A place for my photos and thoughts and stuff.
Alfie’s a big fan of Clark Regional Park…
I love big, tall, mature trees!
I always half expect something to pop out of the haunted looking log.
The beautiful yellow sandstone of the Los Coyotes Hills…
No superbloom yet. But really pretty and green anyway.
Black-crowned night heron.
It was a beautiful spring day!
Looking across the lake.
Like I said, she’s a big fan.
Buff: A Collie by Albert Payson Terhune (1921)
I loved Terhune’s dog books as a kid. Revisiting them now, it’s surprising to see how harsh some of them are. There’s a little of that in “Buff,” but it’s primarily a pretty nice dog/man story, about loyalty and reclamation. Terhune’s weakness is writing people, and there’s too much people in this book to stack up among his best stories. But as always, his understanding of dogs — he really gets them — makes the Buff-centered parts of the story really work. Not the best read, but it was short.
The Compleat Horseplayer by Tom Ainslie (1966)
This classic handicapping tome is old, but the info is still sound. Read it, highlighted it, took the info to the track and put it into play and made enough to enjoy the rest of the day mostly on their money. I have to go through it again to absorb more before I become a obscenely wealthy tycoon, but all such worthy goals take time.
Bright Wings – Billy Collins, Editor (2012)
This is a lovely book full of poems about birds, accompanied by wonderful illustrations. A very nice read.
What an ingrate!
How it started.
How it went. It was pawed over by crows, who then made off with one of the crosses. After that, we didn’t bother maintaining it.
Stupid birds.
In my garden, after a rainfall, you can faintly, yes, hear the breaking of new blooms. – Truman Capote
Irises.
A white iris!
Double daffodil.
Black-eyed susan vine going nuts!
There was more, I just wasn’t organized enough to take good photos. We had geraniums, and freesias, and white roses. And the cabbage plants were putting out yellow flowers. Use your imagination.
Why can’t they make power poles look more like trees?
The beautiful art deco clubhouse, sporting a lovely new coat of paint. There is no sporting venue like this one.
Old art deco style signage.
He looks…concerned.
I got a Lava Man poster signed by Corey Nakatani (his jockey) and trainer (Doug O’Niell). Lava Man had a glorious Hall of Fame career, then retired to work in his trainer’s barn coaching the young’uns in the proper behavior. He was so effective in communicating with his charges, that he did the job of 2 or 3 people. Unbelievably cool horse.
I love this statue of Zenyatta. She was (and is) magical.
My carefully considered choice. Yes, he was the favorite. Don’t judge me. I made enough money to not dip into my own wallet until the very end of the day.
Thank you, Asada Fries, for your outstanding effort.
I love The Great Race Place!
Is there a more beautiful sports venue in the world?
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
Emily Dickinson
The Lent Lily
‘Tis spring; come out to ramble
The hilly brakes around,
For under thorn and bramble
About the hollow ground
The primroses are found.
And there’s the windflower chilly
With all the winds at play,
And there’s the Lenten lily
That has not long to stay
And dies on Easter day.
And since till girls go maying
You find the primrose still,
And find the windflower playing
With every wind at will,
But not the daffodil.
Bring baskets now, and sally
Upon the spring’s array,
And bear from hill and valley
The daffodil away
That dies on Easter day.
A. E. Houseman
This place is an underrated gem.
I’ve always liked this one for some reason.
The duck is unimpressed.
That looks uncomfortable.
This is supposedly a model of the statue at the top of the U. S. Capitol.
I’m a fan of the curves.
Will no one stop that marauding horrible spiky red alien. Will no one thing of the children?