A pot of posole bubbles on the stove as the garden soaks up last night’s downpour. I’ve moved on from coffee to green tea to quiet a scratchy throat. The spicy posole will be therapeutic as well. Then maybe a bath and a nap after a late night. And there’s lots of end-of-year reading on the political events of 2025 to peruse on a quiet New Year’s Day. New Year’s Eve was a raucous one, with booming firework explosions harassing the neighborhood dogs including our Billie.
For gallons of inexpensive, ground-covering succulents, in Los Angeles you can’t do better than Ricardo’s Nursery for prices and selection, on Atlantic Boulevard where Long Beach borders Compton. (When did we last pay $8 for a gallon?) I’ve been infilling with these GCs around the agaves and aloes. It’s one of those nurseries that requires an adventurous attitude because not much is labeled. The shambolic approach appeals to me, and if. you’re interested in obscure tropical fruit trees these guys are really on their game.
We lost family members in 2025 from sudden, unexpected illnesses. Twenty years old is indisputably, tragically too young, and yet my brother’s passing at 69 was a shock as well. My brother was a big Saul Bellow fan, so this year I’m going to read (reread?) one of his favorites The Adventures of Augie March. I wonder how many friends and family members know this source of his dog’s name Augie. I think I’m most struck by how losing a sibling also means the abrupt disappearance of that shared ecosystem of references, jokes and stories, whether personal, political, musical, literary, that is unique to every familial bond, as richly complex and ephemeral as a flower. Take care, find comfort where you can, more soon! AGO