Saturday, April 19, 2008

Masculine/Feminine


Bougainvillea in my side yard

My contributions to Masculine/Feminine for 2thingsphotochallenge.
Most plants have masculine (stamen) and feminine (pistil) reproductive organs. This bougainvillea's filament stamen are surrounded by beautiful fuschia bracts, paper-like leaves. The white flower is the pistil.

I spent the first 5 hours of this glorious Saturday playing in the dirt, gardening, which is something I really enjoy doing and have not done for some time. There is something about the smell of potting soil and earth that is so refreshing. I needed to repot my planter boxes and tend to all my flower pots that had struggled through our winter cold spell. Yes, winter in our neck of the woods, sunny SoCal a 22 bone chilling degrees.

We have a difficult demographic to cultivate here in zone 20 according to my Sunset Western Garden Book. We have unusual thermals and micro-climates that come through our canyons due to marine/coastal influence and the interior desert climates. Our winters can be frosty and our summers extremely, dry and hot. Most of the surrounding area of our home is in full direct sun, so I have to be mindful of what will survive the summer heat. It's taken 4 years to find the survivors. This Bougainvillea is one of them.

Now for a little tool time, masculine/feminine.

I don't remember how I came upon this pink hammer, but I've loved it ever since. It wasn't initially pink, it's a Craftsman and comes with a lifetime exchange for a brand new hammer. No way am I exchanging this hammer, it has a little electrical tape around it's neck and has a time worn, lovely feel. I am a hammer junkie, I may have mentioned this in an earlier post. A girl can't have too many hammers, once I learned that not all hammers are created equal. One blue hammer secretly absconded for this post.

I thank you for your kind words and visits.
I hope you are all doing what you love and loving what you're doing.

My other blogspot: "ThE ArTful EyE"

11 comments:

Maya said...

I love the flower idea! The other shot is nice too (I love tools), though I have never liked pink, so kind of resent that it is supposed to be a "girl" color. But, I tend to like bucking the trends. ;-)

How nice that you could spend the day in the garden!

Anonymous said...

Holy magenta, Batman - a lovely Bougainvillea shot. Pow! Zap!

Don't worry, Robin, this is clearly the work of Hammerwoman, and if she has a hammer she will hammer in the morning, she'll hammer in the evening....

No, not all over this land!

That, and maybe something more evil apparently called a rub on....call the commisioner. To the batcave.

Pow! Zap! Ying! Yang!

Unknown said...

i love bougainvillea. met it the first time in key west florida, and have actually seen it growing up here on the north coast. i think it's happier in warmer climes tho.
great post.
great hammer.
great gloves, too.

sue

Janet Kincaid said...

Excellent interpretation! Did you know that in marketing there's actually a term for the feminization of normally masculine wares?

'Tis true. In marketing parlance it's called "Pink It and Shrink It"!

I love bougainvillea. I wish we could grow it here. I'd cover the house in it! Beautiful pictures!

K Hutchinson said...

I love the pink hammer! It is so cool! I can't wait to dig in the dirt too! I have another month or so to go before I can do it! Gorgeous flowers!

Irene said...

Oh Andrea, you always leave such nice comments on my blog and then when it is my turn I can only say that the bougainvillea is so very beautiful and we used to have it covering our courtyard in Costa Mesa and I loved it, but then I get nostalgic and that's no good.

Pink hammers are perfect and every woman should have one in her toolkit. Every woman should have a toolkit!

Pink hammers make me feel blue...

John M. Mora said...

I cannot lie, I made the batman comment.

Heidi said...

Just wonderful - His & Hers!!!
Makes me smile all over :)
I know I'm behind but I got to get my hands in the dirt this past weekend too and it felt lovely -Spring at last!!

Corinne said...

Hi there! I love the bougainvillea, so pretty and lush. And I love your pink hammer. The perfect amount of shabby for that Shabby Chic look!! I agree, not all hammers are alike!!

Lucky Dip Lisa said...

Too clever, I never would have thought of the male/female plant concept. Well done and great pic!

Lucky Dip Lisa said...

Too clever, I never would have thought of the male/female plant concept. Well done and great pic!