Blog Action Day 2009

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab hunkers down in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Enlarge the photo (or, as the Altadena Hiker says, "enbiggen" it) and you can see patchy scrub growing on the low hill behind the campus. The higher mountains beyond are barren. Every bit of vegetation that once grew on them burned in the Station Fire, which began on August 26th. Amazingly, the Station Fire continues to burn in small "nuisance smokes" today. The fire's been at 98% containment for a couple of weeks now.

These empty, gray mountains go on for miles in either direction. As you drive through the towns below them it shocks you how far the fire went. And you see what the firefighters had to do: they beat the flames back and protected towns and structures. Beyond that, they had no choice but to let the fire go. 250 square miles of it. They saved the people. They couldn't save the forest.

In time, the forest will renew itself.

What if there had been no water available to fight that fire?

As of last count, 9975 blogs in 151 countries (and counting) are participating in today's Blog Action Day, expecting to reach over 13 million readers in a global discussion of climate change.

At the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December it will finally be time for America to step up. From Here to a Global Climate Treaty, a recent blog post at Avaaz.org, gives an idea of where the United States stands. There's a link to the Senate Finance Committee so you can see just which individuals it comes down to, besides you and me. We are a top emitter of greenhouse gases. We can urge our senators to help us take responsibility for our emissions. We can do something.

I think we can all agree climate change is happening. I'll leave it to the scientists to figure out how and why. Other crucial issues exist, but if there's not enough food because the earth can no longer grow it--if there's not enough water left on the planet to drink, let alone protect us from the inevitable fires brought on by global drought--then nothing else matters, does it?

Rainy Day Muse

We had rain yesterday, lovely rain, for the first time in many months. It rained all day and into the night, but reports said it wouldn't be enough to cause landslides. Fingers crossed.

I had the kind of day where I didn't get to practice as much art as I like to. I guess most days are like that. Most days are filled with errands, tasks and work you get paid for (if you're lucky), and usually that work isn't writing the great American novel or performing Shakespeare or poking your camera around pretty gardens.

I mean the "general you." Well. I mean me.

I worked in Valley Village (which is--what?--a nice way of saying "north Sherman Oaks?"--"west North Hollywood?"). When I left there I took the freeway to an appointment in La Canada Flintridge. It was (appropriately) along the stretch of the 134 that runs between Disney Studios and Forest Lawn Cemetery that I had an inspiration. My muse came to me and said something brilliant, and I said, "Could you jot that down for me, please? I'm driving in the rain here." She laughed and disappeared. Haven't seen her since.

It'll come back to me.

I pulled over and took the photo of Lupe's Place in La Canada Flintridge because that bright orange table looked forlorn in the rain. Look what's next door to Lupe's. You can see it just beyond the sign in the other picture. My muse is mocking me.

Margaret, this photo's for you.

Update from the Pasadena Star-News: Resources for residents in potential mudslide areas

Lost Garden: Entropy

I'm back online (yay!). And so, on to the final post about Earthside Nature Center. The first three are here.

I'm a fan of entropy. I like it as a photographic subject. I don't know if it's much good for the urban landscape; I leave that to others to decide. But I'm glad I had a chance to photograph Earthside Nature Center in its--I won't say decay--its overgrown condition.

Peering between Earthside's wild grape vines, you'll see this old train car. I don't know how it got there, but it was obviously used for something. Someone took the trouble to add stairs. Someone took a lot of trouble to create all of Earthside, and now others are deciding what the next use will be for this land.

That's what happens. The old people drift away, or die. New people come and make use of things as they see fit. I hope they keep some of it--the pretty railings, maybe, or some of the plants. I hope the memorials will find a home.

Some people don't care, they're just glad they got to go there with a friend.

Zen Monday: #67

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about. I look for something worth thinking about or, failing that, at least something odd. And sometimes you have to look closely.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (if I know what it is).

Cafe Culture (#10 in a Quest)

I'm blogging from my favorite coffee joint so far, though this isn't my favorite picture. I've got photo uploading software on the laptop but nothing with which to edit.

