Cool Weather

As evening approached yesterday, it was cool and overcast. Sunlight off clouds to the east was spectacular

Seems like it has been unusually cool and overcast for most of July. The Fourth is generally blistering, but this year it reached only 80 degrees. The high for last Wednesday and Thursday was only 76 and yesterday reached up to 83 degrees.

So, I went to Accuweather to check on normal temps for this time of year. Turns out that historical averages for the first couple weeks of July are in the high 80's and on July 15 the average edges over to 90 degrees. So you know what's coming up, average temperatures stay at 90 to 91 for the rest of July, all of August and the first week of September. We generally have a few days where high hovers around 100.

I like the cool, but I think it's slowing things in the garden. Tomatoes are growing much slower than last year. It will get hotter here in all too short a time. The forecast for next week moves us into the 90's.

Hahamongna - Keep It Natural

1880 Topographical Map of the Los Angeles and San Bernardino Basin, Wm. Hall, Office of the California State Engineer

Here's the thing about Hahamongna: the place is unique. Just over the city's edge and at the mouth of the Arroyo Seco, Hahamongna is a rare spot that lies between the San Gabriel Mountains and the expansive urban flatlands. There's a stream, native plant life, animals and birds.

Nothing like it in Pasadena. Really not much like it in all of southern California.

Hahamongna should be preserved.

Soccer fields, are important. But, soccer fields do not need to be built in Hahamongna.

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So, what's with the map?

We don't generally think much about the natural landscape of our cities. That's probably because we don't see much of it any more. Hills have been graded down, low spots filled up, ravines covered, buildings erected.

But, there is or was a natural terrain around us. The map shows this in detail -- the dominant San Gabriel Mountains, the smaller ranges, the valleys, and near the middle of the map, two rivers running from the mountains to the ocean. You can spot where Pasadena is -- in the upside down "u" just east of the big San Fernando Valley.

Aside from the fact that old maps are fun, the point is this: The valleys are expansive. But over the entire region, there are few places where river, valley and mountains converge. Hahamongna is one of those places. Let's preserve it.

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For others participating in the Great Hahamongna Blog Day, visit these great local blogs:


Altadena Above It All
Altadena Hiker
A Thinking Stomach
East of Allen
Finnegan Begin Again
LA Creek Freak
Mendolonium
Mister Earl's Musings
My Life With Tommy
Pasadena Adjacent
Pasadena Daily Photo
Pasadena Latina
SaveHahamongna.org
Selvage
The Sky Is Big In Pasadena
Webster's Fine Stationers Web Log
West Coast Grrlie Blather
Avenue to the Sky
91105 and Beyond
Greensward Civitas

Rose Bowl Fireworks

Went inside the Rose Bowl last night for the 84th Annual July 4th AmericaFest celebration.


This photo isn't great, but this is really what it looks like during the finale. A lot of smoke mixed in with fireworks and accompanied by a loud succession of booms.

I tried, but didn't get a picture of the fireworks that exploded into a giant happy face over the Rose Bowl. However, I did get these zeros.

Berry Good, But Berry Brief

This is my irregular garden update that I'm doing without photos more or less to keep track of what's going on around here.

Berries. Berry season is short, but great. Two years ago we planted blackberries. For some reason I didn't think we could grow them, but they've done just fine. Had dozens and dozens of berries this year, none of which made it into the house. Something irresistible about berries off the vine -- you just got to eat them when they're picked. I'm told it takes about 4 years before the vines will supply enough berries to actually pick for preserves or pies.

Apricot. This is our first tree to fruit each year. Seems every year I forget just how good homegrown fruit is. And then I pick my first ripe apricot of the season and it all comes back. Wow. Sweet as honey. We did a good job of getting the apricots off the tree before they rotted or birds got them. Got some fruit leather out of it.

Avocado. Lots of young fruit on the tree. Will keep deep watering every other week. We have to wait a long time for the fruit to mature, but it will be well worth it.

