Flying stuff and large spadixes

Had a strange experience the night before last. I dreamt that there was a mountain lion and a tiger in my yard. Very vivid.  I woke my wife up to tell her about my dream close to four in the morning and then went back to sleep.

When I got to coffee, Ron, a neighbor above me who is also a friend and my dentist, told me that he saw a puma the previous night while turning off his irrigation. He said that he saw it run down towards my ranch.

Strange.

I had a midday appointment on the coast yesterday. Decided to bring a camera along.

 First stop was Quail Gardens, oops, the San Diego Botanic Garden. The garden has a blooming titan arum, more properly known as Amorphophallus titanum.

The titan arum, is commonly known as the corpse flower, for the rotting stench it emits.

It is the largest flower in the world and one has only to take a gander to see how it got the name Amorphophallus although the large protruding spadix is actually hundreds of flowers.

It was given the name titan arum by Sir David Attenborough, who worried that Amorphophallus was a little too racy.

Georgia O'keeffe and Judy Chicago would have gone crazy over this thing. Large specimens can be over nine feet tall. I didn't measure this but it might have been close to six or seven.

The corm of this plant can weigh 250 lbs. Do you see the plant on the left? It is the same plant in vegetative state. The leaf form on top is actually one leaf. It takes about a decade to create enough energy to bloom. One orgasm and it is all over.

There were lots of people around taking pictures, it is a two day job and then, finished. So it was crazy there. Went back in the afternoon as it is constantly growing and changing, probably collapsed this morning. Had a cigarette.



I scooted down to La Jolla and stopped at the glider port to take a shot or two before my meeting. Need to spend some more time there when I'm not rushed.

My friend and client has a lovely cliffside view and I took a shot or two off her deck and did my appraisal.

Then I boogied over to the Torrey Pines State Reserve, see if I could spot a peregrine falcon or two.

Lugging the 400mm around hiking is like carrying a small anvil. I brushed agains the lens and accidentally put it in manual focus and it took a while to figure out. Missed some shots.

Saw one falcon. Which was not worth writing home about. But had a nice walk and did come upon this gorgeous Cooper's Hawk on the branch of a Torrey Pine.

You out of town people that think this is pretty, it is not. I use special filters on the camera. Don't even think of moving here. We are out of water. Stay in Phoenix.

So it was another good day. Sort of guilty, too much picture taking and not enough money making but I am planting seeds.

Had the camera on the seat this morning on the way to work and saw a first in the canyon. Five snowy egrets on the top of a large tree. Maybe we are going to get a rookery? Couldn't get all of them in view with the large prime. Hope they stick around.