Strelizia nicolai

Walked a different block this morning, and found many new sights. A succulent garden, an overgrown alley, a mass of pink Angel's trumpet, and this lovely creature. K and I marveled over it; she badly wanted it to be a kind of banana, but then we agreed it looked more like a bird of paradise. Well, here's what Wiki has to say: commonly known as the wild banana or giant white bird of paradise.  So we were both right. I can't find any reference to it actually producing bananas, which would be highly unusual in this climate anyway.

I felt kinda dozy for a good part of the day, but never managed to fall asleep. I'm itching to be able to walk around the block without a companion and move at my own speed, but I don't think that will happen for awhile. In the meantime, I am grateful for this temperate weather and the warm sunny afternoons in the garden, watching the bees in the lavender and the hummingbirds as they skitter around.