Wild Goose Chase

Who's chasing whom?

The pond and stream at Averill Park are being renovated so the ducks and geese have an inconvenience. There still is some water in a portion of the pond during the construction. This goose wandered away from the pond area and he didn't seem too happy. He was honking all the way up the hill. Some kids chased after him to get his picture. Apparently he did not like that much either.

Walking in South Shores

Wilson & I usually stroll in the Averill Park area. But today, with the blustery conditions, I thought it might be neat to walk in the South Shores neighborhood, with it's great views of the stormy ocean. So in the afternoon, with what looked like a clearing, we headed out for South Shores.

South Shores was first developed in the 1950’s. It is bounded on the north by Morse and Cumbre Drives, on the east by Western Avenue, on the south by the Pacific Ocean (Paseo Del Mar and Warmouth Street) and on the west by the Los Angeles/Rancho Palos Verdes city boundary.

Here's some demographic data: According to the 2000 Census...

There were 3,615 people living in the South Shores community.
Their median age was 51.6 years.
There were/are 1,590 households in the neighborhood, of which 87.6% were owner occupied.
The median household income was $78,946.
The median home price was $404,900.
In the year 2000, there were 28 homes valued in excess of $1 million.

We have to wait for the 2010 census for an update.

Alas, by the end of of walk, we did get caught in the rain.

No complaints though.

SkyWatch Friday - Sunrise Video

40 second panorama of sunrise from my deck this past Wednesday morning.
I love the sounds of the birds chirping.

Visit other SkyWatchers here!

Favorite Spot For A San Pedro Breakfast

Dining al fresco at the Pacific Diner in February!

Ranunculus

I'm welcoming a new flower to my garden: Ranunculus! With its beautiful crepe-paper like petals and blooms of many colors. So far we have orange, deep pink, red, and purple!

Fortnight Lily

Fortnight lily is also called African Iris having its origins in Kenya and eastern Africa.

Sixth Street! (We love it, we love it)

Sixth Street, San Pedro

I LOVE LA by Randy Newman

Hate New York City
It's cold and it's damp
And all the people dressed like monkeys
Let's leave Chicago to the Eskimos
That town's a little too rugged
For you and me, you bad girl

Rollin' down the Imperial Highway
With a big nasty redhead at my side
Santa Ana winds blowin' hot from the north
And we was born to ride

Roll down the window, put down the top
Crank up the Beach Boys, baby
Don't let the music stop
We're gonna ride it till we just can't ride it no more

From the South Bay to the Valley
From the West Side to the East Side
Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day

Look at that mountain
Look at those trees
Look at that bum over there, man
He's down on his knees
Look at these women
There ain't nothin' like em nowhere

Century Boulevard (We love it)
Victory Boulevard (We love it)
Santa Monica Boulevard (We love it)
Sixth Street (We love it, we love it)

We love L.A.
I love L.A. (We love it)
I love L.A. (We love it)
I love L.A. (We love it)

San Pedro is a port neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area. The town has grown from being dominated by the fishing industry to become primarily a working class town within the City of Los Angeles. The name of the town is pronounced san PEE-dro by its residents, even its Hispanic residents, rather than by its Spanish pronunciation san PAY-dro. (more about PEEdro from wikipedia here)

Although San Pedro is part of Los Angeles, the Sixth Street of which Newman sings is a different street in downtown LA. Still, gotta love PEEdro, LA, and the song!

Williams' Book Store

Williams' Book Store

Oldest Operating Bookstore in Los Angeles

Established 1909

Delighful Display

Henry's Farmers Market on Western Ave.

SkyWatch Friday - Brugmansia

Brugmansia is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, native to subtropical regions of South America, along the Andes from Colombia to northern Chile, and also in southeastern Brazil. They are known as Angel's Trumpets, sharing that name with the closely related genus Datura.

The name Angel's Trumpet refers to the large, very dramatic, pendulous trumpet-shaped flowers, 14–50 cm to 20 inches long and 10–35 cm across at the wide end. They are white, yellow, pink, orange or red, and have a delicate, attractive scent with light, lemony overtones, most noticeable in early evening.

