any time on marketing, I ‘Pin’ every Blog Post with a photo. I was approaching 400 followers at the beginning of July, and was hoping I might reach 500 by the end of the month.

I started gaining fifty or more followers a day. I just took it as a Sign that the Universe approves of My new space. But that number has continued to increase and I’m now at 4,313 and gaining over 100 new followers a day! So I feel obliged to say Thank You to the Universe. I felt it was also appropriate to be tall King about it now because the real Good News here, is that My social influence is increasing. The Microcosm reflects the Macrocosm in all things. My growing influence on social media is a reflection of My growing influence in both My Microcosm and Man’s Macrocosm, or the Conscious Collective. I might be gaining as many as 200 a day now, I’m not even sure. I was only approaching 4,000 followers when I Writ My Post yesterday. By the end of the week, every Blog Post Will have a reach of over 10k! I really am a modest dude, so that’s pretty Mind blowing for Me! That doesn’t take into consideration how many followers some of My Twitter followers have if they decided to ‘retweet’ one of My Posts. Some weeks, I’ve ‘reached’ over 500,000 People. This is starting to feel like quite the little communication hub I’m Creating! 😀 Anyway, thank You all very kindly!!!

I also hope this helps to understand why I am so Grateful to have You here. The Greatest Gift to an Author, is to have People appreciate and enjoy the Writing – that’s the whole Point, really. Nothing in the Universe I could ever Wish to accomplish could ever be achieved without You. We can’t possibly hope to accomplish Peace if We can’t begin to Visual Eyes every One war King together. 😉

Resuming My reasons to withdraw My application to the Divisional Court, for Part II, I am going to be tall King about some of the Words of the last email from ‘the city’ to Show how My interpretation of events from the meeting were reflected in the Language of the Letter.

We discussed how offended I am by the final determination that My ‘overall actions and behaviour were a risk to staff and/or clients of the facility’, and that it was unreasonable for One to accept such a statement without characterizing what behaviour was considered to be a risk to staff and/or clients (because otherwise, without proof it is libel). Here is the Writ summarizing ‘the city’s response.

“To this end You were to review Shelley’s apology Letter”

Keep in Mind that the Language used by lawyers is always careful and deliberate. One of the other problems with Man’s fiction of Law, is that One of the first things One should do if they have wronged another is apologize for the Act-Ion. In Man’s fiction of Law, that would be the last thing a lawyer would advise someone to do. Why? Because it is an admission of guilt. One has no need to apologize if One has done nothing wrong. Shelley was strictly communicating the final Word Given by the Salvation Army to Housing Services in regards to the Matter and was tasked with putting it in Writing.

Apologizing also implies a level of Trust. Geneviève Trusts that I won’t proceed with My application if I am confident that Housing Services was Acting as an impartial tribunal communicating the findings of their investigation in their determinations. (No ill intent, these are the claims of the Salvation Army, not Us). That was also My promise to Geneviève (the city).

In My reply, I assured the city no further apology was necessary.

“I confirmed that all I can do is tell them this is what You are looking for from them but I cannot compel them to do anything as this is between You and the Salvation Army.”

This summarizes a great deal of My interpretation of My meeting with the city. The Key Words here are “I cannot compel them to do anything”, and “this is between You and the Salvation Army”.

It really doesn’t get a whole lot plainer than that. The apology recognizes wrong doing but not by the city. ‘I cannot compel them to do anything’, is a kind Way of saying We have tried to get the information You’ve requested, the Salvation Army is not Willing to provide the information.

I could be wrong about this, but I had kind of been under the impression that because the Salvation Army’s continued funding depends on being in compliance with the shelter standards set out by the city, ‘the city’ would very much have the authority to ‘demand’ any information they Wish. Now I don’t believe that they do. I believe ‘the city’ only has the legal ‘right’ and authority to ensure the Salvation Army comply with the standards exclusively. I believe the Salvation Army refused to provide as much information as they were able to get away with unless it was specifically related to the standards, and this was very much reflected in the final determinations made by the city of Ottawa as well.

“You feel People don’t respond to Your Letters and that You have Ideas and Lived experiences You would like to share with elected officials. You felt Judicial Review was needed for some One to pay attention.”

Now, One could perceive the next comment to be a little condescending:

“I told You that I was of the opinion that a court proceeding is not the best way to be heard and to effect changes to the standards.”

