Daily Observation (after daily observation after daily observation...)

I've mentioned it before: You have to be a little crazy to be a daily photoblogger. 7 days a week, 365 days a year, even on Christmas or if you have 103 degree fever!

Maybe we're just inspired.

If you're a San Gabriel Valley local, check your nearest newsstand for the September issue of Pasadena Magazine. You'll find an article featuring fellow daily photobloggers Petrea Burchard, Ben Wideman, Kat Likkel and little ole me. We're all driven to photograph this fascinating part of the world, and the new article helps explain why we do it.

(Because we're crazy! Or maybe just inspired. Or probably a little of both.)

Walk This Way

This lovely woman would probably be happier on her walk if she'd read Margaret Finnegan's Patch column City Walk. Each month, Margaret offers detailed walking directions as well virtual tours for the very best, um, street walking in South Pasadena. Check it out for detailed routes as well as witty, beautifully written observations you'll never get from your GPS.

Baseball Blogging

Baseball fans, if you're not reading Sully Baseball -- the witty and informative blog of South Pasadena's own Paul Francis Sullivan -- you're missing out on some of the most thoughtful (and often hilarious) commentary about America's favorite pastime. Sully is an Emmy nominated TV producer, filmmaker, comedian and Red Sox fan whose savant-like knowledge of baseball would be frightening if it weren't so much fun. Not only does he write at length about all things related to baseball, he makes wonderful videos, too. This is one of my favorites.

South Pasadena has always had a fascination with baseball. Thousands of innings of Little League ball have been played across the fields of Lower Arroyo Park alone. But back in 1925, South Pasadena caught World Series fever. Mission Street merchants built an elaborate platform on the Alexander Building at the corner of Mission and Meridian for the sole purpose of announcing the games in real time. Pasadena Star News donated a telegraph operator who relayed the action directly from the ball park. An announcer on the platform gave running play-by-play commentary as a scorekeeper marked a chalkboard. Incidentally, the Pirates beat the Senators 4-3 in that series, making the Pirates the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit during a Fall Classic. I'll bet Sully didn't know that story.

Then again, I'll bet he did.

Check out Sully Baseball right here.

(I continue with my week of iPhone camera shots. This one was taken with the Retro Camera app, using the Fudge Camera setting.)

Digital Dystopia

As you might have noticed, Blogger was down for most of yesterday and this morning. This is the first time I have missed a post in my almost 1050 days as your trusty daily photo blogger. (It wasn't my fault!) Our pal Petrea from Pasadena Daily Photo tweeted last night that it was good for blogging addicts to be forced to take a break. I would directly quote her, but as of this moment Twitter is also down. Okay, people. Which one of you is responsible for breaking the internet?

While the Blogger team works to restore missing posts (mine from yesterday has disappeared) I will deal with other connectivity snafus. AT&T U-Verse screwed up the Allee household's autopayment and disconnected our phone, internet and cable. (Thank goodness for Charlie's free WiFi. And strong coffee.)

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone.

Threatened Wilderness

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.

--John Muir

When the Arcadia Woodlands were razed last month, most of us were stunned. It was a reckless decision carried out with little discussion and an almost gleeful disregard for public outcry. The echoes of all those chainsaws and bulldozers still reverberate, making it hard not to imagine warnings from the spirit guides that surely must haunt our Arroyo corridor. We have paved so much of paradise. For decades we have slashed and buried because it was easy or handy or politically connected. But we simply can't destroy all of our wild places in the name of convenience. We have so few green spaces left, we must use our best minds to find ways to manage the needs of civilization without decimating our natural wonders.

Which brings me to nearby Hahamongna Watershed Park. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is leaning toward turning much of it into yet another dumping ground. (CORRECTION: they are leaning toward destroying much of the habitat in order to remove debris. The end result is the same: it means turning much of this beautiful wilderness into a wasteland.) Our good friend Petrea over at Pasadena Daily Photo has studied this developing story with great interest. Please take a look at her post from yesterday and follow the links for more information, as well as ways to help.

I will include more information here in the coming weeks.

Loved Ones

You don't have to hang out with San Gabriel Valley bloggers much to figure out that we're a crowd who loves our animals. We've read all about Pasadena Adjacent's miraculous cat Tova. We've followed Petrea's sweet Boz on walks everywhere from Hahamonga to Cal Tech. I think everyone who keeps up with Karin, our beloved Altadena Hiker, has fallen in love with her dogs Albert and Phoebe. Recently, Karin introduced her readers at Altadena Patch to a certain little pooch with an irresistible underbite who was waiting (and waiting... and waiting) to be adopted at the Pasadena Humane Society. Pepe's story struck a nerve with people around the world who kept checking in to see if he had found a family of his own yet. A few weeks went by, and we all started to worry. Everyone knows that despite any shelter's best efforts, at some point there comes an end of the line.

When Karin finally let us know that Pepe had found a home, I could almost hear the collective cheering. I certainly let out a few whoops of my own, before grabbing my own furry little monsters, snuggling their velvety ears, and thinking for the million-zillionth time how much better life is with little four-legged creatures about. Ones that always love you. Ones that you always love even when they dig up your flower beds or throw up a hairball on your favorite quilt.

According to the ASPCA, "approximately 5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Shelter intakes are about evenly divided between those animals relinquished by owners and those picked up by animal control. These are national estimates; the percentage of euthanasia may vary from state to state." Statistics like this make animal lovers like me feel an indescribable despair. The ASPCA also informs us that "five out of ten dogs in shelters and seven out of ten cats in shelters are destroyed simply because there is no one to adopt them."