Long story short: here on the ol' blog we were in the middle of a series about Earthside Nature Center when my home DSL line stopped working. We'll return to Earthside as soon as possible because I have another day's worth of photos, but they're on the Mac Mini which doesn't travel well.

In the meantime I'm at Cafe Culture and glad to be here. I love this spot. I hear music but it's quiet. Sometimes the TV is on but that's never loud either. There's free parking out back. Inside there's a varied menu plus the usual baked goods, decent coffee, wifi, an outdoor patio (with a view of St. Luke's) and a laid back atmosphere. The place has all the comforts of home except photo editing software and soft chairs. It even has the chairs but only two, and other people are in those right now.

The owners are a married couple. Sweet people. The woman makes all the breakfasts and lunches and I hear it gets pretty crowded here around meal times. A lot of items on the menu have a Middle Eastern flair. Cafe Culture is at 1359 N. Altadena Drive, just north of Washington Blvd.

I was pretty mad earlier this afternoon when I thought I wasn't going to get to post or check my email. Sometimes machinery gets the best of me. I know one can go to a coffee house for one's internet needs, though the case for programs like MobileMe and GoToMyPC was driven home today. For me, though, as you know if you've read previous installments of the Coffee Shop Quest, not just any coffee shop will do.

If I ever find a spot as comfortable as Cafe Culture with yet more perfect chairs I'll be in heaven. But I have my doubts. I think this might be it.

Lost Garden: In Memory

In comments on my first post about Earthside Nature Center, Karin the Altadena Hiker said some put their heart and soul in to the place. It's true. If you keep your eyes open you can see the evidence in small monuments on the property. This one says, "In memory of 'Pop Pop,' Shirley W. Owen, Pasadena, 1895-1983." At least I think it says 1983, it's kind of hard to tell.


The small plaque on this stone says "in memory of Marilyn Close Davis, 1989."


The kiosk (scroll down here for a look at it) is still in decent shape. A plaque lists names, presumably of donors. Marilyn Close Davis, 1989, appears here as well. There's also a Hazel M. Close, 1988. And look, Elna S. Bakker, the founder, 1995. And Virginia M. Connelly, 1995. I wonder if she was (is?) related to Kevin Connelly, the native plant advocate (see yesterday's post) who helped run Earthside. And lo and behold, there's Grace Gertmenian, 1985. I recognize her name. The Gertmenian family is one of the featured families in the fantastic Pasadena Museum of History Family Stories Exhibit that's running until January of 2010.

I'm a little amazed to find this connection. I shouldn't be. The Gertmenian family began arriving in Pasadena from Armenia in the 1920s. They're familiar to me because I'm curious about Pasadena history and they're part of the fabric of that history. The more I learn the more connected it all becomes for me.

I like my history like that--not that I don't like reading it in a book, but living with it is so much more rewarding. This is why preservation is so powerful. A book is history removed. Living with history is letting it touch you and affect you. Seeing Grace's name on the plaque is like finding a message she wrote in the past and left for me to read in the future.

Lost Garden: Found

A couple of quick facts about Earthside Nature Center: it was founded in 1971 by the Pasadena Girls Club and naturalist and author Elna S. Bakker. Kevin Connelly, a horticulturalist and native plant advocate, took over the day-to-day operations in 1975. Volunteers and contributions helped Bakker and Connelly keep the place running for twenty years or so. But both of them happened to die in the mid-1990s and no one took up the cause. Earthside has been returning to nature ever since.

Earthside Nature Center appeared to be an abandoned idyll until recently. Arroyo Lover told us in yesterday's comments that plans are in the works, and I found a .pdf about it on the City's website. Since I don't know how to link you to a .pdf, I'll tell you simply to go to this page and click on the GREENVISION link. It takes you to a .pdf of a study that was done this year by four grad students in Urban and Regional Planning at Cal Poly Pomona. Among other things, the study offers suggestions and potential uses for Earthside (the uses they suggest are all parks).