But it’s a fair statement because it was said in the meeting. I reminded Geneviève that I agree with her opinion, and that if city council or Housing Services had responded appropriately ‘ab initio’ (Latin, meaning ‘from the beginning), I would not have been compelled to file an application to the Divisional Court and none of Us would be here. It would also be My preference that it not be necessary in the future. Then, Geneviève mentioned the following points:

“Attending at committee when Shelter Standards are presented to committee for review and approval (this Will likely be spring of 2020, I Will provide specific date and time when they are set).”

“Councillor Catherine McKenney is the special liaison on Housing and Homelessness (You can cc Me if You like).”

In the meeting, the message was conveyed a little differently. Geneviève assured Me that city council Will respond to any future Letters, and I am free to ‘cc’ Geneviève for assurance. Geneviève also offered to assist with directing My concerns to the appropriate representatives on council (to deal with the specific Issues I have raised).

Wow, there’s more to go over here than I thought, so I Will continue tomorrow, hopefully to complete this little mini-series. For now, I hope You are all having a Wonder-Full weekend.

Love and Blessings,

Volume LXXVI: The Simple Solutions Saturday Edition; Why I Withdrew My Application to the Divisional Court, Part II Hello every One, and welcome to the Simple Solutions Saturday Edition. Today I Will be tall King more about why I chose to withdraw My application to the Divisional Court, and I am also thing King it is in perfect Harmony with some Simple Solutions for this Saturday's Edition.

0 notes

devantecristus · 6 years

Text

San Diego Tree Care Tips For Fall

Preparing Your Trees For Fall in San Diego

Estates Tree Service has been a Family owned and operated Tree Service operating in San Diego County since 1992. We work here, we live here, and we know how to make your trees look great year-round with the unique San Diego climate.

Now, part of the unique climate of San Diego is that seasons really don’t exist, we have summer, and summer with rain, while the temperatures outside may only dip into the 50’s, that doesn’t mean your trees are not reacting to the changing of the seasons, so despite our great climate, you will still want to be sure to prepare your trees for fall.

We want to help you make the most of your yard by ensuring that your trees are safe, healthy, and happy, we also want you to be happy with the looks of your home, so take the tips below and put them to good use around your yard, next spring you’ll be happy you did when your trees look better than ever!

Maintaining healthy trees in San Diego during fall.

1. Fall Fertilization is essential to a spring bloom.

After a hot summer, your soil will be depleted of moisture, and the essential nutrients that the roots of your trees rely upon in order to allow the rest of the tree to flourish. The lack of vital nutrients in the soil that your trees are planted in will eventually lead to sickness or death of your tree.

To help ensure your trees have the right nutrients and regain the nutrients lost during the warm San Diego summers, you’ll want to apply a slow release fertilizer, this will slowly work it’s way into the soil replacing the vital nutrients that your tree is looking for.

With these nutrients and proper fertilization, your tree will become more resistant to damage from disease, insects, harsh weather, and they’ll be well prepared for the upcoming rains of winter.

Be careful not to over fertilize your trees, and use a fertilizer that is right for your specific species. If you need help keeping your trees healthy, you can call the San Diego Tree Care experts at Estates Tree Service.

2. Hydration is critical.

San Diego County does not receive a lot of rain, whether you’re in the mountains of Ramona, the valleys of El Cajon & La Mesa, or along the coast in Del Mar, La Jolla, or Coronado, your trees probably want more water.

Being that San Diego County IS in a water shortage, be careful to not over water, but don’t skip watering altogether if you care about your trees.

Fall is the right season to give your trees a healthy drink of water, after the scorching summers we experience in San Diego, your trees will greatly appreciate it, by now they’ve depleted what they had stored and they’re ready for some hydration.

If you’re in one of the areas of San Diego where frost and freezing is a concern, you’ll want to pay extra attention to getting water down to the roots of your tree, so the tree can soak up the water and deliver it to the rest of the tree. Subsurface watering is an efficient way to ensure water reaches your tree’s roots. Using an injection probe, water is sent throughout the top 12 inches of the soil surrounding your trees, the area your trees need the water most. This method of subsurface watering is ideal for trees and shrubs that are not connected to irrigation systems, newly planted trees, and trees that are in need of temporary relief from drought stress.

3. Plant Trees When the Time Is Right.

Depending on the species you’re planting, the right time of year to plant a tree may just be in the Fall. Some tree’s will shed their leaves in Autumn and sprout new life in spring, making fall the best time to plant new trees. Since temperatures are cooler, but not so cold that frost or freezing temperatures will become a concern, there is much less risk of sun scorching, drought stress, or swarming of insects.

