Winter Solstice

For about 20 nights, give or take, I’ve been finding excuses not to walk a few blocks west to Vendome Street with my tripod and DSLR camera with the zoom lens so as to point it back across the gap at our seasonally decorated house visible from that distant and different perspective, roughly a sixth …

‘Tis The Season

And once again whilst we decorated the Christmas tree, Susan has dressed Ranger in seasonally appropriate attire. But her expression below leaves me torn between whether she’s saying “Merry Christmas!” or “Get this ridiculous thing off me lest I seek my revenge upon any and all socks you dare leave upon the floor now and …

Timelapse: All-City Toy Ride

I had my Electric Santa suit brighter and more elaborate than ever and last night was a great night for what should have been another (the 6th-annual) great Midnight Ridazz All-City Toy Ride from Highland Park to Olvera Street. But after all the rides from around the city had converged on the historic Plaza gazebo …

Let There Be Lights

Given how elaborately ghoulish and over-the-top our Halloween decorations are, one might think I go totally overboard for the holidays as well. But no blow-up Santas on the ivy for me. Instead, I am decidedly low-key in how we deck the halls for Christmas, with this year being literally no different than the last: icicle …

Happy Halloween: Thinking Outside The Pumpkin

A best-ever awesome trick-or-treater turnout under wonderful weather, and bonus: my extensive and tangled serpentine chains of extension cords didn’t blow the power out or catch anything on fire! But now a word about my favorite jack o’ lantern (click it for the bigger picture): Totally improvised. I’m not sure what species of pumpkin but …

Orb Weaver Can Haz Termites

A short spell of light rain yesterday was enough to disturb a subterranean termite nest on our property and bring its population to the surface (click image for the bigger picture): To the uninitiated, it can be a bit disconcerting to see a termite swarm suddenly flying about or moving along the ground seemingly from …