The Palo Verde tree is in full bloom in the desert area on the other side of the mountains from where I live.  Somewhere in the bunch of photos I took yesterday, I have a picture of the whole magnificent tree; but my system of keeping track of photos, and even of the day, has become confused.  Margaret and I got back late from a long museum-sponsored bus ride to and from The desert cities, Palm Springs and Palm Desert. I tried to solve the problem late last night, and wasn't successful.  The three photos here are from a desert garden outside the museum in Palm Desert.  I'll post more later, but these three photos from yesterday's trip confirm my fascination with trees.

Almost didn't get a BLOG picture today... my computer is malfunctioning, and I'm not at all sure that this much of the BLOG for today will be finished.  I hope to have the problem(s) solved by tomorrow afternoon.  This picture was taken near the drug store close to where we live.  I call it a tree orchid, but I know that's not its name.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Being Aware... of beauty around me, I pass on most days several paintings, some are reproductions, and some are original.  This one, a reproduction,  is near an elevator in an entrance to the building where I live.  It is beautiful perhaps because it reminds me of old times and old places.

At another entrance, the main entrance to the place where I live, Wisteria blossoms are in full bloom. They are beautiful.  It is springtime in the year 2017.  They are now.

I met my old teaching buddy Eric for coffee this morning, and some things don't change.  Today is the first day of his spring break from teaching.  I learned this morning that Eric is still the amazing person, equally amazing teacher, and devoted husband and father he has always been.  I could go on describing the joys of friendship, but there isn't any way to adequately write them.  This was a good day.

I know... I know... but I don't know the name of this tree or the flower that is blooming right now on it.  I walked by the tree today again, and again I took a picture with my phone.  I invite someone who sees this BLOG everyday to send me the name.  It brightens my day.

Sometimes a painting comes to my attention which has the perfect balance and the right colors and is altogether pleasing.  Today it happened.  This painting hangs on a wall in a hallway where I live. I've passed it on my way coming and going to an from our apartment.   I don't know who painted it.  I don't know what place on earth it represents, but it must be a place where palm trees thrive... and flowers grow... and a bay lies shining nearby.  I'll definitely be on the lookout for this place.

MORNING LIGHT is different from all the other light of the day.  At 9 am this morning I pulled my car to the entrance to the building named Magnolia to wait for my neighbors Irene and Jim to come down to join me for a ride to La Jolla.  I took the time to look at the light, to see the light, to remind myself that light is beautiful.  Not long ago I posted a photograph of the flowers called Kliivia (or Clivia) from the very flower garden at the entrance to Magnolia.  When I took those pictures, the sun was on the other side of the sky.  What a difference!

The first photograph, taken in the back garden at Paradise Village where I live, reminds me of the present political situation in Washington D.C.  Today’s photographs remind me also of what our country could be if the clowns who are in the majority in both houses on Capital Hill would get to the job they were elected to do. I lived in McLean, Virginia, across the river from the District of Columbia during the Nixon years, and Watergate happened while I lived there. I was a lot younger then than I am now, and perhaps my younger self was less easy to disturb than my older self is now. I didn’t think the country was in danger of losing its character in those old days, but I can’t get accustomed, I don’t want to get accustomed, to having Donald Trump as my President; but he is the one who won the election and he is definitely my President. I feel the country is at risk with him at the helm.  I didn’t think the country was in danger of slipping into something that could not be recovered even when Mr. Nixon was President. I knew some of the people who were in charge of keeping the country safe.  Some of them were Democrats and some of them were Republicans. Both groups had a few crazy people among them, and some of those people were racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic and unreliable when it came to maintaining a country that I wanted our country to be. But the country was not in danger of slipping into a state of being that would have changed its character to something that would have been an embarrassment to me.  One of my bicycling buddies was the Secretary of the Army, a Republican. He was appointed to his job by Richard Nixon. He was a very good, responsible person in a job that was difficult to do well, and he did it well. 

The man who is President now is an embarrassment.  He seems to me to be someone who makes up stories that he wants to believe and that he wants the country to believe.  He seems to me to be unreliable as a leader. I am afraid for my country.

