Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
Normally we would load the car down with gifts and head over to my folks' house where bedlam typically reigns with kids running all around. But, my mom is recovering this year from a tough surgery and the family gathering will need to wait. I'll head over this afternoon, but for the rest of the family, a merry Christmas phone call will have to suffice for today.
Every year, we enjoy our area's Christmas displays. We do Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena (with our car lights off). We take multiple trips to Hastings Ranch and the Balian house. It is amazing they've been doing the lights in Hastings Ranch since 1957!
I made several runs at passable pictures of Christmas lights. Believe it or not, I took pictures of lots of great stuff. Just none of it came out. Anyway, the top picture is from a lawn display in Hastings. The manger scene below is one of the many scenes at the Balian house.
Monday, December 22, 2008
San Gabriel Mountains with snow
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Secret Garden
“At Earthside Nature Center, a two-acre garden only for natives founded in 1971, [Kevin] Connelly and naturalist-author Elna Bakker work with more than color combinations in mind. Though the place is positively brilliant, what was first in the gardeners’ minds was a desire to see plants with their natural companions.” The book describes two acres of flat gardens with pathways zig- zagging down the hillside next to the wash.
Also, thanks to Richard Janisch for uncovering this gem!
One of the terraced paths leading down the hill beside the wash.
A potting shed with bench and sink to the right. Also, notice how deep the leaves are around the picnic table.
Another trail, now blocked by a fallen tree, heading southward alongside the wash. A 1967 plan approved by the Pasadena Parks Director, but never implemented, designated part of this area east of the wash for overnight group camping.
Grape vines, like those in the foreground, border much of the nature center. This is taken standing on one of the terraced trails looking south from the nature center. That's the Eaton Wash with Eaton Blanche park to the right.
A kiosk that, according to a faded sign, was donated by the Pasadena Rotary Club.
I had to push away old grape vines to see what this sign said. There are bunches of dried grapes on the left of this photo. I wonder what the Dr. Stephen Smith Learning Center was.
Yes, I know this is a repeat of a photo that appears above. But, I can't figure out how to delete just this one picture without deleting the entire post, which I really don't want to do!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Stealth Bomber - out for a Sunday flight (12-9 Update)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Egg!
For several weeks we have been checking for eggs - sometimes many times a day. A week ago someone suggested placing a golf ball in the nesting box. I guess the notion is that the ball would give the chickens an idea of what they were supposed to be doing. Well, they got their golf ball and we got an egg!
It was mid June when we got six one-day old chicks. Now about five and one-half months later we have an egg!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Backyard Buried Treasure
One of the fun things about working on an old house is that you never know what you're going to find. This is some glass and pottery we've found while digging around in the yard. The cut glass and colored glass is really beautiful. And the old transfer ware, like the blue and white piece in the upper right corner, is particularly nice. I don't know why, but there is a lot of this old stuff about a foot or so underground. I keep waiting to find a whole plate or cup, but all we seem to get are pieces.
I've found lots of bones. These bones and teeth are the most interesting and were found lodged together. When I dug these up, there was a small fang that hooked down from the right edge of the top bone. The fang dropped out though and is now lost. I dug around for other bones, but didn't see much. Have no idea what animal this was. Any thoughts?
These are old square cut nails we've found when working on the house. These predate the mass produced wire nails that we use today. Large scale production of today's wire nails started around the turn of the century. These are square cut nails, made by shearing slabs of metal at a bias, and were often used in construction prior to 1900.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Picking and Curing Olives
I don't know how the olives are going to turn out, but they sure look nice. Oh, if you taste a raw and uncured olive be prepared for a shock. They are incredibly bitter.