I've spent a lot of time resting the last couple of months, and I've plowed through plenty of books to pass the time. I always turn to my favorite author for comfort when I'm sick. I own every novel by Dean Koontz, double copies of some. Last month I randomly selected "The Husband" off my shelf and was delighted to find that it takes place in Orange County, as many of his books do. This one in particular is set in the city of Orange in May, a moment in time that just so matched mine.
And as he often does, Koontz countered the fast-paced plot with moments of reflection about the character's surroundings. He so beautifully captured the springtime beauty occurring right in my neighborhood that I felt like he was writing about this very spot. Maybe he was.
I made sure to jot down excerpts from the book and then captured some photos on my run. Southern California has some unique flora, I'll give it that.
He was parked under an old jacaranda in full flower ...
... and when he moved into the light from the street lamp, he saw that he walked on a carpet of purple petals.
Along the night streets, queen palms thrashed, like madwomen in frenzies tossing their hair ...
.. and bottle-brush trees shed millions of scarlet needles that were the petals of their exotic flowers.
I've run out of quotes, but here are some other neighborhood wonders that gave me pause.
Wherein I ask, are you kidding me right now?
I am terrified of this thing and whatever disease it carries.
Treacherous technology
When we first moved here, we theorized that these fake-looking trees were cell phone towers in disguise. Wretched phone companies, we said. How dare they infiltrate nature just so I can have a WiFi signal to write this blog. Turns out, they're Norfolk Island Pines.
Conservation at its best
Folks, that is real, live ... turf. Great for lawns in a desert climate.
You can't fault people for being practical, I suppose.
You can't fault people for being practical, I suppose.
