Fantasy Office

When you wander aimlessly, you find the prettiest surprises.

One gray day a couple of weeks ago when I was snooping killing time, I found this pergola right smack dab in the front yard of a house near Caltech. I'd like to have a pergola just like it in my back yard, with wisteria trailing over it and chaise lounges lazing underneath. I imagined wifi, but making the back yard into an office is the opposite of my fantasy. Then again, it would be a hell of a nice office.

What's your fantasy workspace?

Oak Groves

This is part of the grove at Oak Grove Park. It's close to the Jet Propulsion Lab. This part of the park can be found by walking north out of the Oak Grove Park parking lot across from La Canada Flintridge High school. It's a serene little forest, rare in an urban setting.

There's an old oak grove in Arcadia for the moment, though it's likely to be gone tomorrow. It's called the Arcadia Woodlands. But unless something drastic happens, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (same folks we discussed here) is going to dump 500,000 cubic yards of debris on it starting...pretty much now.

I guess they'll have to change the name of the Arcadia Woodlands. Arcadia means " any real or imaginary place offering peace and simplicity." I don't know what they're going to call it once it's a dump.

If you want to help preserve the Arcadia Woodlands, there are some good suggestions at the end of this informative post from LA Creek Freak. It's late, but worth a try.

We in Pasadena still have our Oak Grove Park, adjacent to Hahamongna Watershed Park. We can still even call it an oak grove. But I recommend we don't get cocky.

Other blogs participating today:
Altadena Hiker
Ballona Blog
Bipediality
Breathing Treatment
Chance of Rain
Echo Landscape Design
Greensward Civitas 
Greymatters
L. A. Creek Freak
L.A. Ecovillage Blog
L.A. Ecovillage Gardener's Weblog
Pasadena Adjacent
Pasadena Daily Photo
Pasadena Real Estate With Brigham Yen 
Slow Water Movement
Temple City Daily Photo 
The Sky is Big in Pasadena
Weeding Wild Suburbia

Also, Arcadia Patch is giving this issue excellent coverage.

While You Were Out

My friend's three-year-old has a home office. And why not? Mommy has one and so does Daddy. Plus, like most three-year-olds, this one is a very busy girl with important things to do.

It's an organized space, considering, although I have a feeling Mommy and Daddy have a hand in that. And of course when I was there, the CEO was out.

Arroyo Gotham

I ran an errand in downtown Pasadena yesterday morning and parked in a lot I hadn't used before. As it was new to me, and because I need new pictures of Pasadena every day, I looked around for shots. I do it obsessively: Would that make a good photo? How would I shoot it? What angles might I try? Is the light good or should I come at a different time of day?

Et cetera, et cetera, finger down the throat, ack ack ack.

I saw a possible shot between tall buildings--a sort of Pasadena Gotham--and planned to return later. I came home and picked up Boz for a walk in Lower Arroyo Park, and took this picture of La Loma Bridge instead.

Artistic Mews

This cat knew how alluring she looked in her pink window. She posed for several photos while I stood on the sidewalk and snapped away.

Briefly, with Kitty as my muse, I became the Annie Liebovitz of Northwest Pasadena, the Ruth Bernhard, the Louise Dahl-Wolfe!

Oh yeah, Kitty. Gorgeous. Gorgeous! Just move a little into the light, babe. Beautiful, beautiful! Hold that for a second. Okay, okay. Chin up a bit--good, good--great! Now give me a little pout, darling. Fabulous! 

A tug on the leash.

Forms of expression other than artistic had come to pass. Boz, my canine muse, was reminding me of my less glamorous responsibilities. When I looked up again, Kitty had retreated to her dressing room.

Zen Monday: #127

It's Zen Monday, the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box until the end of the day to avoid influencing the discussion, unless you people get totally out of control. I'm heartbroken that this never, ever happens.

There's no right or wrong, we're here to have fun.

All These Things And More

Yesterday:

while the blimp rolled and hummed above the stadium; while the prop jet circled the San Gabriel Valley and more small planes flew higher; while crews cleared Colorado Blvd. of tons of parade debris, while thousands enjoyed the 127th annual Rose Bowl Game with its excitement and noise...

...we had this.

One of the many things I love about Pasadena: that all this can happen in the same town at the same time.