California Lilac Sapphire Ceanothus

 The color of lox.....

That's what jumped into my head when I looked at a neighbor's house in this photo taken at the top of the street where I live.

Our home is near the top of the longest uninterrupted city block in San Francisco, almost all of it uphill. At the very end of the street is a STOP sign where you can either turn left, or make a -very- sharp right and drive up this poured concrete ramp to hook up with the street above ours. This is where the lox-colored house stands guard.

What I really wanted to share was the beautiful sight  of the ceanothus (also know as a California lilac) planted along the side of the ramp that is now in full blooming glory...
A deep sapphire blue that shimmers in its intensity even on foggy days, it is an irresistible draw for bees. Behind it's looming blueness stands a burgundy plum street tree now in leaf, and below it a gray feathery shrub, probably some sort of Australian native.

I actually look forward to running errands these days because I get to take in all this loveliness on my way (carefully) up the narrow concrete ramp...