The Golden Sweet Edible Podded Snow Peas near the top of the trellis and the daily harvests begin. This organic snow pea was a delightful find in 2007 from a small Pennsylvania seed house. I searched for a tall variety, preferring not to bend to pick my peas. I’ve grown these snow peas from saved seed every year since. They are well-adapted to my local growing conditions.

A number of years ago, I shared my seed with San Diego Seed Company for their trial. You can find Organic Yellow Sugar Pod Pea Seeds on their website. They’re in stock at this writing and it’s not too late to plant them in SoCal zones 9 and 10 or in early spring in other USDA zones.

The vines scramble up my six foot trellis and beyond. They do need some pea brush and trussing, but the light yellow pea pods are prolific and easy to see on the green vines.

Tangerines are abundant this year, perhaps due to last winter’s generous rains. The tree is quite lovely and we give them away to all takers.

I fear for next year’s crop of tangerines and other fruit. With only 0.14 inches of rain since Oct. 1, 2024, this will be the driest start ever to San Diego’s water year which began October 1. Rainfall records date back to 1850. 

Though I didn’t capture any individual heads of lettuce recently, I’ve been harvesting and gifting lettuce from this stand of Newham lettuce from Territorial Seed Company. Newham is an improved Little Gem type with erect, vase-like habit and excellent disease resistance. The compact heads can be tightly packed as seen here.

With the unthinkable loss and suffering in Los Angeles to the north, something simple for the church entry seemed appropriate. Here, the first calla lily of the season, faithful paper whites and summer snowflake.

One year ago our son bought his first home in the Silver Lake neighborhood, adjacent to two of the fires. He afforded us poignant insights as numbers of his friends lost their homes. In recent days, he’s driven a horse trailer into evacuation zones to rescue horses and transport them to an equine center.

My father’s family first came to Los Angeles about 1913. With family and friends there we feel the personal tragedy and the loss of place. The Los Angeles I’ve known is not to be recovered.