Planting your new trees during fall give the trees the chance to establish their roots, build a root mass, and prepare for winter dormancy.

4. Equip For The Cold Weather To Come.

Winter in San Diego is generally mild, but you’ll want to be prepared for possible snow, frost, cold temperatures or any other environmental variables your area in San Diego County is prone to.

According to the experts at Diamond Tree Company a company based in Colorado Any sort of extreme weather condition will pose a higher risk of stress on your trees, be sure to take the time to think what you may need during the fall and prepare for winter. Commonly cabling, bracing and pruning your trees before the frost hits will help your tree flourish in the following seasons.

Final Thoughts on selecting the right local tree service:

Estates Tree Service wants to win your business, and we will always over deliver for less cost. We do not consider a job complete unless our customer is 100% satisfied. So when you search for a “tree trimmer near me” search for a company that meets all of the standards we outlined above.

Do you need a local tree service in San Diego? We serve the entire county. Request your FREE, WRITTEN estimate from a LICENSED, INSURED, BBB A+ Rated company by calling (760) 440-9138 or using the contact form at the top of this page!

{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Choosing The Right Local Tree Service", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "//147124-463326-2-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Estates-Tree-Service-San-Diego-Reviews-1.jpg", "width": 1024, "height": 768 } }

Request A Free Estimate.

Name

Phone Number

Email Address

Message

Submit

Check out Estates Tree Service on Yelp

(function(d, t) {var g = d.createElement(t);var s = d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];g.id = "yelp-biz-badge-script-rc-ZP40A0WRiy0lZjkLxgHi3w";g.src = "//yelp.com/biz_badge_js/en_US/rc/ZP40A0WRiy0lZjkLxgHi3w.js";s.parentNode.insertBefore(g, s);}(document, 'script'));

Tom and company knocked down a big, ugly Jacaranda tree along with trimming some pine branches that were crowding our SDG&E power line. Excellent job and fair price. Especially evident was the clean-up including sweeping the roof which has now never looked so good. Estate Tree Service is highly recommended.

Jim S.

El Cajon, Ca

We are so happy with the service!!!! Not only did they do an excellent job on trimming all of our trees, the bid Tom gave me was the best out of the three places I called. Tom and his crew are experts at what they do. They showed up on time, did a great job on trimming all of the trees and clean up. I know who to call now next time I need tree service. Thank you so much Estates Tree Service, my yard looks great!

Lin W.

San Diego, Ca

View Our License Information By Clicking The Image Below

Our Service Area Includes:

East County Neighborhoods Alpine

Julian

Jamul

Campo

Ramona

El Cajon

Santee

Lakeside

La Mesa

North County Neighborhoods

Rancho Bernardo

Fallbrook

Escondido

Vista

Poway

Central San Diego Neighborhoods

North Park

Mission Valley

Del Cerro

San Carlos

City of San Diego Neighborhoods

Mira Mesa

Miramar

Kearny Mesa

Linda Vista

Coastal San Diego Neighborhoods

La Jolla

Del Mar

Coronado

Point Loma

Is your neighborhood missing from this list? Don’t Worry! We provide our high quality & affordable services throughout the entire County. Contact us today for your FREE estimate.

Estates Tree Service

Ramona, California 92065

(760) 440-9138

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Youtube



Serving All Of San Diego



[email protected]



(760) 440-9138

}

Open 24 Hours a Day. 7 Days a week.

source https://estatestreeservice.com/san-diego-tree-care-tips-for-fall/ source https://estatestreeservice1.tumblr.com/post/179613832783

0 notes

estatestreeservice1 · 6 years

Text

San Diego Tree Care Tips For Fall

Preparing Your Trees For Fall in San Diego

Maintaining healthy trees in San Diego during fall.

1. Fall Fertilization is essential to a spring bloom.

With these nutrients and proper fertilization, your tree will become more resistant to damage from disease, insects, harsh weather, and they’ll be well prepared for the upcoming rains of winter.

2. Hydration is critical.

Being that San Diego County IS in a water shortage, be careful to not over water, but don’t skip watering altogether if you care about your trees.

3. Plant Trees When the Time Is Right.

Planting your new trees during fall give the trees the chance to establish their roots, build a root mass, and prepare for winter dormancy.

4. Equip For The Cold Weather To Come.

Winter in San Diego is generally mild, but you’ll want to be prepared for possible snow, frost, cold temperatures or any other environmental variables your area in San Diego County is prone to.

