It's always so much fun to see photos from others taken during their vacations.
Not long ago, a member of my outdoor grounds crew, Pasang Sherpa, returned from a trip to his native Nepal. Nepal is a landlocked nation located between India and the autonomous region of China known as Tibet. Sherpas live in the most mountainous areas of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. They are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes. It is quite a distance from here, but Pasang tries to go back regularly to visit relatives and friends, and to enjoy the many beautiful sights and delicious foods of his homeland.
Enjoy these photos.
If you are not familiar with Nepal, it is the country of Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world, and the birthplace of Gautama Buddha- Lumbini. Several of my outdoor grounds crew are from Nepal and love to go back whenever they can.
Many of you may recognize Pasang from this blog. He is our resident tree expert here at my farm. Here he is at the airport in Nepal getting picked up by his nephew and his wife’s brother.
Boudhanath is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. In Buddhism, a stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation. This stupa is one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal and the world.
One of the first things Pasang did when he got to Nepal was enjoy a nice dinner with his friends.
While it rarely snows in the lowlands of Nepal, there is snow up on the mountains. Pasang took this photo of the snowcapped Numbur, a glaciated mountain located in the Rolwaling Himal mountain range. Winter in Nepal occurs at the same time as here – December, January and February. The lower elevations are very dry and cold.
When Pasang was small, he went to school in Nunthala, Sholukhumbu, nestled in the serene landscapes of rural Nepal.
Nepal generates more than 95-percent of its electricity from hydropower. Hydropower, also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This station was just opened less than two years ago.
This waterfall feeds the hydropower station.
This is Taksindu, a ward in Solukhumbu District in the Province 1 of north-eastern Nepal. It is a small village with a population less than three-thousand.
In this photo is the Taksindu Monastery, a Sherpa Buddhist monastery which sits on the cusp of the divide between Solu and Khumbu, Nepal. It is
a residential school for 60 monks and nuns and 20 lay people,
and is the primary religious institution for the surrounding community.
These are just two of the young students.
And these are some of the young graduates of the monastery who will go on to dedicate their lives to serving other people or leave mainstream society and live life in prayer and contemplation.
At the top of the Taksindu Pass is this temple, Taksindu La.
Pasang took photos up close and from away to show the picturesque views of the Khumbu region.
Here is another snapshot of Taksindu La before Pasang went inside.
And here is Pasang with his nephew’s wife. Although he traveled alone on this trip, Pasang was able to see many relatives and family friends.
And this is Pasang’s mother, Kanchhe Sherpa. She is placing flower petals in dishes of water outside the monastery for the Buddha. Flowers symbolize the Six Paramitas: giving, abiding by the precepts, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom.
Pasang also visited the Nepali hospital where his son was born. This is the Phaplu Hospital located in Solukhumbu. It was originally built in 1975 to provide medical services to the densely populated area. Pasang says he is happy to see how it has evolved and improved over the years.
From Phaplu, Pasang could see Numbur. Here is another view of the Numbur mountain, which is 22,828 feet high.
This photo was taken during Pasang’s early morning Pikey Peak trek. This trail is in the lower Everest region known as Solu Khumbu. From the summit, which is at an altitude of 4065 meters, or 2.5 miles up, there is a magnificent view.
Pasang was so happy to get these photos. This one was taken at about 6am.
He also saw yaks and naks. Yaks are also known as tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle. It is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of South Asia, the Tibetan Plateau, Kashmir, Tajikistan, and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. The female is called a nak.
And here is Pasang with his friend, Temba. Pasang spent about three weeks in his homeland, but is already looking forward to his next trip. Thanks Pasang, for sharing your photos.
As serious and passionate gardeners, whenever Ryan McCallister and I have time, we always enjoy visiting botanical gardens.
During Ryan's recent holiday trip home to California, he blocked out some time to visit the University of California Botanical Garden, a 34-acre establishment that includes some of the most diverse landscapes in the world, with more than 10,000 types of plants, many rare and endangered species. First established in 1890 and laid out geographically, the UC Botanical Garden features nine regions of naturalistic plantings from Australasia to South Africa, along with a major collection of California native specimens.
Ryan took some photos of those plants that interested him, enjoy.
The UC Botanical Garden is in the Berkeley Hills, inside the city boundary of Oakland, with views of the San Francisco Bay. It has more than 20,000 accessions, representing 324 plant families, 12,000 different species and subspecies, and 2,885 genera. Outdoor collections are arranged geographically and nearly all specimens were collected in the wild.
