Friday, April 6, 2012

Encounter with a Legend

I drove carefully down his street and pulled up beside the curb.   I turned the engine off and took in the scene. It was noisy like a barnyard.   A rooster crowed.  Chickens clucked and scurried around my car.   I watched two hens scamper across the street.  They darted into a yard where a big red rooster held forth -- posted menacingly atop a fence.   The rooster crowed some more.   An overcast sky darkened.  

I had ventured over the edge.  The northern edge that is.   I was in Altadena.

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"Dad, is that where we're going?"    Thinking there would be some educational or historical value to our visit, I had brought my teenage son along to share the experience.    He pointed across the street to the house with big red out in front.   The rooster crowed some more. 

"No," I said.  "He lives somewhere back here."   Both of us were relieved. 

We walked down the street toward a jungle of trees and shrubs.   The sound of birds grew louder as we approached the mass of green.   I saw a gray haired man on the sidewalk and called out, "Hi, are you Tim?"   The man shook his head and said, "No, but I can take you to him."

 The man led us down the sidewalk to the front of the jungle.    "He lives in here" the man said pointing toward the wall of green.  I looked to where the man pointed, but saw no house; only plants and birds.  Then, with his hands, the man parted two low lying branches and stepped over a short wall into the jungle. 

We followed.   Once in the jungle the light dimmed as we walked over a narrow spongy path.   Plants brushed our shoulders and trees angled overhead.  There were more chickens and more ducks and more noise.  Then geese and turkeys ran to join us, honking and gobbling.  Suddenly our narrow path became uncomfortably crowded.  We pushed forward.

At last we turned a corner into a small clearing.   A patch of sun broke through the jungle.   We had reached the house.  But, we were now closed in.   The porch was in front of us and the jungle to the back and sides.   The geese and turkeys had followed and were a in a phalanx behind us, honking and gobbling in indignant tones and blocking our exit.

"Not many people make it this far," said the man matter-of-factly.   And I do believe he was telling the truth.   

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You have to be extra ordinary, highly unusual, to become famous.  I think that goes double when you're talking about Los Angeles and especially Atladena.   The extraordinary seem drawn to these places -- like flies to light.   It takes a lot to stand out here.

But, Tim Dundon does stand out and has for a long time.  His list of monikers tell you he's no ordinary guy.  He's the Sodfather, the Guru of Doodoo, the Compost Crusader, Zeke the Sheik the Compost Freak.  Tim's got a message and he's made his point.

Tim spreads the Gospel of Compost.  He'll wax eloquently and even poetically about the wonders of compost -- how decaying foliage can be used to give life.   And he walks his talk.    His own jungle is a testament to the growing prowess of his methods.  So is the compost pile he keeps at his home.   Known as Zeke's Heap, the pile at one point reached 40 feet high and 200 feet wide.

An Altadena flag was designed bearing Tim's likeness and that of his pile. 

Many stories have been written about Tim and his work.  Daniel Chamberlain has a good one here and LA Weekly did a good piece back in 2004.   Video of Tim is plentiful too, with good stuff on YouTube here and here.   .

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So, there we were, our guide, my son, me and seemingly dozens of birds, all standing at Tim's door.  After some wait, we finally met Tim.   A big guy, he appeared a bit stooped over with age.  Tim's gray beard flowed down past his chest and his long gray hair was gathered behind him in a pony tail.

Considering we had arrived unannounced, Tim was as gentlemanly as could be. He spontaneously talked about the wonder of compost.  I told him we were getting our vegetable garden ready.  Tim said his magic mulch would work miracles in the garden and talked about the importance of mulching to protect the soil.  

I asked if he had compost available and he readily obliged.  He pulled an old business card and a pen out of his pocket.   On the corner of the card, he wrote my address and phone number.  He said there were others ahead of me, but that he would he would call when he was ready.    I thanked him for the visit and for the compost to come.  

Tim said that he would deliver a load of "craptonite" to our  house in about three weeks.

And, he did.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Drama in a Meadow off New York Drive

It is always fun to see deer - especially when you live in the city.   I saw these deer this afternoon at the edge of the meadow across from the old Earthlink building on New York Drive.  

There were four deer.  Two large deer and a couple of younger, smaller deer.    . 

Then I spotted another animal moving over the hillside above the meadow. . I couldn't get a great look at it.  But, it was definitely a cat. Looked like a bobcat or small mountain lion.   I saw the cat move along a stretch of chain link fence and then crouch down.     About fifty feet and a line of chain link separated the cat from the deer. 