Final Thoughts on selecting the right local tree service:

Request A Free Estimate.

Name

Phone Number

Email Address

Message

Submit

Check out Estates Tree Service on Yelp

Jim S.

El Cajon, Ca

Lin W.

San Diego, Ca

View Our License Information By Clicking The Image Below

Our Service Area Includes:

East County Neighborhoods Alpine

Julian

Jamul

Campo

Ramona

El Cajon

Santee

Lakeside

La Mesa

North County Neighborhoods

Rancho Bernardo

Fallbrook

Escondido

Vista

Poway

Central San Diego Neighborhoods

North Park

Mission Valley

Del Cerro

San Carlos

City of San Diego Neighborhoods

Mira Mesa

Miramar

Kearny Mesa

Linda Vista

Coastal San Diego Neighborhoods

La Jolla

Del Mar

Coronado

Point Loma

Is your neighborhood missing from this list? Don't Worry! We provide our high quality & affordable services throughout the entire County. Contact us today for your FREE estimate.

Estates Tree Service

Ramona, California 92065

(760) 440-9138

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Youtube



Serving All Of San Diego



[email protected]



(760) 440-9138

}

Open 24 Hours a Day. 7 Days a week.

source https://estatestreeservice.com/san-diego-tree-care-tips-for-fall/

0 notes

samanthasroberts · 7 years

Text

Mexico City: what to see plus the best bars, restaurants and hotels

The colourful barrios of this teeming, oft-maligned capital are now thriving with culture, creativity and an exciting, modern food scene

Until half a century ago, Mexico City was known as the Paris of the New World. Ample boulevards were lined with palm trees and French-style mansions. Crisp blue skies provided spectacular views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. The arts flourished. Then the urban decay that would plague many cities around the globe began to take its toll. The second half of the 20th century saw a huge increase in population and the metropolis struggled to cope. In 1985, a devastating earthquake took an enormous toll.

But the tide has turned. A progressive municipal government has made great advances in cleaning up the city. Swaths of the historic centre, once considered unsafe, have been repaved and pedestrianised, and shoppers and evening revellers now abound in the revitalised area.

Architecturally important neighbourhoods, such as eclectic Colonia Roma and Condesa, known for its art deco architecture, have been restored. Creative entrepreneurs have flocked to this energetic metropolis, opening shops, galleries, hotels and restaurants. Over the past few years, the city has become an internationally recognised culinary destination. From street food to fine dining venues, featuring traditional and Modern Mexican cooking, the city is like a big open kitchen.

WHAT TO SEE

A canal in Xochimilco Lake, Mexico City. Photograph: Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

Floating islands of Xochimilco

A boat ride on the canals of Xochimilco in the south of the city is a traditional weekend activity for Mexicans and tourists alike. Organic food company De la Chinampa offers tours with an ecological twist. Director Ricardo leads excursions down canals usually closed to outsiders to visit chinampas floating islands where organic fruits and vegetables are grown for the local market. Light lunch is included and English spoken on request. Tours from 15pp (minimum 10 people), delachinampa.mx. Contact Ricardo through his Facebook page

Cookery class, Condesa

Ruth Alegria, a former restaurant owner, leads personalised market tours and cooking classes in her home. She is knowledgeable about every aspect of Mexican food and culture and readily shares her enthusiasm. Classes cost from 120pp and last seven hours, including an in-depth market tour, cooking lesson and lunch. ruthincondechi.wordpress.com

Cookery class, Colonia Roma

Tucking into lunch at Casa Jacaranda. Photograph: Jody Horton

The lovely Casa Jacaranda is a converted early-20th-century home. Chefs Jorge and Beto offer classes in making traditional family recipes, combined with a market tour for groups of up to six, from 65pp for four hours. casajacaranda.mx

Tour the Dolores Olmedo Museum, Xochimilco

Dolores Olmedo was a muse, collector and intimate of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and other cultural luminaries, outliving all of them. She converted her beautiful estate into a museum to house her fine pre-Hispanic sculptures, paintings and drawings by Rivera, and the worlds largest collection of Kahlo paintings. Peacocks and hairless dogs roam the extensive gardens. This is one of the worlds great museums and shouldnt be missed. Avenida Mxico 5843, museodoloresolmedo.org.mx, 3, open TuesSun 10am 6pm

Go to a Lucha libre fight

Lucha Libre wrestlers wait for their turn to perform. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/AP

