Agave

My first order of business today was to give the dog a bath after his dip in the algae polluted waters of Spring Lake yesterday. Probably won't do wonders for my infected thumb, but it had to be done. Then I had to clean the house after he ran all over shaking and rolling. That probably didn't do it any good either, but it's nice to have a clean house again.

We had to walk around the neighborhood in order to preserve the shampoo and avoid the foxtails and stickers. This long dry summer, coupled with the total prohibition of dogs in the beautiful park practical across the street is definitely taking a toll on good places to walk Ozzie.

We have several Agaves on our our back hill and I have always liked them--their shape, color and the way they imprint themselves against the underlying "leaves". This one in front of our house is twice as big as the ones in back and is a wonderful specimen with a few "babies" nestled at its feet.

Agaves seem to be plants that can survive anywhere and look handsome. On our walks to Star Grocery in Berkeley, we used to pass a large one planted on a narrow strip between the pavement and a busy street. It was thriving despite its crowded, dusty location and its attraction for every passing dog. I always meant to photograph it, but never did.

I'm sure it never occurred to me that I would be living among these wonderful plants, but now that we are, it seemed right to capture the one that is right under our noses, so to speak....