I watched the drama play out from the street.   Would the cat go after the deer?

Then I moved in for a closer look.  Camera in hand, I very stealthily stepped over a string of wire and crept into the meadow.   With one eye I watched the animals.  With my other eye,  I tried to navigate the meadow without stepping on anything crunchy.


I made my way well into the meadow.   I still had a bead on the deer.   The cat lurked behind the deer. A hawk soared above.   Just a few more steps and I would pause for what was going to be a great picture.

Then, quail happened. 

I've seen quail in the meadow before.  They scurry around from bush to bush.  Fun to watch. Hard to follow.  Impossible (for me) to photograph.

I had taken one step too many.   A bevy of quail scattered across the ground in front of me.   I watched the birds dart through the brush.  Then, I looked up.  The deer were walking away.   I looked in vain for the cat.  It was gone.

The drama was done.  Show over.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Mulch Mountain

Though The Windstorm was two months ago, the vestiges of the storm are still with us.    Fallen trees and limbs are still being ground up into mulch.   One of the grinding operations has been on Sierra Madre Blvd., just east of PHS.   The mulch mountain there is big -- probably 30 feet tall.   

Another mulch mountain is at the Sierra Madre Villa Debris Basin just west of Hastings Ranch.  The photo just doesn't do justice to the size of the mulch mountain there.   This one too is about 20-30 feet high.

At one point, I read where the mulch was available for use.  But, recently I heard just the opposite -- that the mulch is being trucked away to a landfill.   Anyone know what's really happening with this stuff?   .

 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012 Rose Parade Awards

As we usually do, we walked yesterday morning  to Sierra Madre Blvd. to take in the parade.  It was hot and sunny-- shorts and t-shirt weather - and fun.   Parade highlights included some great bands, two floats built with California Grown flowers and the pooper scoopers.   From the 90-odd parade entries, I've selected the most extraordinary and notable efforts for this year's coveted East of Allen Rose Parade Awards.  Without further adieu:

TWO HUNDRED MILE AWARD -- CAL POLY UNIVERSITIES


This award goes to the California Grown float with the best use of flowers grown within 200 miles of Pasadena.   The Cal Poly float, as usual, was one of  the best in the parade.   The float qualified as California Grown because 85% of the flowers used were grown in California.   Even closer to home, many of the flowers on the float are grown by students on the Cal Poly campus 
Always funny, always unique and California Grown to boot.
BEST CALIFORNIA GROWN COMMERCIAL FLOAT -- CALIFORNIA CLOCK CO.

California Clock Co.makes the famous Kit Cat Clocks.   The company's clocks are California- made all the way and they wouldn't go for imported flowers on their float.  Though rookie entrants, they broke with Rose Parade convention and used all California grown flowers on their float.   The picture does not do justice to  this effort which was exceptionally colorful and featured skateboarders and great music.
 BEST POOPER SCOOPER-- THE BROOM BALANCER 

 As a group, the pooper scoopers were extraordinary this year.  I'm not sure if these folks are tournament volunteers, professional clowns or what, but this year several of the scoopers put on a show.  This gentleman amazed the crowd with his act of balancing a broom on his chin and then paused for photos.  Now let's put this feat into perspective -- the broom he's balancing over his face just swept up fresh horse poop over the five mile parade route.   To me, this is the kind of stuff that makes for a fun time.  Great act and a.real parade highlight.     

 BEST CHEER SQUAD -- WISCONSIN BADGERS

Like the badger.

 These folks were active -- much more active than the Ducks' cheerleaders.   After five miles on the parade route they were still doing stunts.   Great group.

BEST BAND -- WISCONSIN BADGERS

 Can't beat Midwest bands.   These guys were active, engaged the crowd and were fun to watch.   Band members broke up on the street to play, danced around, then some actually went into the crowd.  A great show.

BEST LIVING CELEBRITY -- DICK ENBERG  
BEST DECEASED CELEBRITY -- ROY ROGERS

The RFD TV float was led by 100 golden palominos and paid tribute to Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys.   Saw Trigger, Bullet and Nellie Bell on the float too.  Happy trails to you....

Best living celebrity had to be Hall of Fame announcer Dick Enberg.  He rode in the parade with other greats and carried a sign with his trademark "Oh My" exclamation.  

BEST LION --  LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY

 The alma mater deserves an award. I'm biased, but  LMU is an extraordinary college and they put together a pretty good float too.  The float celebrates the school's 100th year.  This is the first time Loyola has participated with a parade entry since 1936. 

