GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



September, 192:; 



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PLEASE let 

 me use that 

 poss e s s i V e 

 pronoun again. 

 You may take it 

 to mean that 

 "My Califor- 

 nia' ' is southern 

 California, the 

 coast belt, our 

 own particular location or that I see the 

 whole state through glasses which glorify it. 

 For some reason that pronoun gives me a 

 feeling of freedom in writing of the state. 



In the days past when we used to discuss 

 plans for moving out here the head planner 

 of the family used to end by saying, "I am 

 not sure you could stand the summers, 

 Stancy." I shared that doubt so fully tliat 

 all last winter, when we were shivering in 

 an inadequately heated rented house, T 

 looked forward to the long "semi-tropical" 

 summer with such dread that I was thank- 

 ful to be too cold. 



Maybe it is too soon to speak with cer- 

 tainty, but up to this time f Aug. 1) we have 

 had few uncomfortably warm days in the 

 shade and the nights have been dclieiously 

 cold. Cool is hardly a strong enough Avord 

 to describe nights when wool blankets are 

 a necessity, and one often puts on winter 

 wraps for evening riding. Perhaps the brac- 

 ing air of the nights is what causes the 

 mocking birds to practice their vocal exer- 

 cises so assiduously. I don 't mind bird 

 music at night, even Avhen it is just outside 

 our windows and rather loud; but when the 

 mocking birds urge us to "hurry up, hurry 

 up, hurry up" for hours at a time in the 

 middle of the niglit it is irritating although 

 their voices are melodious. It isn't a guilty 

 conscience or an over-active imagination 

 which makes me think they are telling us 

 to hurry, for my unimaginative husbaftd 

 hears those words too. 



Although the djiys are rendered delight- 

 ful by the ocean breezes which come from 

 the south or southwest about ten o'clock 

 and persist until sunset, the cool niglits are 

 so free from wind that casement windows 

 and doors will stand out into the room at 

 any angle without awakenimr sleepers 1)\' 

 unexpected slamming, and this is true in 

 spite of the fai-t that we always liaA'e open 

 doors and windows tlirougliout tlie lioiise for 

 cross ventilation. 



We have been told that Julv is the montl: 

 of the year when rains are least apt to oc- 

 .*ur here. Possibly just to keey) up its repu- 

 tation for the "very unusual," this year tlie 

 weather treated us to a real thunder shower 

 in tlic middle of .Ttily. There wei'e liglitiiinc 

 .Hill loud thunder, especially to\vard tin' 

 mountains, but onlv a few large drops of 

 rain, enough to make me run for my type- 

 writer and various other possessioTis on the 

 trellised porch, but not enough for the 

 weather bureau to measure. And Ix'forc 

 ilnvlifjlit on the morning of .Inly '.>^ a jj^'cntlc 

 rain foil for half an hour. 



Midsummer Days in My California 



CONSTANCE ROOT BOYDEN 



(Slant V Puerden) 



1 



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TU 



A 



:^ O T H E E 



dreading the 

 summers in the 

 Golden State 

 was because I 

 feared the lack 

 of rain meant 

 the loss of so 

 m u c h of the 

 beauty of winter and spring. Here is where 

 "My California" is a delightful surprise. It 

 is true, hillsides which were green have 

 turned a soft brown; it is true, Old Baldy's 

 crown of snow has dwindled to the point 

 of invisibility from the valley, and the 

 mountains generally retreat into the dis- 

 tance behind a softening haze, while tiow- 

 ers are less abundant except where watered. 

 But there is so much beauty of a different 

 sort left. In the place of barren brown 

 vines, pruned back to little more than 

 stumps, vineyards are all luxuriant, green 

 leaves with jjunches of green grapes show- 

 ing among them; orange groves are bright 

 with new leaves, and many of the other 

 broad-leaved evergreens are renewing their 

 foliage. The acacias, which were greenish- 

 gold fountains of bloom in the early spring, 

 are beautiful in a different way in the sum- 

 mer. There are varieties which bloom late 

 in July, but my favorite, which is very fine 

 when in bloom in early spring, is especially 

 beautiful now. Its finely cut foliage is blue 

 green with a soft gray cast in a certain 

 light, and the effect of the whole tree is 

 feathery and graceful. 



A few days ago we wandered on to a road 

 high on the Verdugo Hills on the southwest 

 side of La Canada Valley. The road fol- 

 lows the curves of the hillside among beau- 

 tiful estates, and on either side of it are 

 planted these blue-green acacia trees. Far 

 down in the valley one could see Flintridge 

 with its curving drives, its country club and 

 green golf course, and beyond, across La 

 Canada where it merges into the broad San 

 Gabriel Valley cut by the deep gorge of 

 Arroyo Seco, could be seen Altadena nestling 

 at the foot of Mt. Lowe. And the great 

 range of mountains in tlie background was 

 tinted soft rose, lilac and blue, and the air 

 was so clear that the observatory on Echo 

 Mountain stood out distinctly and the trol- 

 ley line from that point on up Mt. Lowe 

 could be traced. It is one of those views 

 whicli makes one long to have all his friends 

 yiresent to share it. 



Acacia-^ .-ire not alonc^ in possessing Ibat 

 blue-green foliage. California is particularly 

 rich in plants, shrubs and trees of tliat tin1. 

 At this time (if venr the lenves of tlie young 

 ('uc;ilv|)t us slioots are a silvery blue <i,rccn, 

 foiiiiing a, pleasing contrast to llic golden 

 green of the camphor trees and tli(> deep 

 green of many others. 



Just as unusual to eastern eyes as tlie aca 

 (-in is a tree Avith foliage like delicate ferns 

 \\i1li deep blue or luirple blossoms which 

 come in July. A large tree in bloom looks 



