天堂鳥這個名字第一次聽說好像是從瓊瑤的作品裏，她小說裏的金盞花，天堂鳥之類的名字尤如她的作品讓人遐想不已。到了北美後，隨處可見的天堂鳥老實說有點讓人失望的。雖然花朵的顏色豔麗，金黃色的花瓣，紫色的花蕊，綻放時確有幾分鳥兒展翅的樣子，但總覺得缺少點什麽，或許是人的期待太高，或許是因為忖托它的是那些普通、幹澀缺水狀的枝條綠葉，讓它的花朵也跟著失去幾分嬌嫩。
3月8號一個周日午後，我們又去了一個新海灘，沿著大大的loop走了一個多小時。南邊的海更綠、更藍、更寬， 岸上的建築和植被也給人耳目一新之感。歸途中，我們走進了一條兩旁種著各種植物，維護得十分幹淨整潔的人行道。四、五點鍾的陽光從高高的樹間散落，海風吹來，清爽怡人。走著走著，某人的腳步慢下，手中的相機舉起，對準路旁的天堂鳥頻頻按下快門。我也停下腳步，端看著這熟悉又好像有點不同的天堂鳥。或許是物隨心轉，境由心造，或許是一方水土養一方花草，或許是這日日濕潤的海風給這片天堂鳥注入一絲海的韻味，讓它平添一份嫵媚和鮮嫩。
又記，3月7日周六上午踏青尋菊，未果。踏遍整條trail，隻尋得一朵雛菊開在路中央, 卻不見那一年斜坡上的盛景。某人有點失望有點遺憾，說，看來花季已過。那一刻，我想起自己博客上有記載，趕緊掏出手機查閱。隨著手指的滑動，眼睛在2018年3月24日的《三月的野雛菊》停住。我打開博文，移到照片處，把手機欣欣然遞到某人眼前，糾正到，時間還沒到呢，說完又加了一句，這下你知道寫博的好處了吧......
其實，我們的生活遠不是如照片上的那麽詩情畫意，在美國疫情日日攀升之際，在女兒生活的州縣每日病例數量往上跳的日子，要說我們做父母的不擔心是假的，而我們又能做什麽呢？ 不如偷得浮生半日閑。
下麵的這些照片都是3/7和3/8拍的，雖然海景看似相似，但它們是不同的。
從家門口出來抬頭看見天空上的這個Buy one Get one (free？)的空中廣告，趕緊抓拍。
盼歸
曾經坐在這裏，看雲卷雲舒，任山風拂麵。
He mentioned more than once that the wild daisies on the hillside must be blooming now that it is March. It tickled my fancy of seeing that arid slope to be dotted with daisies again.
On Saturday March 7 we were on our way. We both remember the valley, though not sure where the slope is. The valley is right next to a freeway, which cuts the coastal mountains in halves. Entering the paid parking lot of gravel stone surface, we saw an almost empty one, with only two or three cars. The sun was out, but the morning wind still chilled me a bit as I put on my jacket. At the trail head is a simple shelter, underneath which there is a rough sturdy wooden table with an open self-registration binder asking for visitors' names. He scribbled on it, and there began our hike. The spring is scattering flowers all over the valley, flowers of varied colors and shapes. But apparently it is not the peak time. Or without enough rainfall last winter, will there be?
We followed the beaten trail deeper into tall bushes, the zooming sounds from the freeway muffled. We passed by the only naturally occurring lake in the county, looking between the willows and craning our necks for a better view of the lake. It was empty. As we watched idly, setting our eyes on the canvas by a corner and reading the caption, a pair of ducks, one male and one female, flew by afar and landed, rippling the peaceful surface. The lake is called Barbara Lake, as said in the painting, named after the painter Barbara Stuart. Quoted here is a paragraph, telling us something that we may never be able to find out by our own eyes. “…Tracks in the mud confirm the nightly forays of raccoon, bobcat, coyote and skunk. Ripples on the water’s surface reveal the presence of fish and frogs. Songbirds call out, hidden under the cover of mulefat and willow, while egrets and waterfowl frequent the open water.”
Soon we started our uphill trail，leading us to the top of the mountain ridge. Standing there, overlooking the freeway on one side and red-roofed houses at the foot on the other, we expanded our view to the end of our sight.
Our hike continued, and finally we were approaching the familiar slope. A single sprightly colorful daisy greeted in the middle of the road before its divergence to a downward slope. Much to our disappointment, the expected slope was bare without any flowers. "The flower season for the daisy must be over." said he. "Or maybe it won't bloom this year at all due to insufficient rainfall." I said to myself. But then I remembered I blogged it once. Turning to my blog clarified the date of our last visit was 03/24/2018, a year with scanter rainfall. That means the time for the daisy is yet to come.
Good to know that paradise birds are water-guzzlers. I thought they are drought tolerant, as the leaves and stems look dry.
Regarding the word : scantier", I consulted online. You know what, both are correct. When I saw your correction of "scantier", my first response is you are correct. It is "scanty". But then I questioned myself what part of speech of the word "scant" then. It is also an adjective. Interestingly, when I WeChat-ed my daughter for her opinion (as she is quarantined), she actually chose "scanter". Both are right, though. Thanks, my friend, for your reading and comment!
"A sprightly colorful daisy standing on the middle of the road greeted us. But much to our disappointment the slope was bare without any flowers. " The two sentences seemed to contradict each other.
"scanter" should be "scantier."