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Aztec Kitchen Secrets & Other Facts

This is not a California scrub oak in full bloom – this is a California scrub oak chosen by a Cup-of-Gold Vine (Solandra maxima) as a perfect climbing place.

The old Aztecs knew their Solandra quite well, albeit under the name ‘Tecomaxochitl’. They used the leaves to cook them up with cocoa; the resulting brew was then drunk as a love potion. I can just imagine the novice in the kitchen listening to Granny mumbling: “Be careful, dear, don’t give him too much of it – his body will dry out and he will die of too vigorous lovemaking.” Hmm… what a way to go.

Actually, the members of the Solandra family are an interesting bunch – they range from the Deadly Nightshade to the potatoes, including tomatoes, eggplant, paprika, chili peppers and tobacco.

And yes, the flowers and leaves of the potato plant are quite toxic, too, as the poor farmers in Germany learned when Frederick the Great (1712 – 1786) decreed that they had to plant this newfangled crop on their fields. Frederick needed food for his people, and even more so for his army – plenty of food, and cheap to boot. The potato was perfect. Unfortunately somehow nobody explained to the farmers which part of the plant was edible, so they cooked the green parts. Bon appetit – not. Once the initial confusion about the edible parts of these new crops was sorted out, the potato thrived and the people with it.

Actually, I met both members of the family in one day on Catalina Island: The strikingly beautiful bloom (diameter 4 inches) in the morning in the Botanical Garden, the rather more humble but tasty potato in the evening on my dinner plate. I enjoyed both very much.

Tiny Faces Of A Huge Problem

According to the Los Angeles Animal Services the city is populated at any time by approximately 26,000 – 48,000 stray dogs and 3 million feral cats.

In 2006 alone 46,000 animals found their way into the Los Angeles shelters, where they are kept for 52 days plus 7 additional days in the hope that they will be adopted. In 2006 this hope did not come true for 28 percent of the dogs and 57 percent of the cats. They were euthanized.

Enter the private and non-profit organizations, who run no-kill shelters for strays and also rescue animals from the city shelters to find new homes for them. These places, like the city shelters, are constantly battling with overcrowding and under funding. Most of them could not survive at all, where it not for volunteers giving their time (and money) to keep the safe havens for dogs and cats alive and operating.

The two tiny critters in the photo are foundlings, delivered to the Sante D’or Foundation on Sunset. There they will be available for adoption, together with their feline friends, rabbits and sometimes dogs, also looking for new homes.

The Raven

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door –
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door –
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Edgar Allan Poe ‘The Raven” 1845

Perched he was, together with his raven feathered mistress, high above me on top of the Wrigley Memorial on Catalina Island.

Ravens mate for life, but comes mating season the male has to bring the female presents of twigs and branches to repair last year’s nest. These two were apparently in the midst of preparing to raise a new family, because that was how I discovered them – the male came flying in with a particularly nice small branch. Once he sat on the ledge I noticed that it was indeed a raven; when sitting still their long throat feathers flutter in the wind, which makes these birds easily distinguishable from crows.

After some arranging of the new addition to the abode, high up on the memorial, the male raven took off again; maybe Madame was not yet satisfied.

Apparently the time of perching and sitting and saying nothing more is still a way off for this particular member of the species; his mate seems to keep him busy.

Etched In Gold By Lizard People

An old Hopi legend I always liked is the one about the underground cities built by the lizard people along the Pacific Coast. Apparently those cities were constructed after a catastrophic meteor shower destroyed large areas and much of the population at around 3,000 BC. The lizard people not only seemed to be quite adapt at building subterranean cities; according to the legend they also possessed the first history books, detailing the history of the Earth since creation. How much they valued those books can be assumed from the fact that they were etched on golden tablets.

Such precious materials are no longer en vogue for books, but the Los Angeles Central Library sits – if one can believe the Hopi legend – on top of the site of one of those ancient cities, which incidentally was built in the form of a lizard. A quirky humor that lot had.

Is it sheer coincidence that some gold tones went into the decoration of the roof of the library?

Maybe there is no connection – but what a wonderful thought that there might be one.

Such Fleeting Beauty

Living in the city we are not starved for the sight of flowers. Actually, due to the mild climate (in Winter) and diligent watering (during the remainder of the year) one sees blooming plants and flowers the year around.

The story in regions with less water is completely different. In the desert, on the hills and at the foot of the mountains the wildflowers bloom only once a year, in Spring; but then otherwise brown and barren looking landscapes are transformed into areas covered with an abundance of flowers, ranging from the quietly pleasant to the spectacular. In fact, the deeper one drives into the desert, the more flamboyant the display becomes.

Not in the desert, but in the San Gabriel Mountains the view is this:

… for about three weeks.

Reflexions

“Architecture is form placed between the ground and the sky.”

(Eero Saarinen)

Buildings at Grand Avenue near 3rd Street

Petals & Metal

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles is not a building easily overlooked. Opinions about it vary, but can be basically divided into two camps – “love it” and “hate it.” That goes for the exterior. As far as the interior is concerned, the acoustics, the verdict is a unanimous “exceptionally fabulous.”

And then there is the roof garden, another one of those little secrets known only to those who like sticking their noses behind the scenes. When one goes to the web site of the concert hall, one has to poke around a bit to find the garden mentioned at all; even then one is left with the impression that one has to take a tour to be able to go there.

Well, that is slightly misleading. The garden is public, open all day, no tour is needed and there is no entry fee.

Best of all – the garden is beautiful. The contrast between the plants and the trees and the metal exterior of the hall is striking. Light, shadows, reflexions, striking angles and nature’s beauty combine in a way one does not see very often.

The garden is an oasis of deep serenity against a backdrop of steel. Oh, and by the way – going up don’t touch the handrails or lean against any panels unprotected from the sun. They get hot; frying egg temperature hot.

Locations, Locations, Locations

Go just about anywhere in Los Angeles and you will find a location used for filming, although the location used might look a bit different when one sees it later in the movie.

The Cedar Grove is a good example – it is a pretty spot, a miniature forest, green and peaceful and pleasantly cool in summer. In the movie “Van Helsing” it probably looks more like this:

van helsingII.jpg

Which means, yes, one of these days I will have to watch “Van Helsing”.

An Afternoon At The Races

santa anita track.jpg

Comes winter time, Santa Anita Park, the oldest horse track in California, opens. The track is considered to hold the best racing in the country during the Winter-Spring Meeting. Even without knowing that, any trip to Santa Anita is fun and highly entertaining.

On driving in one can see people like this – these guys are serious about horse races: