Meanwhile, back at home, I was able to give a little attention to my orchids. Some of them are in bloom right now. I am actually excited about this yellow cymbidium, which finally rebloomed after more than 10 years. I was about to give up on it when it decided to bloom again this year. Another orchid in bloom is my purple phaleonopsis. This is absolutely beautiful (I think) and is in full bloom right now. I am really looking forward to expanding my hobby and possibly sharing some orchids as gifts in the future. I may even try to trade with others to expand my collection.

The first day of semi-retirement

I quit my job last Friday and am doing some seasonal work for now. Hopefully I will be able to get enough periodic jobs to keep me afloat so that I do not have to find another full-time job. I really want to focus on my family and home for now.

Yesterday we went to the Sepulveda Basin for a walk. There were hundreds of red-winged black birds, many kinds of ducks with their little duck families and some un-named varieties of other birds.




We saw cormorants in their nests feeding their young. That was sort of fascinating. They were all in one or two trees on an island. As we gazed at them with the binoculars we realized there were about 15 or more nests in a tree. It was like apartments. We saw a bluebird, which we have not been able to identify. It was probably a little larger than a robin with some lighter orange markings, I think on the chest. We were looking at it through binoculars and by the time we got close enough to attempt a picture, it flew away. The wild flowers were in bloom with fields of lavendar, white and yellow blossoms and a few California poppies.