We got these aster dwarf starter plants last weekend in a six-pack from the garden shop. I haven’t even planted them yet and they’re already blooming nicely. In addition to this nice bluish aster, there are several other shades of pink showing up. Click on the picture for the full-sized image.
June 2007
Johnny Jump Ups
When I was a kid, we called these diminutive flowers Johnny Jump Ups. Outside the building where my office is located, the gardener planted a bed of these colorful little flowers in one of the planters. I took this picture of them with my old Canon A510 using the close-up setting. Click on the image to get the full sized picture.
I looked up Johnny Jump Up on WikiPedia (excerpt):
Heartsease is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. It has been introduced into North America, where it has spread widely, and is known as the Johnny Jump Up (though this name is also applied to similar species such as the Yellow Pansy). It is the progenitor of the cultivated Pansy, and is therefore sometimes called Wild Pansy; before the cultivated Pansies were developed, “Pansy” was an alternative name for the wild form.
Mall Panorama North
On a typical marine-overcast day in Manhattan Beach, the Manhattan Village Mall does business as usual. I took five photos from between CVS Pharmacy and Macy’s and merged them into this panorama. Click the picture to see supersized.
Ink Monkey
Yesterday, I had a dental appointment (two actually – cleaning and some restoration work) in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica. Since I got in the area early, I had some time on my hands so I took a little tour around the downtown area. I ran across this interesting store front. Now I know where the guy with this Satanic paint job gets his tattoos.
Tree Squirrel
Sometimes I see squirrels foraging around the grounds adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Marriott when I take my after-lunch walks. You might think these are just little cute guys looking for a handout, but in reality, they are a potential menace. Yep — squirrels are like rats — only they have better press agents.
Image: squirrel foraging near Marriott Hotel
From WikiPedia:
Squirrels are often the cause of electricity outages. The animals will enter transformers or capacitors looking for food. The squirrels are then electrocuted and cause a power surge that shorts equipment. Squirrels have brought down the high-tech NASDAQ stock market twice and were responsible for a spate of power outages at the University of Alabama. They will often chew on tree branches to sharpen their teeth but cannot tell the difference between a tree branch and a live power line. Rubber plates are sometimes used to prevent access to these facilities.
Squirrels caused 177 power outages in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1980, which was 24% of all outages. Estimated annual costs were $23,364 for repairs, public relations, and lost revenue. In Omaha, in 1985, squirrels caused 332 outages costing at least $47,144. After squirrel guards were installed over pole-mounted transformers in Lincoln in 1985, annual costs were reduced 78% to $5,148.
Purple Morning Glory
After a busy day at the shooting range, we had to run a couple of errands to the grocery store and to Lowe’s. When we go to Lowe’s I always take the camera because of the many photo opportunities in the garden shop. I saw these purple morning glories and thought they were very pretty. Click on the photo for a larger view.
