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Entries tagged with 'Nature'
Posted Apr. 23, 2007,
April Showers Bring L.A. Flowers
By Ann Magnuson
After the downpour on Friday, the sun peaked out from behind the clouds and turned Tinsel Town into a gleaming Technicolor Munchkin Land. Not enough to put a dent in our drought, the rain did bring out the best in my rose garden!
Posted Apr. 23, 2007,
Crocodiles Scare the Sh*t Outta Me!
By Ann Magnuson
This story from China really sends chills down my spine. Nothing scares me more than crocodiles! I think it started when I read a story in the New York Post ('natch) about some dumb vacationing Americans swimming in a swimming hole somewhere Down Under where a Danger: Crocodiles sign was posted. Dumb Americans ignored the sign and a model was snatched up by an Aussie croc and pulled down under herself. (I know this sounds like an urban myth but I SWEAR it was in the news!) They found her body in the crocodile's nest, buried in mud where the prehistoric monsters like to put their prey to soften it up before mealtime.
ARRGGHGHHRRRGHGHGHGHGHGGHHGH!
I can't believe I once went swimming in the ocean in northern Australia not far from where the Danger: Crocodiles signs were posted!! Those SAW movies can't be as scary as the thought of being pulled down and marinated in some crododile's lair. And now they've found the remains of nine-year-old inside a Chinese croc??
ARRGGHGHHRRRGHGHGHGHGHGGHHGH!
Posted Apr. 11, 2007,
Huntington Gardens Aloe Plant Blooms in Technicolor!
By Ann Magnuson
Another psychedelic day-glo moment from the Huntington Botanical Gardens. This aloe plant from "The Desert Garden" reminds us that heaven -- the trippy version -- really is here on earth! Or is that really just a prop from the "Going Back to Eden" episode from Star Trek? Happy Spring everyone from those of us in succulent-rich Southern California!
Posted Apr. 8, 2007,
Huntington Gardens for Easter Weekend!
By Ann Magnuson
I had forgotten how sublime The Huntington Botanical Gardens are -- especially the intensely surreal and seriously psychedelic cactus garden! My father asked if we could visit there during his recent visit to L.A. last week and I was so happy to be reminded of this amazing treasure that is only a short drive from home! We went on Palm Sunday and it was probably a more jubilant and spiritual experience than any church service could ever have been (except perhaps some of those Baptist ones!)
If you want to feel truly Born Again this Easter weekend, check out these amazing gardens which are part of The Huntington, a lavish estate in San Marino (near Pasedena) that was once owned by railroad baron Henry E. Huntington. (There's a town named Huntington near my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia that is named after him. There are probably a few all over the country -- no doubt wherever a railroad passed by.)