Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2007. We took Mattie to Coronado, near San Diego. Mattie wanted to ride one of those "surrey with a fringe on top," as I call them! Well they look adorable but they aren't easy to operate or pedal! In this bicycle, we had my parents, us, and Mattie. Peter and I were doing the pedaling. Mattie got a big kick out of me because I felt like I got a work out for a week! He was up in the front seat giving us directions and laughing. It was a memorable moment.


Quote of the day: The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today we visited the Arboretum. Another Mattie favorite! The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is a unique 127-acre botanical garden and historical site located in what was the heart of the historic Rancho Santa Anita in the city of Arcadia.

The one unforgettable aspect is the freely roaming peacocks at the park! They are everywhere!!! This peahen was posing for me as soon as we entered today! Mattie LOVED the peacocks and I will never forget the show they put on for him one day! It had Mattie perplexed and he stopped in his tracks to watch it! Of course it was a male peacock trying to get the attention of a female and his dance and bird calls were hysterical to watch! Mattie did not understand the full details of what he was observing but he understood enough to know that this male bird was a sight to be seen!

Along our journey in the Arboretum we saw lots of butterflies! However, despite our best plan which was to walk throughout the property it was like 98 degrees in FULL sun. Which made walking quite a challenge. It is the driest I have ever seen Southern California too! Everything seems in need of water. 

See what I mean about the peacocks??? They are everywhere!! Whole families! This one included the peachicks!

Along our walk we passed the Yellow Poinciana -- The tree is widely grown in tropical regions as an ornamental tree, particularly in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Florida and Hawaii in the United States. 

Our goal was to find the plumeria which were in bloom in the gardens today! Of course I had NO IDEA what plumeria looked like, which is always a problem when looking for a needle in a haystack. In any case, we were told to climb up passed a large water fall, passed a beautiful tree (which they did not tell us was a Sycamore fig, I had to figure that one out for myself tonight with some research) and eventually we found the plumeria!!! This "beautiful tree" is a Sycamore Fig Tree!!! The sycamore fig (Ficus Sycamorus) is native to the Middle East and parts of Africa. The name Sycamorus came from the Greek Syca-Morus which means Mulberry fig. The leaves are similar in shape to mulberry and the fruit looks very similar to the common fig, except it’s smaller. The fruits grow on clusters attached to the bark. The fruit have a very sweet aroma. It tastes different than the common fig, a little sweeter and very aromatic. The fruit of the sycamore fig is not grown commercially. However, you may find fruits of the sycamore fig selling in Israeli farm markets. The trees are not as cold hardy as the common fig (Ficus Carica). They are usually grown in the warmer regions of the Middle East and Africa.

I included this photo because I wanted you to have some perspective! We climbed up LOTS of stairs to get to the TOP where this Sycamore Fig was located! I took this photo near where the fig tree was, we had to make this climb to find the plumeria! In the heat!!!! 

Plumeria (common name is Frangipani) is related to the oleander and is native to Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America as far south as Brazil but can be grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

Commonly known for the Hawaiian flower used to make Melia Lei’s, Plumeria flowers are sought after around the globe

The fragrance of plumeria is intoxicating and I can see why someone would want a lei made out of this glorious flower! It was worth the climb! But honestly I could never have found this flower without my phone! I had to google "plumeria" to see a sample photo! With the sample photo in hand, we then went searching in the general vicinity specified on the garden map! Otherwise I had NO idea what we were looking for!

Another beautiful tree which looks like it is growing tulips!!! This is the Yellow African Tulip Tree!

The Arboretum has its own Aquatic Garden! I could see Claude Monet here if he were alive today! The water lilies were in bloom, the turtles were out and stretching their necks toward the sun, and this seemed like a very peaceful place to escape. 

It was the perfect day for Turtles!

After the Arboretum we journeyed to a restaurant in San Marino called Julienne's. It has a lovely atmosphere and it was a memorable lunch with my parents. 

At lunch my dad took a photo of my mom and I!