Before / During / After

Before the rains the L.A. River looked like this:

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After four days of rain and storms one could see this:

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Once the rains stopped the mountains looked like this:

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I have never seen that much snow up in the mountains – it is simply amazing. In the ski resorts everybody is happy – skier, snowboarder, they all put the chains on their vehicles and drove up to enjoy the freshly fallen powder snow.

They are having fun up there, while we down here in the Flatlands are enjoying the lush green sprouting everywhere.

Stormy Weather

Breaking Waves in San Pedro
Breaking Waves in San Pedro

Yes, yes, the rains have arrived – finally! That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the rains came on the wings of some quite remarkable storms; we’re just through the second wave of winds with gusts of over 72 miles per hour and two more storm waves are expected until Friday of this week.

Down at the coast jetties and piers are closed, a sensible precaution in the face of 15-foot waves. There was some flooding of streets, an urban and small stream flood advisory plus a coastal flood watch is out.

The most damage is expected from mudslides in the areas which burned down last summer. Hopefully it won’t come to that…

A River Runs Through It

It used to be that one could see the odd cormorant when walking along certain stretches of the L.A. River. By now they are hanging out there in whole flocks; and apparently they hunt for fish, too, because this splendid specimen is drying its feathers after diving.

Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant

Then one sees anglers. This again raises the question: “Fish? In the L.A. River? Big enough for people to catch? Has it really recovered that much?”

Anglers at the L.A. River
Anglers at the L.A. River

It has indeed, as can be seen from the catch of one of these gentlemen:

Carp
Carp

Six carp, each weighing in at about 3 – 4 pound.

So yes, the revitalization of the river is progressing. But can one eat the fish? Not a question which troubles the cormorants very much, but the anglers might be a bit concerned.

Here comes the next surprise: Yes, one can.

In September 2008 FoLAR published their second report, titled The Fish Study. According to this report the L.A. River is now populated (at least in the revitalized parts) by mosquitofish, tilapia, green sunfish, fathead minnow, carp, bullhead, Amazon sailfin cafish and largemouth bass. FoLAR also tested the fish for toxicity and found that all samples were below the OEHHA advisory levels for folks eating fish three times a week. So while some might decide to go for catch-and-release, the fish caught can be eaten. FoLAR advises however that it might be safer to just eat the fillets than cooking stew or soup, as chemical can concentrate in the head and guts. (By the way, that was what the gentleman with the six carp said – he was going to put the fillets on the barbecue the same evening.)

And there you are – the river running through L.A. is gaining back life in a big way. With cormorants and men going for fish, overall it does not look too bad for the water quality.

That's How The West Was Won

They used trains and built train stations. One of them is the Santa Fe Depot in San Bernardino.

Station Streetside
Station Streetside

This building, which replaced an earlier structure, was officially opened in 1918.

Station Trackside
Station Trackside

At that time this was the largest and finest train station west of the Mississippi. As the former station building had burned down, the new structure was build to withstand fires, using mostly bricks and glazed tiles for the roof and interior decoration.

Glazed tiles and stucco
Glazed tiles and stucco

The Santa Fe Depot was extremely busy until the 1950s, when the general decline of rail travel began all over the United States. With the decline in travel came the decline of the building. This changed in 1992, when efforts to restore the historic building where started. Restoration began in 2002; a few years and $ 15 Mio. later the station was reopened in 2008.

Restored and still in use
Restored and still in use

Today the Santa Fe Depot is serviced by Amtrak (once a day) and by three Metrolink lines. The building also houses a small museum (open on Saturdays) and office space is for lease. Just imagine – sitting in an office where one is reminded every day of the long and amazing history of train travel in the West.

Just for good measure I’ll throw in another of my favorite winter motif.

SoCal Winter - Palms and Snow
SoCal Winter - Palms and Snow

Winter

That’s the beauty of Southern California: every kind of outdoor activity is just a short drive away.