In 1976 the Mather Redwood Grove was dedicated in honor of Steven T. Mather, a graduate of UC Berkeley in 1884 and the founding director of the National Park Service in 1916. Ryan sought out these redwoods, saying he had to find some during his trip. These were first planted in the 1930s.
Walking around, one can see how they tower above all the other plantings. Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Common names include coast redwood, coastal redwood, and California redwood.
These trees are long lived evergreens that can thrive for 1,200 to 2,200 years or more.
The wood color can range from a light pinkish brown to a deep reddish brown. Sapwood is a pale white-yellow. Curly figure or Redwood burl (sometimes referred to as “lace” or by the name Vavona) are occasionally seen.
Elsewhere at the Botanical Garden – Encephalartos eugene, maraisii a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is limited to Limpopo. It is known as the Waterberg cycad. This plant grows in the sandstone hills of the Waterberg Range at almost a mile in elevation. The habitat is grassland and savanna.
Deterocohnia brevifolia, also known as Abromeitiella brevifolia, is a terrestrial bromeliad with small rosettes of fleshy triangular leaves with toothed margins and a sharp tip. It grows up to 6 feet in diameter, forming large compact rounded mats of hundreds of rosettes.
Nerine undulata is a species of flowering plant of the family Amaryllidaceae and native to the eastern Cape of South Africa. it is a bulbous perennial with narrow grasslike leaves that are almost evergreen, and umbels of 8-12 slender, crinkled pale pink, dainty flowers.
Pachypodium lamerei is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is a stem succulent, photosynthesizing mainly through its trunk, and comes from the island of Madagascar. It has large thorns and leaves mostly just at the top of the plant, and large, fragrant flowers.
Welwitschia mirabilis of namibia is unusual. This plant has large, strap like leaves that grow continuously along the ground. During its entire life, each plant produces only two leaves, which often split into many segments as a result of the leaves being whipped by the wind.
Lithops is a genus of succulent plants in the ice plant family, Aizoaceae. Members of this genus are native to southern Africa. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words for ‘stone’ and ‘face’, referring to the stone-like appearance of the plants.
UC Botanical Garden has a collection dedicated to Southern Africa. It includes plants from South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, and Namibia. The plants of this region are famous for their diversity of flowers and forms. Many species are found nowhere else in the world.
Ryan also saw a small pond of newts. A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.
The plants of Australasia are native to New Zealand, the mediterranean-climate and subtropical regions of Australia, and the high elevations of the South Pacific islands. The islands of New Zealand have year-round rainfall and a temperate climate. Ferns and conifers are prominent in this flora and are featured in the collection.
This is called Loropetalum – a genus of four species of shrubs or small trees in the witch-hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, native to China, Japan, and south-eastern Asia.
Its leaves are vibrant and range from a bright lime green to the deepest, darkest of purples.
Ryan stopped to take a quick photo with it.
Look at the large leaves on this plant. Gunnera tinctoria, known as giant rhubarb, Chilean rhubarb, or nalca, is a flowering plant species native to southern Chile and neighboring zones in Argentina. It is unrelated to rhubarb, as the two plants belong to different orders, but looks similar from a distance and has similar culinary uses.
The anchor plant is a South American shrub, Colletia cruciata, of the buckthorn family, having flattened green branches and yellowish-white flowers. Look closely, it is nearly leafless, but grows slowly up to nine feet tall with flattened two-inch wide triangular spine-tipped gray-green photosynthetic stems (called cladodes) arranged in opposite pairs, that somewhat resemble a ship’s anchor.
Acacia pravissima, commonly known as Oven’s wattle, wedge-leaved wattle, and Tumut wattle, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to Victoria, the South West Slopes and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
And this is California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, also known as golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold – a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico and Ryan’s favorite bloom. Thanks for always taking such interesting photos, Ryan.
No visit to Palm Beach is complete without a little shopping and sightseeing.
During my recent trip to Florida, my friends and I took some time to walk through some of the wonderful antique shops along Dixie Highway, Georgia Avenue, and Worth Avenue. We had so much fun touring the different galleries filled with furniture, lights, garden ornaments, and other decorating pieces - I always take lots of photos of items that interest and inspire me. We visited Pan's Garden, a private botanical garden dedicated to Florida's native plants. And, on our last day we drove to Merritt Island, home of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, to visit the historic Hacienda del Sol.
