The Inland Empire

In honor of the first full weekend that I'll be able to spend in the new place, I thought I'd give The Internet a peek inside our new abode. 

Repeat with me now: IT. IS. EDEN. 

It is. The edibles count is now up to twelve (lemon, Meyer lemon, loquat, mint, Italian kale, figs, peas, strawberries, avocado, bamboo, African guava, and Zinfandel grapes), and this morning I made my first batch of lemonade from the Meyer tree. So join me, won't you, while we laze about this Long Beach idyll?  

Big thanks to Dustin Giallanza for helping me out with a couple of these pictures.

He's pissed because he now has competition for some of the edibles. YOU'RE GOING DOWN, SQUIRREL. 

Fake birds abound. So do real ones, but they're harder to photograph. 

Hummingbirds are notorious divas, as you may well know.

Once again, as with the last house, literature and footwear duke it out for prime placement on the shelves.

Soon this tree will produce guavas, but till then, the petals are edible!

Springtime blooms. There's kale buried in there somewhere, too. Fig in the foreground (top right).

Perfect for lounging or checking ones' Facebook. 

Oh, there's more where that came from, friends. So much more.