The stuff that happens on my lawn

I love what random things happen on my front lawn.

Today I looked out and there's a small film crew and an...ice cream truck.

They are filming a promo for samsung, so if you see it... that's my house!

Picnic on my front lawn

My front lawn is surrounded on three sides by Griffith Park, is owned by the city, and is a fascinating cross section of urban hollywood meets wilderness area.

Today I brought my knitting and tablet out front to have a picnic in this amazing spring weather. I am looking up at redwoods and pines and alders and at least four other types of trees I don't know. There are lizards basking on the walkway to my house. There are squirrels darting from tree to fence behind me. There are hummingbirds swooping low over the grass. There are a lot of people driving up to the observatory,  walking dogs, and pushing strollers.

I am watching West Wing, knitting christmas presents,  and eating egg salad and carrot sticks. Maybe I will take a nap.

go down to the dell

This is the plan, brought to you by new charcoal and my paper journal.

Walking the dog in the Dell

We live right next to a part of the park called "Fern Dell." It's a beautiful little oasis, very different from the rest of the park. It's full of exotic ferns and plants, with bridges and little islands in the middle of natural running water coming from underground springs.. lots of stone retainer walls. There is a lot of history, I'll dig some up later. One thing I know is that people used to come from far and wide to the Dell to drink the water from these underground springs -- they used to say that it was water from the fountain of youth. 

fern dell

Sunny day in Fern Dell! I heard that the Friends of Griffith Park are working on getting it restored to it's former glory. They got a grant, and bought a bunch of new plants which are being grown at a nearby college. There have been some cleanup crews on weekends clearing the water of the plants that choke up the flow.

vines

Another beautiful day in Fern Dell. The biggest photo shows one of my favorite spots, with the vines hanging down. It makes me think of Indiana Jones. The bottom left photo is a tree that has a hawk nest in it - I've seen one hawk fly in and bring food to the nest a couple of times.

morning latte

Pleasant morning -- dog enjoying the light coming in from the window, and I took a little walk up to the Trails Cafe for a soy chai tea latte. 

The Trails is a cute little coffee/sandwich/pastry place up the street. It's got vegan food, fun tea combinations... they put soy bacon bits in their avocado sandwich. What's not to love? Huell Howser did an interview with the owner in the Fern Dell episode of his show.