Scenes from the day

Whoosh....













Bicyclist balanced and posed for speed or
dexterity....


















My amarylis bloomed...with some
help from an indoor grow light.













The day took me closer
Pasadena home and knowing that the farmer's market takes place in nearby is an
event in people watching.


Really a very social one..


































The archways in twilight
















And traffic builds by LAX requiring another exit to get into my neighborhood
































Fantastic red topped downtown....must be the color chosen for Valentines Day

Things that make your heart skip a beat...

The school celebrated a day of various cultures, each class taking on a country and then becoming ambassadors so to speak. We were treated to a procession of dance and music that conjure up feelings of great passion.


Chinese New Year celebration just ended...



The Chinese Lion Dance enables us to ward off the evil spirits and summons luck and good fortune. Small red packets (usually filled with money) are snapped up by the lion. Drums pound, and the wise 'Lion' angles for hands, sizing up willing participants. Those who are fervently hopeful that good things will come through this exchange, wait for this 'strike'.

Bagpipes from Scotland are always moving. The sound they make are heart-rending and soulful. No coincidence that they so often accompany a funeral or family celebration.



Here we had a gentleman walk through our auditorium and set the room ablaze with it's mirthful sound.













And while we end our official 'holiday' season topping it off with Valentines Day, I noted an older gentlemen quite besotted with his date, and a dozen pink roses were left on the table for her.



Here's my ode to more of the above.

Cover up for safety

Don't know it....but I think it is curtains for the
barber ......






And wherever you are these past few days
better get cover...



















Bucolic beauty






















And school busses
bust a move...















Made me laugh....park your ride inside the meeting room.

Drama-matic rain - all systems a go

So it was more rain than we'd seen in a while...
makes for dramatic skies and tricky driving...













































































I'm always amazed at the stuff planes plow through....

















Nascar moment might have been
delayed....








Spectacular moon rise










and some post-party balloon send-up when I get home.






Whew....made it.

Capoeira Dance Troop

Graceful moves which combines martial arts and dance in this elegant Brazilian dance form.



Rhythmic, spontaneous kicks are










choreographed with two dancers.


While one kicks up, the other tucks...



The martial arts part of it was secretly taught as a covert form of defense






















for the lowly people, who feared their repressive government.


Don't try this at home Mestro Amen tells us....


















Looks easy....doesn't it?

sure it does....

Grilled

A childhood pastime was to 'read' the front grills of cars.....




This 1950 Chevy would have come up as a grouper fish..















Got to see it up and running later on in the day.....

on a phantom drive.

Waxing on trees

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.



Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all.





















But to the eyes of the man of imagination,















Nature is Imagination itself."

- William Blake, 1799, The Letters















"We can learn a lot from trees: they're always grounded but never stop reaching heavenward." ~Everett Mámor

If what I say resonates with you, it is merely because we are both branches on the same tree.
- W.. B . Yeats












Travel home through corridors that transforms quickly with new lighting designs and modern structures.









The Custom Hotel amps up it's welcome with
red lantern-like entry way.

See lift on left with men re-amping the power grid.































Westchester has spiffed up with library and senior center, ideally suited for frequent visits.