Three Flowers From the Past

 

I'm sharing three more photos from that "Favorites" file in my Photos app on my Mac.  In the photo above, I captured a bee already laden with pollen sitting on top of an echinacea bloom.  This photo dates back to 2010.

This is a photo of a blanket flower standing tall with a background of purple flowers.  This one was taken at the Desert Botanical Garden back in 2013.

This last one was also taken in 2013 this time in Newport Beach California.  When I visit California, I'm always on the lookout for a perfect bird of paradise bloom.  They can be found almost everywhere in southern California and I simply love their exotic look.  I caught this one with the sun shining on it but the background heavily shaded giving it an almost black background.

I'm a Museum Nerd

 

I am what many people would call a museum nerd.  I love a good museum and I seek them out wherever I go.  I also love the ancient history of Egypt so, museums that feature Egyptian artifacts have a special draw for me.  (Above is the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.)

Yesterday I read an article in the New York Times about the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo and it inspired me to scan through my photos and look at all the Egyptian artifacts that I've seen that are not actually in Egypt any longer.  The Egyptian government would very much like to change that.

I've visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum (pictured above) at least twice and I'd very much like to visit it again.

I found this duplicate of Nefertiti at the Rosicrucian Museum.  The original is in a museum in Berlin. The Egyptian government has petitioned for its return.  

When I was in London last August, I made a point of walking through the gallery with all the Egyptian statues and artifacts at the British Museum.  

One of those artifacts is the Rosetta Stone which the Egyptian government would very much like to have returned to them.  According to the Times article, negotiations are taking place.

When I was in London last August, I also took a day trip to Oxford and visited the Ashmolean Museum for the first time.  I was happy to discover another museum with a section dedicated to Egypt and the Middle East.  

The photos in that Times article are pretty spectacular and they insprired me to create this post.  Now if I could just figure out how to get to Cairo to see this new museum in person. That would truly be an adventure. Check out the photos on Google.  It's a place to be admired. 

Sticking With the Theme

 

I mentioned early last week that I have been sorting through my photo archives to do some organizing.  That is how I found this photo taken 10 years ago when I visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose California.  I found this painted utility box near the museum campus.

I like that the artist picked up the theme of the museum when painting this box. It's covered with an array of ancient Egyptian symbols.  It's amazing what you can find when you sort through old photos.

Taking part in Monday Murals!

Pretty Things

 

I'm in the mood for something pretty to post today so I pulled together some pretty blooms I photographed when I was in California two weeks ago.  This first one is a bird of paradise. These plants are all over the coastal areas in California.  I love their exotic blooms.

I found this one growing in front of some shops in Laguna Beach.  I love the color.  According to my iPhone, this is a type of purslane.  Whatever it is, these pretty blooms made me stop for a closer look.

This huge dinner-plate sized hibiscus bloom was located in a very small pocket garden in the business district of Laguna Beach. I love hibiscus blooms so I had to stop to admire this one.

This last one is a colorful leaf that had fallen from a tree and was resting gently on top of a hedge.  

It's always nice to have something pretty to look at.  

Architectural Table & Chair

 

I always make a point of visiting the Laguna Beach Art Museum whenever I visit California and this time was no exception.  Above is a piece of art that surprised me because that very exotic looking table and chair was created by Frank Gehry, the famous architect.  It was created in 1970 and is made from cardboard and masonite.  It's wild looking just like many of his unique buildings!

The Laguna Beach Art Museum specializes in California artists or art that was made in California.  The show that was on this time was called "On the Edge: Los Angeles Art from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection."  That's Joan and Jack in the photo above, inside their art-filled home.  Here's a quote from the exhibit:

"Few individuals have left such an indelible mark on the landscape of Southern California as Joan and Jack Quinn.  Joan has played both muse and promoter of artists and Jack used his skills as a prominent and influential attorney to help emerging artists and their dealers navigate the worlds of law and business."

One part of the exhibit was a series of portraits of Joan.  It was interesting to see how the different artists depicted her and the artistic styles they each used.  The one to the left was made by David Hockney and is described as a polaroid and Xerox collage.  

The Quinn's were quite the collectors.  It was a huge exhibit with hundreds of paintings, sculptures and photographs.  I bet they were fun people to know.  

