The Arrival of Fall
Nature produced a rare and spectacular thunder and lightning show to herald the arrival of the fall season here in Malibu! We are all praying for a rainy season to offset the drought we are experiencing. The thunderstorm produced some rain and more is expected in the next few days!
I was able to snap some photos of the storm and will be uploading them to the Lisa McKean Photography link on our web page.
Our Oracle fountain with lighting provided by Aquascapeinc.com
As you may have seen from the news, shipping around the world has been impacted greatly by both Covid and because our fountains are made and shipped from the UK, the complications Brexit wrought. Although our shipments over the course of the year have made it to their destinations pretty close to the promised delivery dates, the cost of shipping and haulage has risen dramatically. We are doing all we can to keep our costs down for our customers but please keep these costs in mind when contemplating purchasing one of our fountains.
On a happier note, our Wildfire to Wildflower mission, which we started after the Woolsey fire devastated the mountains and neighborhoods around us, has truly helped to bring back birds, bees and butterflies to the landscape surrounding us! Of course with the drought, we had to hand-water the wildflower seeds but they successfully grew and bloomed to the delight of ourselves and all the native pollinators. Although it took all my discipline to resist deadheading spent flowers, I was rewarded by the sight of many birds who came and perched on the flower stems to eat the seed heads! Hopefully with rainy El Nino this year more and more wildflowers will bloom continuing our mission!
Many customers have inquired about fountain pumps and keeping their water features working optimally. It is imperative to have a good pump. The custom-made fine mesh stainless steel pump bag which we provide with the fountain, is vital to ensuring the pump will not be interfered with by grit and debris. I think this article found here at HappyDIYHome.com is a wonderful reference for all those questions.
What I find really lovely is how many customers continue to send me photos or videos of their fountains, months or years after they have been installed. One customer sent me this video of her Oracle fountain with lighting provided by Aquascapeinc.com. They did a stunning job in creating a truly magical effect, which apparently has neighbors stopping by to ohhhh and ahhh.
Fountain at Night from Malibufountains.com on Vimeo.
Lastly, it has been almost three years since the fire destroyed our home and property, but we have finally moved into our re-build. It is fantastic to be home! What a journey it has been. Although the fire and then the looters took the fountains that once dotted the property, our next big project is to create an enchanting, fragrant garden complete with fountains once again. I hope to share our progress with you in the next newsletter! This last photo is my vision for what I would like to create, a pergola promenade!
Pergola promenade inspiration - photo by Alamy