Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Unruly Posse

Sunday my friends and I traipsed about Pasadena and Altadena for the annual Theodore Payne Foundation Native Plant Garden Tour. I loved poking around the exquisite, private, drought-tolerant gardens.

It was educational. It was gorgeous. It was inspiring. And it was frustrating, because I can't show you any of it. At every garden we visited, photos were either not allowed or allowed for personal use only. I of course took photos for my personal use, but I'm much to chicken scrupulous to post them.

On the way back to our cars we stopped to peer at one last garden, which wasn't on the tour. Is that a great gate or what? It reminded me how glad I am not to live in a gated community tyrannized by muted colors or a homeowners association. The San Gabriel Valley is full of undiscovered Edens, tour or no tour. I hope the owner didn't mind us peeking in because we'd been nosy all day and we just weren't ready to stop.

*

By the way, thanks to the Restless Chef for alerting me to the fact that my posts and those of other bloggers are being stolen by http://www.justpocketcamera.com. I'm trying to have a good attitude about it. justpocketcamera is one of those blogs where they steal content to try to get you to click on ads. I hold the copyright to my posts, which are published at http://pasadenadailyphoto.blogspot.com before http://www.justpocketcamera.com steals them. That's against the law, but try getting a sheriff and a posse on this here wild, wild internet.

If you'd like to be my posse, c'mon and join up. I'm not sure how to get them to stop, but maybe I'll see if I can come up with more bizarre word combinations than theirs. Your suggestions for messing with them are welcome. In the meantime, it's worth a look just to see their weird translations of the copy.

24 comments:

dive said...

A pox on piracy, internet or otherwise.

That's a great gate, Petrea. How can anybody NOT want to look through it? I only hope that what's on the other side measures up to the Alice in Wonderland curiosity it evokes.
Did the native, drought-resistant plants get your creative juices flowing with regard to your back yard remodelling? Just think: no watering, minimal care, maximum relaxation and enjoyment. It's got to be the way to go.

Stefan Jansson said...

If you took photso I don't understand why you will not show them.

Kate said...

I am always a bit nonplussed when photographs are forbidden. I respect the privacy of individuals always but can't figure out why inanimate objects are sometimes taboo. Oh, well! I don't think that Steffe read and absorbed your reservation and explanation. I'm annoyed with you that your photos are being used without your permission!!

Petrea Burchard said...

Dive, the gardens did get me going, although my arrival at home set John to sneezing so badly for the next few hours that we know we're going to have to take him along for the plant selection part of the process.

Steffe, it's because the homeowners, whose property we visited, asked us not to publish these photos. I respect their request. They were kind enough to allow us to take photos to use as reminders or inspirations for our own gardens.

It's their prerogative, Kate, and I understand, but I wish they'd let me show you! There were some beauties.

Petrea Burchard said...

Oh and I just checked. This post is up, and if you scroll down, they even have my complaint about them in the copy. I don't know why they don't just copy what I say, but their software rewrites it, in English. It's hilarious.

The Writing Goddess said...

Guessing that some of the garden owners might be concerned about entrances, windows, etc., being visible to those up to no good. I know this is one of the concerns about the Google street view system.

I love taking photos (if not nearly as fabulous at it as Petrea) but it is wonderful sometimes just experiencing a place or event, being in the moment, rather than documenting it on film or digitally to revisit later. Sometimes you can even get more out of it - even if you don't have the pictures to prove it!

Petrea Burchard said...

True, WG, and knowing I wasn't going to publish them took the pressure off. They're good enough to remind me about plants and placement, but otherwise they're just awful.

Laura M said...

I was assigned by Altadena Patch to visit the two gardens in Altadena. With prior written permission, photos could be posted. I imagine you could see if you can get permission from Theodore Payne or the homeowners. If you email me, I will send you the name and email of the person who was my editor's contact and the link to my story for those who might be interested in viewing more photos.

As for that photo site...it is plagarism. Lots of sites use automated searches to pull stories and post them but they only post the first paragraph and a link to the original. Posting the pic and story in its entirety is illegal, but very hard to enforce.

Linda Dove said...

I absolutely adore that gate.

Susan Campisi said...

That's a fantastic gate! You captured the perfect "sneaking a peek" moment.

Diana said...

Surely you have a lawyer or two among your acquaintanceship? A 'cease and desist' notification to the website should do the trick. How effective it is might depend on what country the site is based in, though.

Speedway said...

I like the mosaic gate posts, totally random and idiosyncratic in appearance. They kind of blend into the scene -- if they'd been left white they'd be big bands dividing the picture. As it it, the mosaic tiles add character, as do the tiles in the driveway concrete.

Maybe that's something you could put in your yard -- find some leftover tiles from the appropriate period, then break them up to add color and texture among the plants.

Bellis said...

Love the photo of your nosey posse. Theodore Payne have a lovely wildflower hillside trail in Sunland - worth a visit at this time of year. Have you been?

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks, Laura. Yeah, if they linked back here I wouldn't mind so much. I didn't see a story, Laura, but I found your pictures. Here's something fun: Read The Altadena Hiker's article and click on the Theodore Payne link. It'll take you to Laura's photos.

This gate and the gardens gave me loads of ideas! One thing at a time, of course, but I'll be implementing some of them.

I must know a lawyer, Diana. Let me think about it.

I haven't been up to Theodore Payne's location, Bellis. It's on my list.

Ms M said...

Love the gate! And your photo of people trying to peek inside.
Unfortunately, I think the blog pirates will be hard to stop. They're like weeds; you pull one up by the roots and in a few days a different one sprouts in its place. Good luck :-)

Trish said...

All I could think about was either:

-Do you hear what I hear?
or
-Can you hear me now?

and seriously a pox on the pirates...does make me think about some copyrighted items that purposely have mistakes---it may not be goodly English, but it IS what I posted, not some other shmuck. good luck with it and know I'll only read YOUR copy.

Virginia said...

I spy one friend!! :)

I'll be a posse but I don't know what to do. Tell me and I think I can act on it.
V

Petrea Burchard said...

There are sure a lot of them, Ms. M. The ones who link back don't concern me. But this one got under my skin.

Thanks, Trish. Honestly, though, their copy is very funny.

Thanks, Virginia. I'm not sure what to do yet. Maybe when I get my C&D letter shined up I'll send it to you and anyone else who wants it, and we can all send it to the ISP at the same time.

Katie said...

Gorgeous mosaic gate! I'm sure the gardens were lovely too, but I might not have gotten past the gate. If you decide to take Speedway's route and go for some mosaics in your yard, I'd be happy to be your mosaicist-in-residence in exchange for snacks. As for the post-stealing website I'll happily join your posse. I can't believe it still has the info you wrote about them stealing your post. Granted the translation is funny.

Laura M said...

Here's the link directly to my article:

http://altadena.patch.com/articles/photo-gallery-altadenas-native-plant-gardens#photo-5607913

You can get to it through the Altadena Hiker, just click on the sidebar and scroll down past the photo gallery window to get to my story.

I apologize for the self-promotion!

Petrea Burchard said...

Katie, you and this homeowner have a great deal in common. I thought of you when we saw this place.

Not at all, Laura! You're always welcome. Thanks for the link.

Desiree said...

I love how this photo capture four differently posed personalities--

Pasadena Adjacent said...

Magical wonderous abode with rose colored glass inserts. Heaven

Petrea Burchard said...

Your cup of tea, PA.