MOST ANTICIPATED FLOAT -- NATURAL BALANCE


 Longest float ever, heaviest float ever and surfing dogs.   This was the one everyone waited to see.  Only one problem -- it was hard to see the show standing on the ground.  I heard this was great on TV, but was kind of a disappointment from where I stood.

BEST MUNICIPAL FLOAT -- SIERRA MADRE

 Actually La Canada and Sierra Madre both had fun floats.   The award could have gone either way.  But, I like the guy on top of the Sierra Madre float.   Amid budget crises and decline in the local economy, fewer and fewer cities are paying to build floats for the parade.  Kudos to Sierra Madre, La Canada, Alhambra, South Pas and Glendale for hanging in there.   I don't remember an Arcadia float, but otherwise all of Pasadena's neighbors entered floats.   I like the show of the regional pride, but seems strange to me they would build their floats with imported flowers.

Monday, January 2, 2012

News Flash from the 2012 Rose Parade: Two Floats will Use California Grown Flowers

The Cal Poly float is one of only two floats in this year's Rose Parade to qualify as California Grown, meaning 85% of the flowers on the float are grown in California.
  The other 41 Rose Parade floats are mainly decorated with imported flowers.


 The Rose Parade goes back 1890 and was started by the prestigious Valley Hunt Club.  The notion was to showcase Pasadena and all its charms to easterners in hopes of enticing them to move West.   "The abundance of fresh flowers, even in the midst of winter" was part of the enticement.   As eminent club member Charles Holder said, "In New York, people are buried in snow," announced Professor Charles F. Holder at a Club meeting. "Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."

Now, more than 120 years years after the Rose Parade began, southern California flowers still bloom in January and orange trees are loaded with fruit.  But today the Rose Parade floats carry flowers shipped in from South America.  Holder's notion of showing off our paradise has faded to oblivion.  As yesterday's LA Times pointed out, the floral paradise showcased on today's Rose Parade floats is imported.

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Though news to me, this importing flowers business has been accepted for decades.

In a Star-News piece from last year, longtime float builder Jim Hynd observed, "When I first started in this industry in the '70s, 90 percent of our flowers came from within 200 miles of us.... That's totally the absolute opposite now. Most everything we get comes in from South America or other parts of the world."


Turns out that most flowers used on floats are flown from South America to Miami and then trucked 4,000 miles across country in refrigerated trailers.   Parade floats use "an estimated 20 million flowers transported from around the world in aircraft and trucks:orchids from Asia; dried everlasts from Africa; roses from Colombia and other South American countries; and tulips from Holland."

Imports are so much the standard that the official Rose Bowl rose  now hails from South America.  Last year, the Tournament of Roses and Rose Bowl named Passion Growers, a Miami-based importer of flowers grown in Columbia and Ecuador, as their official flower.    As the Times reported, the news infuriated California flower growers.

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As strange as it seems, it is big news when a Rose Parade float actually uses locally grown flowers   Yesterday, the LA Times reported that floats from Cal Poly University and the California Clock Company.are using mainly California grown flowers with California Clock shooting for 100% California flowers..  The Tournament of Roses says California Clock is "the only entry to attempt that feat in many decades."   

The Cal Poly floats are always one of my favorites and I understand that the schools' floats have always used flowers grown at the SLO and Pomona campuses.  

The California Clock Company is a parade newcomer and recoiled at the notion of  buying imported flowers for its float.  The company is from Fountain Valley and is best known for its Kit Cat Clocks and its CEO, Woody Young, has distinguished himself as a star of this parade.  As related in the LA Times, "As the leader of a California company, Young said, he wanted to support locally grown ingredients.“All of the parts of our clocks are made in the U.S.,” he said. “We resisted the idea of going offshore for even part of our manufacturing, so it is just fitting that we should have California fresh-cut flowers and greens on our first Rose Parade entry.”

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I am a big parade fan.  No other city the size of Pasadena has anything like it.   And, I respect the Tournament folks -- they're a civic minded lot who devote a lot of volunteer time to make this thing happen. 

But, personally, I was stunned to learn the flowers on Rose Parade floats are imported.  To me, importing the flowers gives the Rose Parade a contrived, soulless quality.   Despite all its problems, I still have pride in California and still think of the state as a place where everything grows. 

I am disappointed that parade and bowl leaders don't stand up for California growers and buy local and I am disappointed for California growers who have to compete against overseas' operations that play by different rules.    I'm saddened to learn that yet another California industry has withered in the name of "save money, live better."   