Lucha libre is a curious form of Mexican wrestling in which men, and occasionally women, dress in flashy Vegas-style costumes and horror movie masks and proceed to stomp, throw, bend, crush, squeeze and mangle one another around a ring, while the crowd roars its approval. A match at one of the two old arenas is a headlong leap into popular Mexican culture. Tickets (from 5) are available at the door but can sell out; buy in advance through ticketmaster.com.mx. Colonia Doctores: Arena Mexico, Dr Lavista 197, arenamexico.com.mx. Centro: Arena Coliseo, Peru 77, cmll.com

WHERE TO EAT

Taquera Los Parados, Colonia Roma

Photograph: Nicholas Gilman for the Guardian

Tacos al carbn are meats cooked over coals on an open grill. Los Parados (which implies standing-room-only, ie no tables), has been grilling beef and pork at the same corner for over 40 years. Locals line up for the smoky costilla (rib), chuleta (pork chop) and chorizo. The winner, however, is the rib-eye; bit pricier, but pesos well spent for tender succulence. Another not-to be-missed offering is the queso fundido, a mini ceramic cazuela filled with Oaxaca cheese and melted over the grill. And the brightly coloured hand-mashed salsas are superior. Around 5pp, Monterrey 333 (corner of Baja California), open daily 1pm-3am (5am Fri-Sat), taquerialosparados.mx

Don Toribio, Centro

Photograph: Nicholas Gilman for the Guardian

This spacious 19th-century salon with a graceful, old-world atmosphere bills itself as an Argentinian/Mexican parrilla (grill), and the grilled meat such as arrachera (skirt steak) is excellent, but it also does many Mexican dishes, such as enchiladas and tortilla soup, and typical Mexican breakfasts with huevos rancheros (fried eggs with spicy tomato sauce), sweet rolls and frothy, milky coffee. Don Toribio is the best budget restaurant in the historic centre: lunch costs under 4. Bolvar 31, +52 55 109198, Open daily until 7pm, (11pm on Thurs and Fri)

Raz Cocina de Estaciones, Polanco

Two brilliant young chefs, Israel Montero and Alfredo Chvez, have combined their talents at this underrated venue in the upmarket Polanco district. The ambience is relaxed and food is decidedly Mexican with a modern twist. The weekly changing menu is chosen according to what is in the market. Montero says: Ours is a free, spontaneous and creative cuisine we are an experimental, investigative laboratory whose project is to bring to light a great range of little-known edible products, inspired by our own experiences in the kitchen. A tostada crispy-fried, house-made corn tortilla comes topped with smoked trout from nearby mountain streams, fresh fava beans, wild greens and edible flowers. This might be followed by a rich, spicy, toasted chipotle mole, containing pork belly and fennel. The 10-course tasting menu, including dessert, is 34. Calle Schiller 331, +52 55 5250 0274, no website, open 1.30-1130pm, Mon-Sat, closed Sun

Fonda Fina, Colonia Roma

Photograph: Nicholas Gilman for the Guardian

A fonda is like a bistro or trattoria homey, intimate, a family affair. The fashionable Fonda Fina is those things but is fina (refined), as well. Thats because the compact kitchen is in the capable hands of chef Juan Cabrera, who reproduces his favourite classic Mexican dishes with a personal touch and reinvents other less-known ones. Peneques are small quesadillas, filled with tangy, fresh requesn cheese (Mexican ricotta), dipped in light batter and fried. Theyre served with a pipian (pumpkin seed) sauce. The combination of earthy flavours corn, pumpkin seed and chilli hits all the marks. Thin slices of meltingly tender lengua (tongue) are served with a complex wild mushroom saut and a fruity, dark adobo sauce. Divine. Lunch from about 20 a head. Medelln 79, +52 55 5208 3925, fondafina.com.mx

Nexo, Polanco

Nexo is an unassuming locale whose kitchen crew bursts with youthful audacity. Two chefs share the helm: Diego Nio and Csar Vzquez. The dishes they turn out, based on Spanish, French and Mexican traditions, are creative but accessible. The Spanish classic arroz negro pays homage to both old country and new: instead of the standard squid ink and fish stock, its made with crab bisque and chilmole (the blackened chilli sauce of the Yucatn) and crowned with calamari stuffed with pork scratchings. Its ingenious and delicious. Three-course menu 21, five-course 28. Campos Elseos 199, +52 55 5281 5903, nexorestaurante.mx

