Bamboo in the wind

For the last 24 hours, high winds with gusts up to 40 miles per hour have been whipping through the Sacramento Valley. Last night, the wind was so loud that I ended up sleeping with the pillow over my ears to block out the sound. This morning, our newspaper was in the middle of the street; it had been blown right out of our driveway. And just now when I got the mail from the community mailboxes down the street, I noticed hundreds of mistletoe berries that had been knocked out of the mistletoe-infested Bradford pear tree by the mailboxes. That was a very odd sight—maybe because I hadn’t expected to see so many of these greenish white berries that to me look like something a witch in a Grimm fairytale would use to concoct a poisonous brew.

The wind is supposed to die down this evening, but right now at 3:30pm, it’s still beating the living daylights out of the potted Golden Goddess bamboos next to our front door. It’s a good thing I had just watered them. Nothing desiccates bamboo leaves faster than a high wind, so be sure to keep your bamboos well watered, especially potted specimens.