What ever happened to California pride?   Well, it is alive and well down in Fountain Valley.  Maybe it takes a quirky clock maker from the OC to restore some of the parade's local luster.   I hope Woody Young's local pride spreads and I will certainly be watching his Kit Cat Clock float this morning.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas 1878 at the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel

 
                                 Sierra Madre Villa Hotel ca. 1886
                                 By Carleton E. Watkins
                                 Courtesy of the California History Room
                                 California State Library, Sacramento, California



There is nothing like Christmas through a child's eyes.

William Lauren Rhoades grew  up in the 1870's and 80's at the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel.  His dad, William Porter Rhoades, was the proprietor of the Villa and co-owned the Villa along with his father in law, artist William Cogswell.  As an old man, William Lauren recounted the history of the Sierra Madre Villa and wrote about the Christmas of his childhood.   The story includes a donkey named after his mom, a giant Christmas tree, and a gift exchange between the two cultures that lived full time at the Villa -- that of the Rhoades and Cogswell families, who had migrated west from New York, and that of a group of Chinese men, who had originally migrated east to work on the railroads and then staffed the Villa.    .    

I enjoy Rhoades' account and post it every year.   So, without further adieu, let's travel with Mr. Rhoades back to East Pasadena in the late '70's.......    

From The History of the Famous Sierra Madre Villa Hotel by William Lauren Rhoades:

When Christmas time rolled around the real fun began. I will describe a typical Christmas day in the late seventies. The day before Christmas was one of excitement for all were preparing the gifts, some driving into Los Angeles, a thirty mile drive, to get the last few gifts needed and to shop for all the rest and only about two dry goods stores, two book stores and a few other places to purchase but that made it all the more exciting. There was a tree to sit up fully nineteen feet high, that was the height of the ceiling, and a spread of branches in proportion. Then the trimmings, popping the corn and putting on the cornucopias, hanging the glass balls and the angel on the top. That day the Chinese boy, Sam, made mysterious trips to Mother's room with packages coming from the servants and Chinese on the ranch.

Christmas morning was always the opening of an eventful day. I well recall
Christmas of 1878. After breakfast I was taken out to the front of the house and there stood my donkey, which was given me two years before to ride and I named her after my Mother, Jennie, and there she was hitched up to a two wheeled cart made to order with a swell leather seat, the running gear was painted red and the body black, the harness was black with shining brass buckles. The guests all stood round enjoying my delight. I took Mother in at once and we drove off in style and many were the happy days I had with the children at the Villa in that turnout.

Christmas morning the coach that ran to the San Gabriel Southern Pacific Railroad Station daily for the mail and passengers, was ready to take any who might wish to go to the
Episcopal Church in San Gabriel, as was the custom on Sundays. Then the day passed and all were in readiness for the big event in the evening with the Christmas tree.



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Rhoades goes on to describe the evening festivities that took place in the hotel parlor with the Rhoades family and hotel guests attending. Christmas carols were sung and the tree was "stripped." There was a gift exchange with Villa's many Chinese workers. Rhoades reports that, to the delight of hotel guests, the workers would enter the parlor with a flourish. Dressed in fine silks, the workers had "their heads freshly shaved with their cues hanging down their backs with red ribbons braided into their hair." They came bearing gifts of sweet lichi nuts, ginger and dainty cakes. In turn, the workers were given a fattened pig for roasting.

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The Sierra Madre Villa Hotel was a famous West Coast resort located in the foothills of what is now East Pasadena.   The Hotel is the namesake of Pasadena's Villa Street and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, which served as the access to the old hotel.   If you're interested to know more, I've a dozen or so posts on the Villa that are categorized under the Labels heading on the right side of this blog.  

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Hastings Ranch Christmas Lights 2011


Organized Christmas displays in the Upper Hastings Ranch neighborhood have been a tradition since 1957.   Last year I spoke with the "mayor" of Hastings Ranch and my 2010 Christmas post has some interesting history of this great annual event.

We drive Hastings Ranch several times during the Christmas season and I always enjoy it.  One of my favorite houses has relatively little in the light category, but shows the old Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer TV special from the 60's.   There is a large screen set up on the front lawn the show plays continually with sound.  Seems whenever I drive by there are cars parked in front of the house and sometimes kids sitting on the grass watching the show.   The house in on Daveric just south of Alegria.     


Of course, when in Hastings Ranch you can also see the lights of the valley below.   Upper Hastings Ranch is on a mesa in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and affords some wonderful views.