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This photo was taken in Griffith Park, where we hiked with plenty of water and in short sleeves. With it being officially Winter, no shorts (but that is just us – other hikers just went by temperatures and not by date when choosing their outfits consisting of shorts and tank tops).

If we were of the skiing type, we could have been up there on the slopes in Big Bear two hours later.

Our region really caters to every taste.

Winding Down

The last day of the year – the last day of the decade even…

So much happened. In 2000 I had no idea that 10 years later I would celebrate this day today in Southern California, under a blue sky, enjoying the sun, feeling calmly confident that all will be well.

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Here’s to the next 10 years! I raise my glass to the world.

In Praise Of Bread And Dedicated Bakers

A short while after having seen the Atwater Village Bakery sign go up, we checked the store out. Bread in a variety hardly seen in shops was on offer, plus delicious looking cakes and a wide variety of food to be consumed on the premises. So we became regulars, getting our bread from there on weekends.

One weekend the store was not as crowded as usual and we happened to have a chat with Richard, the Head Baker, about different kinds of bread and about “Graubrot”, this unique type of bread found in Germany and dearly missed by all Germans abroad. No, he said, no, he did not know this type of bread, anything special about it? Now I am not an expert on baking, but I tried to describe this kind of bread to him. To cut a long story short, Richard suddenly said: “You know what, I’ll look it up and give it a try. I love a challenge!”

Fast forward to yesterday: A phone call from Richard – some sample loaves were ready for me to try out. Wow! We dropped everything, jumped into the car and drove over to the store. To be honest, I was getting excited – real bread, at last? Could it be?

We had to wait a while, other customers had to be tended to first. But Richard already pointed to the samples waiting:

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Then it was our turn. Richard described what he did to get this “special” taste and density to the loaves and that he and his bakers played around with shapes. Then he handed me a loaf and said “Merry Christmas.” What – wait until I was home? Never? I wanted to have my first bite there and then. So he cut off some slices and I did the first test – sniff the bread. I could not help myself, I blurted out: “That smells like home!” Then the first bite – yes, yes, yes, that was it. True German bread for the first time in years, freshly baked, not out of a factory and wrapped in plastic.

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Now all this new bread needs is the teeniest amount of fine-tuning, adjust the density a fraction and the shape and then I will never again have to forgo one of the simplest and most rewarding food delights: A fresh slice of bread with butter and cheese – just like home.

Thank you, Richard. That is true dedication to one’s craft and superb customer relations.

We're Back

Two weeks ago there was a complete and utter failure at 1&1 Web Hosting.  We don’t know what happened, and we don’t know how many sites were destroyed.  We can’t even get anyone at 1&1 to admit that “mistakes were made.”  Here’s how I imagine that they fixed the problem:

Did a German Server Administrator trip?
Did a German Server Administrator trip?

At any rate…we are back (no thanks to 1&1), and let’s hope we can stay.  A little freshening up seemed in order.  Something more “make out-of-staters jealous of Californians.”  Enjoy!

Woodpecker Central in Griffith Park

May I introduce: Melanerpes formicivorus, aka Acorn Woodpecker.

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Busy, busy, busy!

These pretty redheads can be found in Griffith Park – if one knows where oak trees grow. Acorn Woodpeckers lead a busy life drilling holes into dead trees and collecting acorns to stick into the holes for later consumption.

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Will it fit?

They also pick dried out acorns out of their holes and stick them into new ones with a tighter fit to prevent them from falling out; this ensures that the life of an Acorn Woodpecker is quite a busy one – tending to the stored acorns takes up a large part of their day.

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Two Income (Acorn) Household

So many acorns, so little time! Plus, these busy birds always have to keep an eye out for the jays. Those pesky lazybones just love to harvest the granaries created by the woodpeckers.

Yes, Woodpecker Central in Griffith Park is a paradise for bird watchers. By the way, that is not the real name of the valley where the pretty redheads live, so don’t try to look it up on a map.