Some Favorite Photos from the California Trip

 Here are four of my favorite photos from the trip last week to Laguna Beach California.  This first one was taken at the Sherman Library & Garden.  I spotted this Gulf Fritillary butterfly resting perfectly atop a collection of colorful blooms. 

This one was taken along the walkway above the rocky shoreline at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach.  Heisler Park is a long park that runs along the shore with spectacular views along the way.

I saw this seagull standing atop a big rock on the beach at Crystal Cove on my first full day in California.  I zoomed in with the telephoto lens to capture him.  He had is eye on the waves as they crashed to the shore.

This last one isn't what you would call a great photo but I still liked the ray of sunlight beaming down toward me.  I know that shooting into the sun is a photographic no-no but sometimes I do it anyway and sometimes I like what I see.

A Collection of Odd Shots From California

 

Today I have a variety of shots from my few days in California.  These were all taken with my camera that I finally got to download when I got home.  First up, two fellows doing some surf fishing.  As near as I could tell, they weren't having much luck.  I saw them haul in quite a bit of seaweed but no fish.

Here's Julius Caesar checking out those plant vendors who were setting up at Sherman Library & Garden.  Julius wasn't in the mood to pose for photos.  He was too busy trying to figure out what all these people were doing cluttering up his garden.

A powered hang glider sailing along the shoreline.

An interesting tree I could see from the balcony of the condo.  

A surfer caught in the act!

A heavily pregnant woman posing for some photos.

Lastly, a very elaborate proposal. 

Tiny Mural

 

I think I might have found the world's smallest mural.  This one is painted on a parking meter. I guess if utility boxes are a good canvas why shouldn't a parking meter work.

This one was painted by Ene Rahu.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

A Plant Nursery on Steroids

 

I made another annual trip to Roger's Gardens yesterday.  It's a plant nursery like no other I've seen.  They quite literally have everything you could want from plants to furniture to tableware to napkins to food.  And they have a wonderful restaurant called The Farmhouse.  That's where we had lunch.

I love this tree that sits in the middle of the potted plants.

It was Saturday so everything changed drastically from the past two days.  The beaches were crowded, the parks were full and the street traffic was crazy.  It was a good day to park the car and walk.

Which is exactly what we did.  After lunch, we parked the car at the condo and then walked to the Laguna Beach Art Museum.  I loved this painting by Kevin Yaun.  It was among a series of paintings by 2024 MFA graduates from Laguna College of Art and Design.

We walked back to the condo and enjoyed the setting sun making sparkles on the water.  Today is my last day in paradise.  I have to fly back to the desert in the afternoon.  

Julius Caesar & Lots of Flowers

 

As you can see, I made my annual trip to Sherman Library & Gardens yesterday and I got to see good old Julius Caesar again.  He's the garden cat who lives at the gardens and occasionally greets guests.  Yesterday, the garden was preparing for a huge plant sale on Saturday and Sunday and Julius was very busy checking out all the vendors and their wares.  I took several photos of Julius but unfortunately they are all on my camera and I forgot to bring the adaptor to down load them.  

On this visit, I found this building with the roof covered in a flowering vine. I don't remember seeing that before.  I like it.

Here's a close up of the flowers on the vine.

I couldn't resist a photo of these exotic looking orchids.  

My friend and I had a wonderful lunch in the garden restaurant called "Dahlia".  They have a wonderful chef and the food is always excellent.

The fountain at the entrance to the garden is always surrounded by pretty flowers and every year they are different.  These pink flowers make a nice frame for the fountain.

Pelicans, Lots of Pelicans

 

I flew over to California late Wednesday evening to spend the weekend at my friends place in Laguna Beach.  Thursday morning my friend and I had breakfast at Crystal Cove and then walked the beach.  We were amazed by all the pelicans flying overhead. There must have been thousands because one flock after another kept passing over us all heading north.  

A morning walk on the beach is very invigorating especially when the temperature is hovering around 68 degrees and I've been more used to 112.  It's going to be nice to cool off for a while.

And, while I was at Crystal Cove, I snapped one more photo of that mailbox I told you about last year.  It's still sitting on the porch and the rust is creeping onto to it.  In last year's post, I told you the saga of that mailbox since I discovered it back in 2007.