Plum and peach. These are young trees with a whole lot of fruit. The plums are small but really sweet and about gone. I'm disappointed in the flavor of the peach, but we will likely have enough for a run at ice cream this weekend.

Citrus. Citrus around here is a mixed bag. Our established lemon has not produced for a couple of years, but is loaded this year. We have several mature trees that were "rescues" from folks who didn't want them and transplanted in our yard. They are in various states of recovery. A few younger citrus is kind of poking along. This is all kind of wait and see. Ironic because, like much of this area, our house was once part of a citrus grove.

Toyon and Bees

The Toyon is blooming.

And the bees know it

Whew! Lakers Win. Channel 7 Ruins Postgame

Chick Hearn called it "nervous time" -- those last minutes of a game where tensions are high and either team could win. Last night, the whole game was nervous time. The Lakers trailed by double digits in the second half and somehow turned it around for a come from behind championship win over the dreaded Celitcs.

My Laker allegiance goes back to when the Laker big men were named Rudy and Mel instead of Shaq or Pau. For me, the finals against the Celtics have been equal parts joy and fear. Joy of the thought of another championship. And fear of yet another loss to Boston.

Yesterday's Times captured my mood. Heisler wrote about the Lakers' '69 loss to the Celtics in game seven. Plaschke couldn't get away from "nagging twinges of doom." Me too.

I got those twinges of doom even in the first minute when Kobe drove the lane, was mugged, and no foul was called. It was clear the refs would only call the most egregious fouls and that favored the Celtics. It also promised an ugly low scoring game, which is what we got.

Kobe never got on track, made just 6 of 24 shots, and missed free throws to boot. The rest of Lakers team were the heroes -- Fisher, Gasol, Odom, Sasha. The enigmatic Ron Artest played an incredible game. And, right after the game, Artest made NBA finals history by becoming the first player to thank his psychiatrist on national TV.

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Local postgame coverage on KABC Channel 7 was absolutely terrible.

Instead of reporting on the celebration inside the Laker locker room, KABC focused on the crowd outside of Staples Center and on a few stupid incidents. There was helicopter coverage of the foolishness and several reporters on the street. They trumped up as much unrest as they could, glorified the drunken fools and repeatedly interviewed the police. About the last things I wanted to see after an historic Laker win.

Remembering John Wooden

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success

Recently the "toy department of human life," has offered up a lot to ponder. That's especially true for this lifelong LA sports fan. We've got the Lakers-Celtics again in the NBA finals and the NCAA's ridiculous sanctions against USC football. We've got the US tying England in soccer.

Then, in a whole different category, there's the passing of John Wooden.

Coach Wooden

I grew up a Laker, Dodger, Ram and Bruin basketball fan. Back then, UCLA basketball was just amazing to watch -- the stifling full court press, Kareem, Walton, and the rest. Ten NCAA championships in a dozen years. Nothing like it before or since. But, as dominant as UCLA was in the 60's and 70's, you always knew there was more to those teams than just basketball. There was the person and the teaching of John Wooden.

Coach John Wooden died June 4 at the age of 99. He coached his last game in 1975, yet what the man taught was so enduring and so compelling that 35 years after his retirement his death was front page news across the nation. By "the numbers," he ranks as one of the greatest coaches of all time -- regardless of sport. But, remarkably, almost all of the buzz (and there's been a lot of it) is not about basketball. The Internet is filled with story upon story of Wooden's teaching, his upright life and his devotion to his wife, Nell.

Wooden's life began in 1910 in a house with no indoor plumbing and it ended this month with his life and his teaching splashed across the World Wide Web. Through it all, he was guided by a seven part creed given him by his father, an Indiana farmer. Kind of bedrock rules for living, the creed stood the tests of time and place -- from Wooden's schoolboy days in Martinsville, IN to Westwood in the tumultuous 60's and they anchor his legacy today.

I've enjoyed the celebration of Wooden's life and reconnecting with Wooden's teaching. Now, make today your masterpiece... and be quick, but don't hurry....