Post Office Landscape

Here is an update (since 2018) of the landscaping in front of the PO.

It looks nice after two winters of lots of rain.

Queen Califia’s Magical Circle: Niki de Saint Phalle in Escondido

Since learning about her sculpture garden in Escondido, California, I have been wanting to visit this Niki de Saint Phalle installation. Although it is free to enter, the hours are limited. It’s open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon, and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I happened to be nearby on the recent second Saturday, a sunny day.

In her final years living in San Diego, Niki de Saint Phalle became enamored of the story of the black warrior queen who ruled the mythical island of California (also spelled Calafia). The queen sits in the center of the circle astride a five-legged eagle (egg underneath) surrounded by eight totems covered in symbolic mosaics of drawn from Native American, Pre-Columbian, and Mexican art in addition to the artist’s own imagery.

The outside walls are topped by undulating snakes.

As much as I love her angel in the Zürich main train station, this might be my favorite installation of hers.

Here are my other posts about Niki de Saint Phalle.

Return to Claremont

Greetings! It’s been a minute, but we have been back from sabbatical for a week. I remember from past sabbaticals that it takes about a week to get re-acclimated to a new time zone and to find the things we’ve squirreled away.

One of the things that often happens is that our yard goes wild. Our gardener takes care of the leaves and such, but we usually weed and chop back the plants. During the winter while we were gone, you may know that the west coast had A. Lot. Of. Rain. Plants were so happy. We saw pictures.

Now that it is hot summer, those plants are, shall we say, dormant. Here are a few shots from our yard.

It will take a little while to catch up in the yard.

Barbara Beretich House Revealed

In 2016, I blogged about this house in the 1000 block of Harvard Ave. Since then I found out that it belonged to Claremont artist Barbara Beretich who passed on in 2018.

The house’s new owners (CGU) have removed much of the growth. All of the artwork from the front of the house has been cleared away, revealing some lovely tile work and a fountain (currently dry).

A few months ago, before this clearing, I noticed shadows from the lattice work and snapped this shot. I’m glad I have it, as the trellis has also been removed. Note the stone with the house number and BB for Barbara Beretich. My friend and fellow blogger also noticed the change.

Favorite Photos from the Huntington Gardens

Last April we strolled the Huntington Gardens, and I blogged about different parts of the grounds.

On Saturday we returned for an evening stroll. I could probably go every week for photographic inspiration. Here are two photos from Saturday.

This one was taken with my DSLR in the Chinese Garden. I edited it with Snapseed.

This was taken with my iPhone. This is unedited.

Maude House Landscaping Update

Last April I posted an update on the Maude House on Harvard Ave. The house appeared to be finished, but the landscaping was not. I think the yard is finally finished.

(Re)Place at the California Botanic Garden

A new sculptural installation has opened at the botanic garden. I found these offerings delightful and think that they have wide appeal.

According to the website:

(Re)place is a collaboration between artist Brandon Lomax and the California Botanic Garden’s past, present and future. Sculptural works will be shown at various stages of completion from fully-fired clay works that are as durable as stone as well as unfired works that are more vulnerable to the weather and elements of the Botanic Gardens. With guidance from the garden’s horticultural specialists, Lomax embedded some works with native plant species. Throughout the duration of the exhibit, unfired clay works will disintegrate and rejoin the soil, their once solid forms replaced by new plant species.

Fall at California Botanical Garden

A weekend morning walk through the garden offered up these pictures of autumn.

Dyck Arboretum of the Plains

Trees are not turning colors just yet in Kansas, but on Sunday I visited the Dyck Arboretum in Hesston, Kansas. The prairie is getting ready for winter, so I saw many plants past their prime, but beautiful in the sunshine.

Spiderwebs in the dewy grass caught my eye, and after I downloaded the photos, I noticed the spider in this one.

Some flowers are still blooming.

Desert Garden at the Huntington

We started our walk through the Huntington Gardens with the Desert. We’ve been to some great botanical gardens in many places, but I feel as though I was walking through the Disneyland of desert gardens here. I think if we lived in Pasadena, I would be a member and just wander one garden per visit so as to savor each area.