Puffin goes cherry picking

It must be cherry season because Henry’s has them on sale for $1.77/pound. Larry lives on the freshest fruit in season, so this week he’s turning into a cherry. Puffin showed an interest last year, so he gave him one this year. Puffin focused on the stem, swatting it, picking it up in his mouth, swinging it and dropping it. Kept himself (and us) entertained for about 5 minutes.

Akiko's 50th Anniversary

Many students from our Ikebana flower arranging class were invited to celebrate our Sensei’s 50th wedding anniversary and their 77th birthdays. Akiko and her husband Walt Bourland both celebrate their 77th birthdays this year as well as being married for 50 years. It was held at the Bahia Resort Hotel in the Mission Bay area. It was a very nice traditional american anniversary celebration with many friends and family present. Akiko wanted to arrange the centerpieces, but her daughters objected to that and assembled these clever floral displays with their youthful pictures at the center.

It was nice to see many students from our class at the celebration. In total, we sat at more than two tables. Pictured here are Trudi, Margie, Gail, and Kim. It was wonderful to see each one of us dressed up and we got to know each other a little better. Trudi also celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary this year!

Ccino gets an up-do

Let me start out by saying that Cappuccino loves to be groomed. He demands to be groomed. He hops up on the futon and starts howling. That’s our cue to pick up a brush and get started. Larry uses a plastic comb, the type that used to cost a nickle in the 5-and-dime store. He holds it at a slight angle and it gently pulls out the loose fur. He loves to be groomed, but he squirms a little bit. Okay, a lot. So Ccino is getting an up-do in this picture. Grooming session must be almost over.

Rainbow Canyon

We headed out to the desert with the intention of visiting the Salton Sea, but halfway into the trip we decided that the inner desert was quite hot and chose to find a hike in the Anza Borrego area. We had stumbled on Box canyon last time and decided to take more time exploring Rainbow canyon. This picture shows how the canyon got its name with the swirled sediments, pegmatite and granite veins.

Many cactus are flowering in early May after the modest winter rain showers. Shown here in the foreground is a flowering nipple cactus. Additionally, many barrel cactus were shining their halo of yellow bloom. Hedgehog cactus with its lower profile was making itself obvious with its bright magenta flowers.

I’m not sure where aspargus is grown in California, but it’s not in this desert. This is the beginning of the agave’s flower stalk. Already, this flower’s stalk was twelve feet tall. On this day, we saw stalks with white flowers and for the first time, yellow flowers.

Mirror, mirror

Mirror, mirror on the floor, who’s the cat we all adore? So all the pictures are down off the wall. The scuff marks have been painted. Where shall I hang the mirror again? I’ve been reading about Feng Shui and mirror placement is really scary. Don’t want to magnify a negative. In the meantime, the mirror is propped against the wall on the floor. The cats are happy to have access to the mirror. Cappuccino is happy to have his little friend back. He sits in front of the mirror, never quite looking directly at his reflection. He sings or howls or yowls his greetings or musings. That’s a positive I like doubling.

Roses on the streets of Little Italy

The 22nd Annual ArtWalk in Little Italy was this weekend. Recently, I had removed all the pictures from our walls. They were from travels on the East coast and we felt it was time to add some new West coast influence. While there were some beautiful works by artists, there was nothing that really resonated with us. The local Blick art store probably did a nice business with people who were more inspired by the display of creativity.
On India street, this man was weaving roses from a palm frond. It was amazing to watch him split the large frond and rapidly fold and spin the material into a beautiful rose.

Easter Finest

Happy Easter! It’s spring and time to put on your Easter finest. This male peacock (females are called peahens) was displaying his finest in front of the lower flamingo pool. He put on a show for more than 15 minutes, arching his feathers and shaking his auburn tail feathers.

Several peacocks roam the grounds (it’s ironic that a group of them are called a “pride”) and are rather tame around people. It’s not appropriate to reach out and touch its feathers, but you can walk within 6 feet of the bird without it getting upset.

Earth Day WorldFest

It was a chilly and inspiring day at the Los Angeles WorldFest on Saturday.

I learned from the bio-beetle guy that no modifications were made to his VW diesel beetle. Bio-diesel is a solvent which will break up sediment. After the second tankful, I would need to change the fuel filter to clear out the deposits. Just about 3 more years on my warranty, then I can switch to bio-diesel (VW does not honor it; invalidates the warranty).
Short-haired dogs sitting still were compelled to purchase T-shirts from the All Vegan booth to cut the chill.

Heidi from San Diego kept warm by generating some of her own natural power.

Palm Sunday

This orangutan at the San Diego Zoo is hiding behind a palm frond. Can you see her? She doesn’t think you can. She’s being very coy. It was so amusing to see her climb up and hold the palm frond in front of her like a fan. She was posing, trying different angles.

Flowering horsechestnuts

Whew! This one almost got away! I noticed last week that the horse chestnut tree in our neighborhood was flowering.

I made it a point to get out today to photograph it and some of the flowers were turning brown. The perfume of the flowers was tipping a little to the point of over-ripe perfumey, like a sweet old great aunt who’s kept the windows closed all winter. You love to visit and the smell is pleasant enough, one of those that will probably imprint on your memory.