One of the people the Cal Poly students met with was the guy who got the Altadena Hiker and me interested in Earthside in the first place, open space advocate Michael Coppess of East of Allen. His was the last comment on yesterday's post before I had to sign off. He said, "Most recently, the parcel was slated for a fire and police training area. Thus far, there is no official city action preserving the site for open space, park or garden use."

So though Earthside will no longer be abandoned, perhaps it will also no longer be an idyll. I'm glad I got to snoop around and take pictures. More tomorrow.

Lost Garden: Paths

I might not have known about the abandoned Earthside Nature Center if the Altadena Hiker hadn't posted about it. She might not have known about it if Michael hadn't posted about it over at East of Allen. He's posted about it three times: first here, then here and a third post here.

One day, while the Station Fire kept our trails closed in the mountains, Karin (the Hiker) took me on a tour of the nature center. I love hidden spots like this. Nature has overgrown the edges that humans once put there to define it, making it perhaps even more beautiful in disorder. It's over at 3168 E. Del Mar Blvd., behind an abandoned learning center. You can cut through the empty parking lot and take a look for yourself.

Karin, Phoebe the Boxer, Boz the Mixer and I did some snooping. I'll show you what we found over the next couple of days, and I'll do some research. You can also click on Michael's East of Allen posts for more information.

This is the first series I've taken with my new Canon 20D that I feel are good enough to post. I still keep the Olympus SP350 in my purse. It's a good little stealth camera.

They're Lucky They're Cute

Today's photo was taken in the wee hours by my neighbor. He's been having to patch up his yard every morning since a couple of raccoons discovered something delicious under his grass. You can see a bit of their handiwork behind the trap.

Those cute little animals tore my neighbor's lawn to shreds, yet the yards on either side weren't affected. These guys liked one yard and one yard only. My neighbor called the Pasadena Humane Society and rented a humane trap. He also got tips from PHS experts, who thought the problem might have to do with the fact that he'd recently put down new sod. Apparently, raccoons love the grubs and insects that come with new sod. A raccoon invasion can also have to do with watering lawns at night, which a lot of people are doing now due to our drought watering restrictions.

If you have a problem, check the PHS Wildlife Services page and click on Help With Opossum, Raccoons and Skunks for a .pdf full of useful information.

My neighbor is a nice guy, but he was frustrated after a few days of patching. The title of this post is a direct quote.

Update: The neighbors have caught a second raccoon. There are at least two more. It looks like a single group, not a continuing invasion, so they will catch and remove them all once then (hopefully) it'll be done. The family has named the first two Rocky and Rita.

Back on the Mountain

I love the Sam Merrill Trail. Depending on the switchback, civilization seems near...

...or very far away.

Until you get a ways up the mountain. Then everything below disappears into your note pad, your camera, your thoughts, your breathing, your stride.

The trail is open now, as is the Cobb Estate. J and I went about halfway up Echo Mountain yesterday and the skies were downright blustery. It felt good to be back on my mountain. (I share it with the Hiker.) I don't know how far you can go. Most of the Angeles National Forest is still closed (call 626-334-7582 between 7am and 7pm for specifics). But you can go for a good while.

None of Echo Mountain burned. Have at it. Pack out what you pack in. And no smoking. It's brittle as sun-dried bones up there.

Zen Monday: #66

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about. I look for something worth thinking about or, failing that, at least something odd. And sometimes you have to look closely.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (if I know what it is).

Neighbors

I was talking to some neighbors yesterday about--neighbors. Neighbors are unique friends if you're lucky, as we are, to like each other. We have a good block here. We have a Neighborhood Watch with two block captains, we notify each other when we're going to be out of town and we keep an eye out for the old folks. Moms share kid duties and dog owners share dog duties. Sometimes we run errands for each other. We have an annual block party and socialize at other times, too, just because we want to.

When there's a tragedy, which happens, we do our best to be whatever support we can. It could mean calling the cops or the fire department. It could mean standing by, in case. Or just feeding the fish.

Yet we don't all know each others' private business. And that might be best, living in relatively close quarters. My closest friends live in other parts of Pasadena and Altadena, plus Burbank and Skokie and Cincinnati. They're the ones who've heard all about my dirty laundry.