As with Datura, all parts of Brugmansia are highly toxic. The plants are sometimes ingested for recreational or shamanic intoxication as the plant contains the tropane alkaloids scopolamine and atropine; however because the potency of the toxic compounds in the plant is variable, the degree of intoxication is unpredictable and can be fatal.

(from wikipedia here)

Wishing you blue skies and a beautiful weekend.

Visit other skywatchers here!

Mural on 6th Street

Plants at the Park

YARROW

Achillea millefolium

Achillea is named after the Achilles of ancient Greek mythology, who was supposedly the first to discover its many virtues.

22nd Street Park

Plants
-500 Trees, including: Coobah Willow Acacia, Flooded Gum, Australian Tea Tree, New Zealand Christmas Tree and lilac Melaleuca
-1,700 shrubs, including: Brewer Saltbush, Bull Clover, California Sealavender, Yellowray Goldfields and Carpet Acacia

Environmental Features
-Use of recycled water for landscaping maintenance (“purple pipe”)
-Bioswales used for stormwater management
-Use of drought tolerant plants
-Brownfield site was redeveloped into a public open space with water views

(more park info at portoflosangeles.org)

Playing in the New Park

22nd Street Park

Size
-Approximately 18 acres
-4.5 acres of which is flat, grassy area
-12 acres open meadow
-1.6 acres of parking (175 spaces)

Amenities
-Flat grassy area for active recreation
-Walking paths with upland connections
-Meadow area
-Bike path/trails along its north and south perimeters
-Two bocce ball courts
-Benches and lighting
-Wayfinding signage to other waterfront locations -Educational signage on the history of the area
-Restrooms

(more park info at portoflosangles.org)

22nd Street Park

History

The new 22nd Street Park sits on the former Union Oil Company tank farm. The area had several very large, round storage tanks used for holding oil. Union Oil Company began in the 1920s and is one of the first and longest operating oil refiners and shippers at the Port of Los Angeles. The tank farm operated from 1958 to 1988. The site was remediated and closed in 1994. When the Port decided to create a park on this property as part of its waterfront enhancements program, numerous public workshops and meetings were held. A final project design emerged from the June 2006 Community Design Workshop. Construction of the Park began in 2008 and was completed in late 2009.

(more park info at portoflosangeles.org)

LoVe SwEeT LoVe

Happy Valentine's Day!

Do you hang holiday signs or flags at your home?

Stairway to Heaven

22nd Street Park

I remember dancing to this song at an Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity Party in college, I think the boy's name was Bernie? c. 1976. Loved starting with the slow dance then getting faster and wilder.

Do you have a Stairway to Heaven memory?

SkyWatch Friday - Breakwater & Fishing Pier

Visit other Brilliant skies today, here!

Happy 201st Birthday Mr. Lincoln!

Have a great weekend all!

San Pedro Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States. It is the site of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which together form the fifth-busiest port facility in the world (behind the ports of Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen) and easily the busiest in the Western Hemisphere.

A 13.6 kilometer (8.4 mile) long breakwater stretches across most of the bay, with two openings to allow ships to enter the port areas behind it. The initial western section of the breakwater (above), called the San Pedro Breakwater, was constructed between 1899 and 1911; the Middle breakwater was completed over the next twenty-five years, and the Long Beach breakwater was finished after World War II. (more from wikipedia here)

Wilson's Warm Spot

The Midnight Hour & Birds

on the main channel

To Brighten Up a Rainy Day

Pericallis Senetti

We LoVe LA!

Downtown Los Angeles at sunset seen from San Pedro.

Averill Blossoms

Gray Day

We are in between storms here now. But nothing like those back east. Sending warm dry wishes to my friends on the East Coast.

Gray Day indeed! This photo is not a black and white shot, it was shot in full color at 8:31 AM this morning.

SkyWatch Friday - I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Visit all kinds of beautiful skies today at SKYWATCH FRIDAY here.

Teenager Lives There

What are friends for?
Did you ever TP a tree?

Foggy Sunrise

Theme Day Bonus: WOOD 2

Theme Day: WOOD

Adirondack Chair, Painted Canary Yellow

Today is the THEME DAY at City Daily Photo:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.