Bird of Paradise

Taken with my Olympus E3 and an old Minolta Rokkor 50mm lens.



 

Quiet Morning

Up before sunrise this morning. A little piece of quiet to enjoy. School starts on Tuesday and that means a quick trip down the freeway and then a slower trip through a few red lights to her school. Had a cup of coffee in my hand by the time the sun came up in the clear sky. It will be another hot day...yesterday was a 100 plus.

I noticed the bird of paradise beginning to bloom so got the camera.

Looking forward to taking more photos...

Swimming

We didn't learn to swim as very young children growing up in east San Diego County. Life was different back then. Houses didn't have air conditioning and they didn't have swimming pools. At least we didn't know anyone that had these things. Our hills were covered in sage not miles and miles of track houses. During my very early years America was at war with Germany and Japan. We had blackouts. My family had the only telephone on our part of the road and there were two dairies, one up the road and one down the road, that needed to shut down their lights during a blackout. There would be the phone call and my great uncle would go to one dairy and my dad to the other. The first time it happened my dad was so excited he ran into a barbed wire fence on the way to tell them to shut off their lights. I remember when the war was over. My parents were divorced by then and my first stepfather loaded us up into the car and we drove to San Diego honking the horn while other people on the roads did that too. We were so excited though I don't think we fully understood what it meant that the war was over.

By the time I was six years old my mother's marriage was on the rocks. She took us to Washington state. Bob flew up and talked my mother into trying again. We drove back to California in my grandfather's brand new Kaiser automobile. The next summer the marriage really was over and Mama took us back up to Washington. This time for the whole summer.

There are a lot of lakes in Washington state and summer programs to teach children to swim. So my cousins, my sister, and I were taken to the lake and put into swimming class. The first thing we had to learn was to face float. I saw my sister and cousins quickly go on to the next phase, backfloating. I couldn't seem to get out of face floating. Finally I managed to float to the count of ten...I really think the instructor was tired of me and wanted to send me on to the next class. Back floating was a disaster. By then my sister and cousins were dog paddling. I tried to do everything right but I would only sink up to my nose and breath in water. I decided that I was never going to learn to swim.

A few years later my Dad and Stepmother took us, most weekends, to Mission Bay to picnic and swim . My dad got big inner tubes from his work and so I had a great time floating around on those tubes. Mission Bay was also a different place back then. Lots of space and only a few people.

By the time I was twenty, my mom, by then married to my last stepfather put in a swimming pool. Years go by and my sister and I were both married with children and often on weekends we would visit Mama with our children. My sister smoked back then and she would tread water and smoke. I would hang on to the side of the pool.

I joined a backyard swim class for moms. I learned to dive into the deep end of the pool and to glide face down accross the pool. I even learned to swim a few strokes. I had gained some weight by then and it was easier to float. However when the instructor had us tread water, I began to sink. She looked at me and as I was going under she grabbed me and pulled me up. She said I was doing everything right too!

So I decided I had heavy bones and I just wasn't ever going to float like most people do. Give me a floaty and I'm a happy camper.

Yesterday I had a bone density test. The test is for osteoporosis. My bones are fine. I sort of knew they would be but it is nice to have that confirmed.

Summer's Past Revisited

Jackie and I went to Summer's Past. I had the iced tea and she a cappuccino. I wandered around and took a few photos while she checked out the soap shop.

Then we drove west on Old 8 to the Italian resturant and had a lovely lunch. I got a small pizza and Jackie ordered bruschetta and we shared. I took this from the resturant parking lot. I liked the way the sun hit the flowers.

Sunlight on Water

Hailey in the pool, and I noticed the designs the sunlight was making on the water.

Another Photo from Saturday

This one needed a bit of Photoshopping...

A Wonderful Day

Sarah and her daughter Nancy were here today. Sarah lives in Hemet about an hour and a half drive north of here. We met at a great Mexican resturant, Marieta's in Santee, for lunch and then Nancy left Sarah with me while she went up to Barona were they had a room for the night. Sarah and I drove up to one of my favorite places, Summer's Past. We bought iced tea and sat for a little while. Then we were off around the grounds to take photos. If you have read my blog you have seen photos from Summer's Past. I bought the paper whites and the pink lady bulbs there too. It is a wonderful place for taking photos. I've always found something new to point my camera at each time I visit. Sarah loved the place. She loves taking photos too. I was a happy camper that I could share the place with her.

We saw this bird house as we walked the path into the grounds past the soap shop.

I love the weathered wood.

While we sat near the juice and coffee bar drinking our tea I saw the sun shining through and had to grab my camera.

You can hear the waterfalls from the lounge area and we walked over to see the stream. There are some small bridges to walk over the water too. I took this of the water fall. The shade makes it look like night.

Sarah visited the soap shop. They make soap with lovely smells and Sarah bought some of it. While she was in the soap shop I found these.

I'm not doing Photoshop as much as I used to but couldn't resist on this one photo. It has a part of a second photo of the same flower added. I once did a lot of photo editing on my rose photos many years ago...gosh it seems like yesterday but most of my rose photos were put together over ten years ago.

Reluctantly we left Summer's Past and headed for Lakeside. A quick drive through the park, because Sarah was getting a bit tired so we didn't get out to take photos. She wanted to see the swans but they are gone. Last year some idiot that works for the county decided that the lake should go dry and drained the water down until most of the birds left. I think that is when we lost the swans. Finally we did have some rain and the lake while not as full as it was does have most of the water back. The people in Lakeside were very angry but it is a county park and what we wanted didn't matter. For over twenty years the lake was dry. Rainy weather in 1978 flooded the area and the lake water came back. Most people don't remember the dry years and how lucky we are to have the lake. Back in the dry years the back half of the lake was a Little League Field. There were people upset that was lost, but there are trade offs in this life and most of us were happy to have the lake back.

Sunset

The news says another beautiful sunset this evening expected. I took this on Sunday evening.

Usually I don't see pretty sunsets. We live in an area of hills around us on three sides and the sky show is hidden by the hills. The view is down my driveway...the palms on each side of the drive were planted my my dad when he moved here in the late 1960s.

More Lilies

My mother grew pink lilies. She called them amaryllis, but they are Lycoris squamigera also called pink ladies or naked ladies. I got some bulbs when I managed the storage and enjoyed seeing them bloom every summer. Left them behind when we moved away. Last year found bulbs at a wonderful place near Alpine and waited a year to see them bloom. I'm a happy camper.

These are the red and white lilies. It was a surprise that this year there was a yellow lily blooming with them.

Yellow Lily

Last year I bought a bag of pretty two toned lily bulbs. I have them planted in two pots and have been looking forward to blooming again this year. What a surprise, this year one yellow lily bloomed. It is beautiful and hopefully the bulb will divide and I'll have more next year.

Will post photos of the red and white lilies when they bloom...which will be soon.