Here are more images from my holiday in Palm Beach - enjoy.
On this day we shopped along Georgia Avenue. This is Brass Scale Antiques, owned by Judy Barron. Judy’s shop focuses on American and mid-century pieces. She also runs estate sales in and around the Palm Beach area. I spotted this fun pet bowl and took a quick snapshot with it.
In another store, I saw this old 19th century tilt-top table completely covered with shells. It reminded me of my granddaughter, Jude, who loves shells and has a large collection of her own.
Here is the base of the table – also covered with interesting and beautiful shells.
At Casa Gusto, I admired this breakfront burl cabinet piece. Burl is a grain characteristic that happens in many types of wood and results from harvesting a tree or a part of a tree that has a burl.
Here, I was looking at both the woven mats on the wall used as the backdrop behind the paintings and the table – its apron has such an interesting shape.
This chandelier from Italy is made with Brazilian agate and brass.
I was told this giant clam shell came from the ocean off southeastern Africa. It caught my eye because I have several giant clam shells at Skylands. I often use them during parties to hold ice.
Later in the evening, I saw one of the most gorgeous trees. This is a kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra. It is a tropical tree from the family Malvaceae, native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and West Africa. A giant in the rainforests, the kapok tree can reach up to 200-feet in height, sometimes growing as much as 13-feet per year. This is one of only three kapok trees in Palm Beach.
One of the things we also did in Palm Beach was consume way too many desserts during our brief holiday. This chocolate mousse with tuile cookie and whipped cream was at Le Bilboquet.
And this is their apple tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream.
Not a dessert, but just as decadent – a baked potato with caviar at Club Colette, where we celebrated New Year’s Eve.
Here I am with Susan Magrino. The “necklace” I am wearing actually came off the table – it was part of the holiday decorations.
This is the first sunrise of the new year, 2024 from the famous Worth Avenue Clock Tower. As the tradition goes, whoever is at the Clock Tower when the clock rings in the New Year, can join a group photo for the local newspaper.
We also had the chance to visit Pan’s Garden on Hibiscus Avenue, just one block north of Worth Avenue.
Right away, I saw this Rhipsalis, a genus of epiphytic flowering plants in the cactus family, typically known as mistletoe cacti. I love rhipsalis and have many in my own collection.
Here is a beautifully shaped red cedar shrub.
This is called a coontie palm, Zamia integrifolia. It actually looks like a small fern and is typically one to three feet tall with stiff, glossy, featherlike leaves.
This is Southern river sage, Salvia misella, a low-growing ground cover native to the southern half of Florida and the Caribbean.
And this is Silver Saw Palmetto – a naturally occurring form of the Saw Palmetto that is native to the southeastern coast of Florida.
Do you recognize who I am with in this photo? It’s Dr. Mehmet Oz. He invited me over to see his gorgeous Addison Mizner designed 1919 mansion.
The next day, we did a little more shopping and antiquing. This is one of a pair of authentic Royere chairs.
And a wall of midcentury modern sconces.
I really liked these woodland stone squirrels, but the only reason I did not buy it was because I didn’t like the squirrel’s toes – they looked too much like fingers.
Driving by, I saw a sea heron drying its wings. At first I was concerned it was injured, but it later flew away, so I knew it was ok.
On our last day in the area, an extra day due to travel issues, we drove to Merritt Island to visit the iconic Hacienda del Sol, now the home of Todd Eberle and Richard Pandesio. Todd is a very talented photographer and over the years has taken many photos of me for my magazine, Living.
The 17,000-square-foot mansion features 11 bedrooms and 12½ bathrooms on a 7.5-acre site.
It also has a 50,000-gallon saltwater pool overlooking this half-acre man-made lake.
Look at the towering palm trees. There are many on the property.
I saw this charming bench. Doesn’t it remind you of a peacock’s tail?
This is one of the bathrooms. The original imported tile and marble came from Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
This is called weeping mortar, a style that involves applying a very large amount of mortar when laying brick, but then not scraping or molding the mortar after it seeps out between the bricks.
Here is a view of their living room.
And here we are at one of the bars – I think there must be about six in the house. It was so much fun to see Todd and Richard, and to end our brief Floridian holiday on Merritt Island. I’d love to bring my grandchildren here sometime to see Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center.
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