Cabrillo Beach, a popular swimming, fishing and boating area, is the only public beach located within the Port of Los Angeles complex. Inside the breakwater, the water is calm and relaxing, but just outside is the ocean surf where, on a day with a choppy sea, waves crash against the jetty and seawall. The isthmus of Catalina Island can be seen in the distance.

Last spring, I bought an Easter Lily to add to our holiday celebration. Afterwards, I cut it back and put it outside to wait until the next springtime. I don’t know what it is, but the lily has already produced a couple of blooms, and there are more to come. I took this photo this afternoon while we were out back to clean the guns after our weekly shoot.

Today, we ate pizza for dinner. Not store-bought though. This is a homemade 12-inch Gorgonzola cheese, butternut squash and pancetta (Italian bacon) pizza. Man was it good! We went light on the cheese which made it not any less good, but more waistline-friendly.

We started by roasting the squash in the oven to soften and brown it up. Then we sautéed chopped pancetta until rendered and added a little garlic and onions. When the onions became translucent, we set the pancetta aside.

At the same time, we prepared the pizza dough from a brand-name pizza mix packet. The dough was spread out on a floured pizza paddle and the toppings went on. Then, after about 12 minutes on the pre-heated pizza stone, it looked as you see it here. Click for a larger image.

This picture of some golden poinsettia was taken today during our visit to Lowe’s garden shop. We didn’t buy this one, but I picked up a red poinsettia and a rosemary topiary shaped like a Christmas tree.

This is fruit from our dwarf orange tree growing in a planter out back. We have had little green oranges growing since springtime, and now that it’s winter ripening time, they are turning orange. This tree is one of California’s famous winter-ripening variety. Sweet, seedless fruit ripens in ten months.

The tree itself is sensitive to frost, as well as intense heat and drought. It grows best in temperate conditions. Areas such as the coast of Southern California as well as inland valleys are considered ideal for its planting. Trees can be grown from cuttings taken from branches two to four years old. One must bury the cuttings (replete with foliage) deep in the soil.

The Wandering Minstrel had these pictures of “Pinkware” up the other day. At first, I thought they might be nice to have, but then I thought it would look pretty silly to point a pink gun at an intruder. Would they laugh or think it’s a toy?

No matter though - I’d be pointing my li’l .38 j-frame snubnosed revolver at the perp. My hands would cover up the rosewood grips, and only the business part would show.

Those are pretty, though. I wonder if they could make a pink Smith & Wesson Model 500 .50-Cal. Magnum?

Osteospermum fruticosum, also called the Trailing African Daisy or Shrubby Daisybush, is a shrubby, semi-succulent herbaceous flowering plant native to South Africa, belonging to the small tribe Calenduleae of the sunflower family (Asteraceae).

It grows between 6 and 12 inches tall and can spread four to six feet in width. The dark-centered daisy-like flowers range in color from deep purple to white. Some hybrid growers have bred pale yellow-flowering strains. The plant is a perennial in mild climates.

I took the photo of this nice white flower at the Botanic Garden on Sunday.