Friday, October 31, 2008

Sky Watch #16

It's raining today (yeah!) The question is for how long. I might have some nice sky shots for next week. In the meantime, this is an early morning up in Angeles Forest....



To see more great photos of the sky from all over the world Click here or on the Sky Watch Icon below:

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Stop And Smell The Roses

Jury Duty - We're deliberating. I hope this will be over tomorrow. My head is heavy and I don't want to think any more. I almost didn't do this post but after taking a nap I feel better. Still, after this I'm going to bed. I just want to remind everyone...Life is short. Sometimes what we think we HAVE to do can wait until tomorrow.

Stop and let your finger tips feel something soft.



The next time it rains, lift your face to the sky and enjoy the feel of rain on your face.



Hug someone you love, close your eyes and just enjoy the feel of their arms around you and your arms around them.



Take a minute to inhale. Inhale deeply, relax and remember that sometimes the most precious things in life are those that we often take so much for granted. Please stop and smell the roses.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Watery Wednesday #7

Since I shared a little of my world in the post before this one, I thought I'd keep it on the same track and post these for Watery Wednesday. City Walk and Universal Studios kind of go hand in hand though you don't have to go to one to enjoy the other. If I remember, I'll post more about it next week for My World Tuesday. In the meantime I'll leave you with the water feature in front of Universal Studios and a water feature inside of Universal City Walk.



During the summer I've seen kids play in the water.




You can use the images below to link back to this post.


Monday, October 27, 2008

My World Tuesday #2

My World Tuesday is a new meme hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy Tom over at Show Your World.

I live in a city that is a part of Los Angeles County and I'm about 28 miles from downtown Los Angeles. I think one of the reasons people like L.A. is because within about a 1-2 hr. drive you literally have anything can possibly want to do. I thought this week I'd share just a little bit of Hollywood. I apologize in advance for the length of this post but you can't show Hollywood in one picture.

The first picture is of the Kodak Theatre which has hosted the Academy Awards since 2001.


This is the front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater. It's always packed out front where people look for the footprints of their favorite celebrities.


In case you can't read these you can click for a larger view. The first is the cast of Harry Potter and the next is Humphrey Bogart.




Or you can walk the boulevard and look at the celebrity names that line the street or get your picture taken with a movie star lookalike:



Along with the souvenirs you can buy like the John Lennon doll you can also visit places like the Hollywood Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe It Or Not.




Sunday, October 26, 2008

Today's Flower #12 - Succulent Flower

Though this is a succulent plant, because it actually flowers and is called a rosette succulent, I thought it would be an interesting Today's Flower.




If you like flowers, check out the link below for more photos from bloggers participating in Today's Flowers.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Pomegranate

I was only going to do one post but had to share this one because I thought it was pretty cool. I've seen pomengranates before, and used to eat plenty of them as a kid from a neighbor's tree. But I didn't know they split open like this. I guess it's how they drop their seeds. Cool!



A Few Little Birdies

I got out today, took my 3 hour walk around the L.A. Country Arboretum and actually found a few birds to take some photos of. They're not the best shots but I still wanted to share them. I didn't look the names up this time so I really don't know what they are. I even saw a woodpecker but none of the shots came out. :-(





Friday, October 24, 2008

Sky Watch Friday #15

I forgot it was Friday. I'm going in late for jury duty today so I have just enough time to do my Sky Watch Friday post. I thought I'd do a color shot and a black and white one from my last trip to the beach. There wasn't a cloud in the sky that day.





To see more great photos of the sky from all over the world Click here or on the Sky Watch Icon below:

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Chrysanthemums

One more week of jury duty. Depending on deliberation I may be done by Wednesday or Thursday. I'm glad I got a chance to do a little catch up this morning. Thought I'd leave you with these.



Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Watery Wednesday #6

I know it's Tuesday but I will try my best to start this by Tuesday afternoons for those around the world for whom it is already Wednesday. Here two more leaf on the water shots that I really like. I hope you like water as much as I do and will join in the weekly meme. If you're participating I can't wait to see what you're posting this week. I'm on lunch break from jury duty with just enough time to post this. See y'all when I get back. :-)



If you have a picture of something watery, post it and come back and join the fun! Add your name to the list below AFTER you've done your watery post and make a link back to this post.



You can use the images below to link back to this post.


Monday, October 20, 2008

Black Crowned Night Heron

The first picture is of the small lake at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. On one side there is nothing but trees, and the minute you walk in you feel as if you've entered a tropical forest. The temperature drops a little because it is completely shaded and the outside sounds disappear. You feel as if you've stepped into anothe place and time. All you hear are the occasional chirp of the birds, a squawk of a goose or the cry of a peacock. It's easy to imagine you're in a jungle, machete in hand to chop away at the lush vegetation only you don't need it here because there is a clear path to walk through.


It's quiet, and at the edge of this mini tropical forest is this lake. I'm not actually admiring the lake because on this side of the lake it actually looks really dirty. The dirt beneath my feet is wet but I love the serenity and how quiet it is. I take a couple of pics.


I turn and start to continue on my path and just happen to look down and I see this bird just sitting on the edge of the lake, the lower portion of its body out of view. I snap the picture.


It turns to look at me trying to figure out if I'm going to come closer in which case it will have to move. You know how birds don't like us to get too close. It watched me and I watched it. I think it realized it didn't have to worry about me and let me continue to take pictures.

When I'm done I smile and say, "Thank you Mr. Bird". I looked it up. I think it's a Black Crowned Night Heron. If I've got it wrong feel free to correct me. I'm still learning. :-)

My World Tuesday #1

LOL! Just realized I'm really early on this. It's only Monday. Oh well, this will serve as early notice to get your pics ready to post!

My World Tuesday is a new meme hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy Tom over at Show Your World. I'm glad I had just enough time before running off to jury duty to do this post. This is just a glimpse of a small part of downtown Los Angeles. These pictures are from the area I used to work on Grand Avenue.

This is the building I used to work in, California Plaza tower one. This was taken from the lower plaza area where there is a post office, Starbucks, flower shop, a few places to eat including Panda Express and a wonderful watercourt complete with waterfall and watershow that can be cleared out for a stage on which they have musical entertainment in the summer. Wish I had shots of that area.


This is dancing water fountain that greets you as you walk down the steps to the lower plaza level between the two towers.


This is Disney Concert Hall just a block down the street. When they first built this (and I watched it go up), the building was so shiny they tenants in the apartment building complained about the glare. They had to do something to tone down the shine, I'm just assuming they used some monster brillo pads.


And this the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion directly across the street from the Disney Concert Hall. If you look on the left across the street you can see a part of the sign. This has been the home of the Emmy Awards for many years and hosts many musicals. I saw "The Wiz" there as a kid and I'll always remember the Phantom of The Opera signs hanging for a long time.