Jihane

Urban wilderness.

So there’s this guy on the Next Door app who posts multiple weekly updates pertaining to wildlife activities on his Studio city’s property. Apparently, some majestic bobcat has decided to temporarily set up camp in his backyard about two years ago and has been returning every year around the same time. How do I know this? Because I just spent my morning watching every single footage and hitting the like button like a nerd. This morning brought about a deer sighting straight out of Bambi with mommy deer watching baby deer frolicking and zooming around just like Rio does! One time he found out that a solo raccoon had been chilling in his pool at night. Another time it was the bobcat drinking from it in the afternoon. There’s also this candid National Geographic moment captured by the camera in his driveway which caught a stand off between the bobcat and the skunk who charged and chased away our powerful feline. I wouldn’t have bet on the skunk but I was clearly underestimating its capabilities; it was not messing around… Random but I think it’s pretty fucking dope. What I dig the most is just how thrilled and amused by these uncanny visitors he is, and just how respectful, humbled and honored to be able to witness that. After all, we are the occupying force living on their territory and depleting it of its resources. One of my favorite things about the backyard at my previous residence were the pollinators. They loved it there! That garden was such a magical dwelling place of light for me. I haven’t gotten around to invest much time, efforts or money in this one yet but I’m starting with a pretty solid base and I have every intention to continue improving it. On top of the potted cacti and succulents that I was able to relocated, my housemate and I have installed string lights to warm up the space in the evening. We’ve made two attempts at growing grass from seeds but they’ve failed. I’m debating whether to give it another go or resort to a realistic turf solution for that area. I also want to add lavender and rosemary bushes, flowering plants, fruit trees, landscaping rocks and a compact fire pit to reinvent the outdoor space and create a lovely experience for those I share space with as well as myself. I’m not going to tell you what else is on my kind right now because it’s probably best it stays there - I know just what to do with it. These days I just want to write and reflect on the things I’m grateful for. Anyhow, Shoutout to JimDobson! A cool cat; all puns intended. I wish you could see that Bobcat; a healthy and absolutely stunning beast. Some of these footage were truly astounding. On another note, I accidentally propagated an alocasia and so far it’s been a great success. The clipping is growing a massive aquatic root system. I love to see it. I had no clue alocasias could be propagated but as I was pulling off dead leaves I clumsily snapped a chunky head with three nice young leaves growing on it. My first instinct was to stick it in a tall glass of a water. After one of the leaves turned yellow and withered I started feeling concern that the plant wouldn’t make it. I changed the water anyway. Days later, a mew leaf was sprouting and an intricate root system made of immaculately white filaments started to develop underwater. It’s been awesome to watch. Fairly soon I’m going to need to transfer it to a pot with soil. Similarly, I had three or four zz clippings that I stuck in a glass vase, not too sure what else to do with them. The vase is tall and slender, featuring a bottleneck which is best suited to accommodate a single stem. Once the zz clippings started growing roots, it became virtually impossible to take them out without inflicting damage. One day, while change the water and messing around with them, I accidentally pushed a couple of them down the bottleneck and into the belly of its glass container. I thought, “Oh snap. They’re going to rot in there and I’m going to be forced to pull everything out somehow. Instead of immediately acting on it, I elected to just let it be and move on to something else. At least for a few days. If it came down to it I’d just have to pull them all out and most certainly end up with no viable clippings and there’s nothing I could have done to change that. I thought “let’s leave the water alone and see what happens. Over the weekend I noticed that the clippings that got stuck inside and were submerged in water were all growing new leaves. Beforehand, they had none left - all leaves had dropped. Now I get to watch these bright green plants as they grow underwater. I never suspected that this specific plant could not only adapt but thrive in that environment. Of course, it won’t be long before they outgrow it - leading me back to my original problem of how do I extract them from this vase without ripping the clippings from their root system? I guess I’ll simply enjoy my bottled water garden as long as I have it. The monstera’s new leaf is still in the process of unfurling - we’re so close. I predict that the process will be complete by Tuesday morning. I think I can reasonably expect to wake up that day, step into the living room and be greeted with a richly pigmented and perfect looking new leaf smiling at me with its lovely flat heart shaped fenestrated face. I’ve been looking forward to that for a week. The plant now counts seven leaves and I’ve spotted early sign of a new one preparing to pop out. I’m damn proud at how happy and healthy she is. My sansevieria Whitney is also doing great, with about four of five new leaves that have expanded at a steady rate lately. I can’t say the same of the plants in my room. The crocodile fern is practically dead and my Boston fern is showing brown tips in some area. It seems I’m not getting enough natural light. I don’t have much of an experience caring for different varieties of ferns so my watering schedule could very well be of. Being that I intuitively water my plants and attempt to give them what they need based on what I sense from interacting with them, adjusting their water intake and switching their located based on how I feel them react to previous attempts to stabilize them, this approach lends itself to trials and errors. My next move will be to relocate both plants to my bathroom where I think they may be happier. Speaking of flowers - quick tangent. The dispensaries in Westwood are ridiculously expensive so I usually have to pickup my supply from that awesome spot in Fairfax that has the most rad store layout and customizations. It also offers the best deal in terms of product quality, potency and price but I digress. I finally found a decent option nearby, although I haven’t yet decided whether that’s a good thing or not… Hah. I had sambar for dinner and I still can’t believe I’ve once lived a life without sambar in it or the concept of what it is compromised of. I freaking love sucking the filling out of the drumsticks or scraping it out with my fork. I also love it when pieces of okra are added to the mix, like I had it tonight. My tummy has been blessed. Oh yeah, something else: I shaved my head again! Yep! And it feels SO GOOD. I’m so glad I did it. My scalp can breathe. Rubbing the back of my head feels so pleasant. I had really missed that… I’ve been floating all evening. Shoutout to V for helping a sis out and feeding her too. In exchange, I got him baked - it’s a fair trade. Rio and Maya had a bath this afternoon. Naturally, Ri ran straight to the dirt the second he got out of the bathroom so I had to intercept him during his light speed zoomies so I could wash his paws before he could leaved mud prints all over the house. Thank Goodness I escaped a domestic / cleaning disaster. Barely. These fur babies keep me on my toes! They’re asleep right now. We all got our grooming done today and are going to bed feeling extra softly and smelling extra nice. Lots of work to do tomorrow but there ain’t a thing a man can’t do with more sambar waiting in the lunchbox. I’m so tempted to go for a second round right the f now… I swear it’s crack! Its also ridiculously fragrant AND vibrant in colors. The texture is *chef’s kiss - a delight for all the senses. What I really need to do though is post this, meditate, finish my skin care routine (I only washed my face), take a puff of that joint I started before dinner, chant a bit and calmly fall asleep visualizing the sort of day I wish to have tomorrow.

#ThankYouMorePlease #CultivateYourGarden #WisdomFromTheGarden
#WalkDownMemoryLane
#NatureIsMedicine
#SpiritSavedMySoul
#MusicSavedMyFuckingLife
#WriteItAway
#PaintItAway
#DanceItAway
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#WhenDivorceIsSweeterThanMarriage
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#Conduit #Channel #Purification #Focus #Integration #Elevation #Wholeness #Fearlessness #Intent #Passion #Drive

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