My neighbors, though--they've actually seen me wearing it.

New Swank on South Lake

I'm always poking around on Hometown Pasadena, the brainchild of local publisher, editor, writer and whirlwind Colleen Dunn Bates. You can't help but scare up something great there because Colleen's got a little bit of everything. Last week she hooked me with this: Hometown Pasadena Five to Appear. It was an invitation to the open house for Granite Park Place, the new luxury condos currently under construction at the corner of San Pasqual and Lake. If you RSVP'd and showed up you not only got a peek inside the new condos, you got a free, signed copy of the latest edition of the book version of Hometown Pasadena.

Well, dayum. I wanted my free book.

I've featured these condos before. First here, then here. Obviously I was unprepared for the swank.
(Whether or not the interior design of the model is to your taste, you have to admit the dining table is out of this world. At least admit I need it in my house. It's ceramic or clay or something glazed. It probably cost at least as much as my car. I mean as much as my car cost new.)

The real estate personnel were gracious. Paul Sunshine of Domineum Marketing (right rear above), greeted me upon my arrival. He knew darned well I was not going to buy a condo. He knew I was not with the Pasadena Star-News but a mere blogger. He saw my blue jeans. Yet he gave me a friendly tour of the model condo.

While most people were down the hall chowing down on their beautifully catered bento box lunch, I shared the model condo's living room with no one but the string quartet. I took pictures while they serenaded me with a medley from Camelot. I wonder if the condos come with...? No, no, surely not. But one would have a string quartet if one were going to live in a luxury condo, doesn't one agree? In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot. Hey, I know my swank.

Judging from the number of unavailable units in the building, Granite Park Place is selling like Zhu Zhu Pets, even with the high price tag. Let's hope its presence perks up business on South Lake Avenue.

And oh yes! A coup! I got my free book! Signed by all five authors. Dayum.

Well, Almost Every Day

Sometimes I'll take a picture of something I like, and it's not until I post it that I go Googling to figure out what it is. I just like it, is all. Then it's late, and I'm tired, and I think "Oh, I'll just post this." And wait just a minute there, fella! I uncover something. Or I almost do.

There's a lot of public art in Pasadena--sculptures, mosaics, etc. At Plaza Las Fuentes just east of City Hall you'll find fountains, sculptures and brightly colored tile walls across a wide plaza connecting All Saints Church, the Hotel Maryland apartments, McCormick & Schmick's, California Pizza Kitchen and the Westin Hotel. So, you get it: big plaza. Lots of fountains, lots and lots of tiles, very colorful.

The City of Pasadena website provides fantastic walking tour maps of the public art. The one for this area shows three different possibilities for what we're seeing right here: items 4, 5 and 6 on the map. Item 4, "Dreamer with Fish" fountain by Michael Lucaro (can't find him online but I find a Michael Lucero. Typo, or I'm giving you the wrong link.) In the foreground we have a fountain, and it looks like a dreamy kind of fish. The background must be Item 5, "Pasadena, the City of Roses" tile wall by Joyce Kozloff. Yes indeed, a tile wall with roses on it. That's gotta be it.

Now take a look at item 6. "Tile Fireplace," mantle water fountain, by Ernest A. Batchelder. If you don't know Batchelder, well, he was a Pasadena townie who made such beautiful tiles for which we are so nostalgic that if your home has a Batchelder fireplace the price goes up. The City's website doesn't say when the piece was made, but Batchelder was born in 1875 and died in 1957, so--before that.

Well dang, I don't know what a Tile Fireplace mantle water fountain is, but I'm pretty sure I don't see that in my pitcher. I gotta go back and uncover that particular hidden treasure.

Theme Day: Contrast

This is not a scene from the Station Fire. It's the remains of a small brush fire that occurred within the Cobb Estate in Altadena within the last year. I thought it appropriate for today's City Daily Photo blog theme day because it shows the contrast of the burned forest in the foreground and the living forest behind it.