A house that I have photographed on other days... but today, with clouds and light rain, I couldn't resist walking around from my parking place at the dentist's office to get another photograph... Margaret was getting her teeth cleaned while I went to visit one of my favorite trees.  Some day I'm going to find out the name of the tree.  Perhaps I'll have to go up to the front door of the Historic Victorian House to ask.  The tree bark I included today were in front of the parking place, and as I sat listening to radio news, I realized I couldn't "not take a picture," so I got out my telephone and took the bark pictures.  I don't know the name of this little tree either. It had berries.

Yesterday I posted a couple of pictures I got from one of my favorite paintings... the one by Jim Rabbi which he calls Falling In Love.  I mentioned in the BLOG yesterday that I would someday include a photograph of the entire painting.  Several people sent back encouragement, so here it is.  Jim is a fine painter.  He lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Margaret and I have a couple of other Rabby paintings.  Nancy has one, and David has one.  Falling In Love is 30 inches by 36 inches.  Before taking the picture, I should have taken it off the wall and put it where  the light on it would be consistent.  The painting is not a bit darker on the left as the photograph indicates.  The effect is caused by the shadow of a book case.  This painting makes me glad... even with a shadow on the left side.   

Flowers again from National City, Paradise Village:  These orange lilies seem to be sending out light from the centers.  I called friends Ruth and Bill to get the name; and, of course, they knew exactly what they are called... not just one name but two.  They are Kliivia, or Clivia.  I checked the Internet and found that "Clivia miniata is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native, growing in woodland habitats in South Africa as well as in Swaziland."  Wow!  What beautiful flowers these lilies are. 

We have also in our flower beds white, almost yellow, Clivia or Kliivia.  In the second picture see the snail on the plant leaf to the left of the white Clivia.  The third picture is a close-up of the snail. We also have some old fashioned yellow day lilies... They are beautiful, too.  Life is good. 

On another day I'll include a better view of the entire painting that artist Jim Rabby calls Falling in Love.  Today has been special.  David and David and Gil came for supper, but before they got to our place, Patrick and Elaine came for a good visit.  We are fortunate to have them close by... all of these people in our family.

David and David got back this week from a Road's Scholar trip to Cuba.  We've seen some of their pictures.  I want to go.

The flowers in the desert this year are amazing... so amazing that people are pouring over into the desert area on the other side of the beautiful range of mountains that separate our Southern California paradise from the rest of the U.S. just to look at the flowers. The rains that have come during our rainy season have worked the miracle... a miracle that has been there all along. Margaret and I went to The Davids' house today and on our way into their house I saw these flowers blooming in their front yard.  There is beauty all around us. No drive was necessary to find it.

St. Patrick's Day... We went to the San Diego Museum of Art this morning for a lecture and a tour of the museum... then we went with David to lunch.  There is something grand about the staircase at the museum... I had only my phone, so I used that to get a photograph.

Later at home Margaret and I went to a birthday celebration for the March birthdays in our community.  On the way down I got pictures of pink blossoms on a tree between our place and the reception area.  Because today is St. Patrick's day, many of the residents wore green.  A big green hat caught my attention.  A jazz band played and I was reminded that "old" people know how to have fun.

Bobbi J. sends me information about the little white flowers blooming all around Paradise Village, so I went out again this morning looking for the little beauties.  She says they are called African Iris in Florida, and sometimes they are called "Morea" Plant.  I like both those names.  I found more of them this morning.  If they are called something else in the place where you live, let me know.

The mystery man on the motorcycle is grandson Michael.  Wow!  I remember the days when I was younger, living in Singapore,  riding a motorcycle.  Michael's Grandpa Gary and I owned a motorcycle together in those days.  Today was a reminder of times past.  This guy is all right and a joy.  Of course, I had to tell him the scary stories... and told him how to be safe... and I knew he knew already, but I had to say it.  He knows me well and could tell that I was full of envy... and pride in him.

I was looking around in our neighborhood today, and the flowers and trees here are compelling.  If I go out walking without my regular camera, my phone is pressed into service.  Today was one of those days.  A eucalyptus tree "looks" back at me, so I took a picture to remind me of the staring eye.  Paradise Village is surrounded by flower beds, and the most common flower, as one might expect, is the Bird of Paradise.  These flowers bloom all through the "winter."  I am eager to see what they will do in the middle of summer.  The white small flowers must be related to iris, so I'll call them by that name.