Surprises of California: Birds of Paradise

Moving to a new climate always brings surprises and delights.

Having this bird of paradise plant on the next block from our home, along our daily dog-walking trail, is one of them!

When I first arrived last March, this was in full bloom, and it remained so until the heat and drought of summer.

Then, with the coming of fall and the falling of the deciduous leaves--who knew that those trees' leaves would change color and drop here also?--this bush began to bloom again!

It looked to me like two blooming seasons in one calendar year...but the longer I think about it, I think it is just one blooming season that begins in Nov-Dec and continues until the heat and dry of summer.

But the Jan-Dec calendar bisects that season, making it appear to be two.

(Whohoo!  I got to use a math word today!)

But isn't that often true?

We draw conclusions from all of the evidence we can gather...but it is our point of view, or our framework that outlines the boundaries of our conclusions...and our conclusions are often misleading, or worse...simply false.

So, I stand corrected.

And I am grateful that I can make this confession and move on...wondering what else I am going to unlearn today?