The Cobb Estate is a natural, wild area that belongs to the U.S. Forest Service. It didn't burn in the Station Fire but it remains closed (see the closed gates here) in order to aid the USFS in limiting access to the burn area. The station fire burned more than 250 square miles of forest and is still burning in some spots after more than five weeks.

We look forward to the reopening of our forests, although we know what we'll see when we get back up in the mountains will be in stark contrast with what we remember.

Check out the other blogs participating in today's theme.

Last Day, September 2009

5/29/09, 4:00 p.m.

I have this idea, but it's not my idea. I don't suppose there's any way of knowing who did it first. Monet did it with haystacks. Went back and painted them again and again in different seasons and different light.

8/22/09, 6:01 p.m.

But I'm no Monet. I might be more like Marley of Cheltenham Daily Photo-Marley (as opposed to Cheltenham Daily Photo-Lynn). Marley, a fellow City Daily Photo blogger, started his Changing View posts in September of 2008 and ran them monthly for a year, giving his visitors a busy street corner in all its seasons.

9/11/09, 6:08 p.m.

The most striking example I've seen is this gallery by J?r?me Chom? (that's how it looks at pbase) at pbase.com. I can't stop looking at it. It's the kind of work I want to be able to do.

9/28/09, 10:48 a.m.

I've found a spot I like. I can get there often enough to shoot it in its differing seasons and times of day. I'll stop posting when you get tired of them, which may be sooner, but I'll keep shooting until I get tired of them, which may be later. Last day of the month, starting now.

Friend of Hahamongna

Thanks to the inimitable Altadenablog for alerting me to this:
There will be a meeting of the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee this evening at 6:00pm at La Casita del Arroyo, 177 S. Arroyo Blvd. in Pasadena. Much has been said, plans have been made and I'm confused about what's going to be done with Hahamongna.

I wish it were nothing. Hahamongna is accessible wilderness in the middle of civilization, a ragged wedge of land where humans can breathe the scent of sage, watch a heron fly, even make eye contact with a coyote. There's nothing like it in Chicago or San Francisco or even Paris. It's one of the gems that makes Pasadena unique. It is often my muse.

But change may be coming to Hahamongna as inevitably as the Station Fire came charging through the San Gabriel Mountains. There was no stopping it once the arsonist had done his work.

I'll be at the meeting. Maybe I can help make sure the changes are for the good. So much of Pasadena's natural surroundings have already been destroyed; I'd like to see this small, ragged wedge preserved.

Zen Monday: #65

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about. I look for something worth thinking about or, failing that, at least something odd.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (if I know what it is).

A Blissful Affair

J and I were actually out after dark last night, and I believe we were at the social event of the season. It was the 9th Annual Perello Private Outdoor Affair, where we got to meet new people, chow down on great food, have a drink and--believe it or not--enjoy a brief massage. Now that's what I call a party favor.

If you visit here often you've heard me mention Ibarionex Perello, a photographer and human I admire. Well, there's a Cynthia to our Ibarionex, and she, too, has the soul of an artist. When she shared her original poem, "Bliss," it seemed to have everything to do with having her family and friends all around. We were honored to be included.

I took a lot of pictures of Cynthia. Most of them weren't clear, but in this one I caught the light of someone else's flash. That flash was so bright it worked on her like a spotlight, and she worked it right back.

Peace Through Music

The job of the Pasadena Human Relations Commission is to "engage in activities designed to aid in elimination of prejudice, intolerance and discrimination" and to "assist the City in achieving better inter-group understanding among residents." Among other things.

It's about all kinds of people living together harmoniously, which doesn't always happen even here in what I like to think of as my personal Utopia. Utopia's not perfect, so the Human Relations Commission's working on it.

Tonight they're presenting the annual Peace Through Music Concert. The proceeds support most of the Commission's work, much of which is with area youth. Check it out at 7PM sharp at the First Church of the Nazarene, 3700 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. in Pasadena. If you've got questions you can call Commissioner Terrie Allen at 626-796-6878 or Co-Chair Michelle Bailey at 626-644-0701.

The picture of the house has nothing to do with it. I just like this house.