Next week will be the beginning of Summer, and the flowers are still showing their colors in many places. Bob took his walk after lunch and snapped this picture of a huge planter outside the Manhattan Village Mall. A banana tree is surrounded by colorful annuals in this planter. Click for a bigger picture.
June 2007
Trailhead Panorama
The other day when we took our Nature Walk, I snapped this panorama of the trail head just as we were starting. Click for the full panorama.
Pink Eschevaria
We picked this up yesterday at the garden department in the local home improvement warehouse. It’s called Pink Eschevaria and is a succulent similar to the “Hen and Chicks” and to another unknown eschevaria we have in our garden. I know that the hen and chicks variety is native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, but some eschevaria are native to the African Continent.
Click on the picture for full-sized version.
Nature Walk
Today, we drove down to the Palos Verdes Peninsula to take a nature walk along a path preserved in a rustic canyon. I snapped this picture of a honey bee browsing for nectar in a field of daisies. Click for a close-up view.
Coming Soon
We’re expecting several beautiful yellow flowers this summer from this ferocious-looking Devil’s Tongue barrel cactus. One pod near the center will be the first to bloom in a week or so. I’ll post pictures when the flowers arrive. Click on the picture for a close-up view.
Flag Day and the Army’s Birthday
June 14th is a day to celebrate the Star Spangled Banner and also to recognize the anniversary of the establishment of the Continental Army on June 14, 1775.
Inspired by three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day – the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 – was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson’s proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
The modern Army had its roots in the Continental Army which was formed on June 14, 1775, before the establishment of the United States, to meet the demands of the American Revolutionary War. Congress created the United States Army on June 3, 1784 after the end of the war to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The Army considers itself to be descended from the Continental Army, and thus dates its inception from the origins of that force. Hooah!
