Cactus Ramble

I had an extensive cactus collection
years ago......when babies came,
my cactus went bye bye.
My Grandma Nell loved Cactus
and I suppose it seeped down to me.
Tropical plants are well adapted to
growing in California where we are, at the
base of the Sierra Nevada mountains,
below the snow. Many people from Mexico
settled in this area as laborers, working
for the railroad, after it's completion.
When you see the "line crews" at work
repairing track, largely, it is Hispanic men;
they are very hard workers! Of the
labor that built the rail line that connected
the east to the west in the 1800s, the greatest percentage
of workers came from China, and also Ireland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad
The funding for the rail line ran out in the spring and summer
of 1864 , right here in my little town; financial backing was
secured and the building of the railroad resumed in spring
of 1865.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle,_California
It is rich heritage and people of many cultures that make
make up so much of our history in the US.
Sometimes we take for granted our surroundings.
Often plants traveled with the immigrants.
These pics are of plants that are in a neighbor's yard;
an immigrant family from Mexico. The
"prickly pear" cactus fruit is often made into
jam.....the blue green "century plant" Agave
blooms once in it's life, sending up a tall center
stalk and bloom, I love the imprint on
the stalks of the spikes on the underlying stalk,
a little like like solar imagery--maybe it is caused
by pressure? it is eye candy, to me.
The tips of the the stalk "leaves" host a spike so sharp,
you could open a soda can with one, easily.
Admirer, beware!:-)
The palms we enjoy in many variety locally, ..the one
shown can get tall..shown also is the trunk
of a nearby taller, parent plant, trimmed as it grows
upward, creating a basket weave on the trunk.
Locally we enjoy mandarins and
many are Japanese varieties , like Otawara, and
Satsuma that were introduced by Japanese
immigrants who recognised this area to be prime
agricultural land, and settled here as farmers
in the teens and 1920s.
The Portugese and Italians introduced grapes.
This area is sometimes described as Mediterranean
in climate, and terrain, and why many people
found it appealing.
People have a way of bringing with them,
what is dear to them, a reminder of "home":-)
Thanks for letting me share some of what I
hold dear to me, even if it is within the neighbors yard;-)
LOL...................thankyou all, for listens, views, kind words
this is a revised tuning of DADGAD --last improv (mantis) was
DADCAD ..I forget what I was shooting for, hehehe!...
dadgad is the tuning of "Sandwood down to Kyle".....
dear friend Claudio hipped me, in knowing this song.
hear his lovely artistry here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/csncsn00
please treat yourself to a scotsmans teaching
of "Sandwood down to Kyle".....:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cDjK5lMsRU
a search of the writer of the song, Dave Goulder, led to an interesting
fellow....and man after my rock loving heart...a wallbuilder
my love of rock must trickle down from my Scottish Ancestors?
;-)I'm blessed to have an ancient rockwall in my backyard, wish it could
talk......I wonder who built it?
...I'm off and running today..............
Xso, Laurie

Category:

Music

Tags:

• cactus
• pal
• agave
• slide guitar
• Framus arch back
• DADGAD tuning
• acoustic improv
• prickly pear cactus
• palm trees
• northern California

[dickidoo123]

These instrumental musings are just great. What kind of guitar do you use( dobro? national steel?.....) Sounds good , whatever it is.

[cinderellalifestyle]

@dickidoo123 thanks so much! I had to listen--I'd forgotten--this is an old 50s Framus acoustic I added a riser nut to , lap style steel....a beater--has alot of cosmetic and repairs, etc...a cool lil guitar tho,,,arch back, and small bodied..I like to leave my Nation reso tuned to open D and the framus allows other tunings,..for standby fun and variation:-)

Some of the instrumentals like almond blossom ramble are Uke---a beat up old Harmony Baritone.sometimes mic'd for best sound. again, TNX

[bedsitsongbird33]

thats a far out intro are you in dadgad there? love the bleding of the instruments magic

[017mls]

The music speaks for itself! Lovely!!

[karlake2]

Awesome! -karl

[weirdreamsite]

thank you for creating this- love it!!-I also have a beautiful cactus! i take it indoors anytime it rains...

[TheMinstrelSpirit]

brilliant tune Laurie...love the slippy Slide...I love cactus too...

[britbluesfan]

cool to read and listen and see, i like your cactus ramble very much !! & had tried experimenting with this tuning but with unexpected results lol Thanks very much for this Laurie :)

[AnnieCanada]

Love your guitar work here, goes so perfectly with these lovely shots ~ I have a collection of cactus myself, A nurse in the hospital I had to stay in as a child gave me one, and I've loved them ever since... healing~ hugs, Annie~

[CurtisMateer]

Well now, you and your music are just like cacti (right plural?) - prickly on the outside but beautiful, strange, a desert flower of sorts. The string sings at the end.