La Casa de los Tacos, Coyoacn

Photograph: Nicholas Gilman for the Guardian

La Casa de los Tacos is a deceptively ordinary-looking place. This neighbourhood lunch spot was taken over by two creative types with a vision: Hector Ramos, a photographer who runs an art gallery upstairs; and Alejandro Escalante, author of the renowned Tacopedia cookery book and editor of online gastronomic journal animalgourmet.com. A menu entitled tacos prehispnicos offers a far-reaching conflagration of edible insects, such as sauted grasshoppers, gusanos de maguey (grubs found in agave plants), and crispy fried black beetles called cocopaches. There are artfully made normal beef, fish and pork tacos as well, for the less adventurous. Calle Felipe Carrillo Puerto 16,+52 55 549492, lacasadelostacos.com.mx

WHERE TO DRINK

Licorera Limantour, Roma and Polanco

Photograph: Luis Gallardo

Limantour, a proud member of the Worlds 50 Best Bars list since 2014, is a temple to modern cocktails. The concept is simple: designer drinks made with dynamic ingredients including fresh herbs, flowers, fruits, syrups, shrubs, spices and rare foreign spirits. The results are stunning in presentation and precise in flavour combination. Two locations, in Roma and Polanco, have a laid-back vibe and modernist decor. The margarita al pastor plays with ingredients found in the classic al pastor (shepherd-style) tacos. The result is a tequila-based drink with pineapple, coriander and a touch of serrano chilli. lvaro Obregn 106, Roma; Oscar Wilde 9, Polanco, see limantour.tv for opening times

Cantina El Tio Pepe, Centro

Like a traditional English pub, a cantina is a place for locals to hang out. This friendly one opened in 1870, conserves its original art nouveau bar and has been the scene of many political discussions over the years. It is a good alternative to the more touristy and expensive Bar Opera a few blocks away. Beer and tequila are the drinks of choice here. Independencia 26, daily noon-11pm

Caf La Habana, Centro

This spacious, lively cafe pays homage to Cuba black and white photos of Havana line the walls though the rest is Mexican. It is a few blocks south of the Alameda park and is known as a hangout for journalists at the citys large daily newspapers. The Mexican food is nothing to write home about but the coffee, served with frothy hot milk, is. Morelos 62, open daily 7am-11pm (10pm Sun)

WHERE TO SHOP

Vrtigo Galera, Colonia Roma

Vrtigo is an art gallery specialising in graphics by many of the top young contemporary artists and artisans in Mexico. Spaces are dedicated to exhibits of such genres as design, illustration, surrealism and pop; prices are affordable: an original signed print for around 85. Colima 23, vertigogaleria.com

Carla Fernndez, Roma and Centro

This renowned designer is very much in touch with her Mexican roots. Her mens and womens clothing, textiles and household objects are striking, avant-garde and forward-looking yet lovingly based on indigenous craft. There are two locations, in Roma and Centro. Dresses start at 130. lvaro Obregn 200, Colonia Roma; Isabel la Catlica 30 (inside Hotel Downtown), Centro, carlafernandez.com, open daily 11am-8pm (Sunday until 7)

La Ciudadela, Centro

Photograph: Alamy

This artisan market houses dozens of stalls offering traditional handicrafts at decent prices hammocks, glassware, baskets, sombreros, textiles and silver jewellery from Taxco. Its the best of the tourist markets around town. On Saturday afternoons there is outdoor dancing at nearby Plaza de Danzn. Av Balderas between Ayuntamiento and Emilio Donde, laciudadela.com.mx, open daily 9am7pm

Lagunilla flea market, Centro

Photograph: Alamy

Everything from cheap clothing to food is sold at this huge, popular market area. On Sundays, the few blocks on the east side of Paseo de la Reforma and down Calle Jaime Nuno become the premier antique and flea market Grandmas attic is emptied and bargains can be had with a bit of haggling. North of Metro stop Garibaldi, Sundays 9am-5pm

WHERE TO STAY

The Red Tree House, Condesa

This friendly B&B is in a remodelled 1920s art deco home on a quiet residential street. Book way ahead as its very popular. Doubles from 78 B&B, theredtreehouse.com

Hotel Downtown, Centro

<source media="(min-width:" 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="605px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/38d3a1a7b985565462880733cd98e29b63b856ba/0_0_4050_2430/master/4050.jpg?w=605&q=20

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/06/30/mexico-city-what-to-see-plus-the-best-bars-restaurants-and-hotels/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/mexico-city-what-to-see-plus-the-best-bars-restaurants-and-hotels/

1 note · View note