School days -- June 11, 2015

The best find of the day -- a set lot for Sony Pictures Studios Production Services on Slauson Street. Everyone is in there (OK, no zombies that I can see) -- to the far left, a Buddhist or Hindu goddess, a couple of medieval saints, a variety of ancient Greek and Roman gods, a couple of Victorian children, a small horse . . . what conversations they must have as they wait for their next assignments. This is a couple of blocks away from the Antioch Campus.


Today was the official start of studentdom -- but not until 6:00 p.m. Before that, we slept in (catching up from jet lag), and explored our neighborhood.

Rain on a bench at a bus stop, early morning. The locals aren't very excited about a little rain -- they say that most of it runs into the ocean, and it would never be enough to matter. What matters is the snow pack, and unless that improves next year, the drought will continue.

A blanket of bougainvillea. The neighborhood is one huge business park area, with a number of corporate buildings, and a couple of malls, along with a few hotels and associated businesses.

Landscaped day lilies. Because the area isn't residential, the plantings tend to be less personalized (as in no one is saying, "this lily has been growing here for 30 years and I can't bear to dig it up even though it's scrawny"). These lilies were planted to make a Marriott hotel look good, and if they don't behave, they are likely to be replaced. Right now, they are in no danger of that.

This might be a jasmine bush; it's certainly fragrant enough.

Grasses, with a random Lily-of-the-Nile blossom.

Wildlife for the day -- a pair of squirrels, who chased across the 6-lane wide street, up into the pine tree, down the pine tree, up into the next pine tree over. Mating? They were tussling a bit in between the chases.

A set of sculptural trees, with concrete steps -- it has a quality of serene Greek gods.

Jacaranda mimosifolia, or "Blue Jacaranda Tree."

Antioch University, from a few blocks away.

The Antioch building courtyard -- not the standard collegiate quad.

Despite the manicured nature of most of the area, we did pass a few vacant lots given over to "weeds," aka interesting plants whose names I don't know.

We stopped at the Westfield Mall for lunch. It had a pleasant food court, and a well-used kids' area.

Along Sepulveda, a few random palm trees that have taken root next to the sidewalk.

Roses, speckled with pink.

More statues at the Sony Pictures Production Services.

Horses, and lampposts by the dozen.

Looking more closely at the palm trees, we see that their trunks are quite different from each other. On the top photo, the leaf scars step up the tree in an orderly fashion. On the lower photo, the trunk is vertically striated at the bottom, and the leaf scars are messy with fibers and strips of bark.

This must be the season for the Lily-of-the-Nile flowers, mostly this sky-blue with a hint of lavender, but some are white.