Misty and Molly, the photogenic pooches in today's picture, came from an unwanted litter of puppies. Mirabelle, the extremely elegant cat you might remember, was from an unwanted litter of kittens. I suppose you can say that Jon and I rescued them. But, in reality, they are the ones who rescue us. Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote about her cocker spaniel that "his ears were often the first thing to catch my tears." She summed it up well. There is no amount of bad news, bad health or bad moods that can't be improved by a wagging tail or a loud purr.

After my father passed away, I remember sitting on the back porch with Misty and Molly on either side of me. There is a moment after losing someone so dear to you that you just think you might implode from the vacuum it creates inside. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't even want to think about it. I remember sitting there for a long time, just feeling the warmth of those big, wonderful dog bodies beside me. Misty had her head in my lap. Molly just kept staring at my face before getting up, wandering into the yard and coming back to me with her favorite bone. Usually, I had to engage in a bit of tug-o-war to get that thing out of her mouth, but on this day, she dropped it right at my feet. I don't think I had a better offer of condolence.

Several years later, when I was on bed rest for 7 weeks with preterm labor, it was Mirabelle who sat on the bed with me, day after day, night after night, only leaving to eat and visit her cat box. When I'd feel contractions and start to panic about delivering a premie, Mirabelle would snuggle up closer and calm me down. When the baby would kick, Mirabelle would often lift up her head, move closer, and gently put her paw on my belly.

We may have given these critters a house to live in, but they have helped make it a home. The joy that these fuzzy rascals have brought to my family is not something that can be adequately expressed in words. Words are too human. Animals know better than words. But animals -- especially all those waiting in shelters -- also need us to speak for them. Karin's column today at Altadena Patch is a great place to start.

Speaking of Birthdays: Glimpses of South Pasadena is 2!

How did I miss it? On July 13, GOSP quietly and uneventfully turned two years old. I'm not sure how it's possible that I have posted 743 photographs of our fair city. (Well, I suppose you can't count this one. Or this one either. But what the heck, that's still 741!)

A big thanks to all of you, my fabulous readers, for your continued collaboration. Your comments give this blog a color and depth I could never achieve on my own. Long-time residents offer an insider's history of South Pasadena. Visitors near and far stretch the boundaries of our San Gabriel Valley neighborhood to span the globe. I may take the pictures and write the posts but you, my readers, make this blog a real community.

Kat Tale

Why am I posting a picture of my cat Mirabelle? Well, she is a resident of South Pasadena. (A very pampered, very spoiled resident...) But this picture is also my attempt to approximate some of the wonderful shots of another San Gabriel Valley resident named Kat -- the blogmistress of Pasadena, 91105 and Beyond.

Kat's blog is a recent addition to the City Daily Photo family. She describes her pictures as "found moments" with serendipity playing a large part in what she shoots. It is any wonder I'm crazy about her work? Kat's whimsical, color-saturated slices of San Gabriel Valley life are a joy to behold. She truly captures the ordinary as extraordinary -- from the dreamlike view of a tree that grows both oranges and lemons to the in-your-face macro shot of her mother's new puppy. Clicking through her posts is like flipping through a fabulous technicolor storybook. Did I mention that many of the shots were taken with her iPhone?! All this and she can write, too.

You may have already been introduced to Kat's blog by our good friend Petrea at Pasadena Daily Photo. But if not, click here to visit Pasadena, 91105 and Beyond.

Welcome to the San Gabriel Valley blogger family, Kat!

Happy Birthday, Glimpses of South Pasadena!

It's official ... Glimpses of South Pasadena turns one year old today. And like all toddlers, it's beginning to cut its teeth and learn to run! Thanks to all of you, my dear readers, this blog has gone from a mere concept to a full-fledged creation. What I thought would be an exercise in simply chronicling my new town has turned into something much more. I am so grateful to everyone who contributes to nurturing this little blog baby of ours -- from my beloved daily commenters who give each post terrific history, insight and wit to the many email supporters who provide me with inspiration and motivation.

Thanks, everyone. Now, let's head toward the terrible twos, shall we?

Nature's Paintbrush

South Pasadena is one of the many communities spread out under the large blanket of Los Angeles sky. Most people in the rest of the world think this area's skysapes offer little more than thick smog and bright sunshine -- yeah, we have a lot of those things. But we also have a few whorling, glorious clouds to dazzle when we least expect them.

I snapped this picture after June Gloom drizzled the other day. I was looking southwest on Mission toward the Highland Park section of Los Angeles -- the home of artist (and beloved member of my family) Shanna Galloway. For extraordinary local sky photographs, check out Shanna's delightful new blog VIEW. (You can also visit Shanna's website to see beautiful dry pigment and pastel works on paper inspired by these skies.)

The Craftsman Challenge: Round 2

There are some things that just refuse to be pinned down -- like the meaning of life. And Craftsman houses.

I recently lamented my inability to adequately photograph the splendor of South Pasadena's many Craftsman homes. Shooting the moon without a zoom or a tripod is easier. Trying to effectively explain what a newborn baby's head smells like is easier. In real life, this house is a veritable wonder of texture and light, a majestic woodsy palace fit for a Goblin King. Here, in picture form, it's just a collection of pretty windows lost in the dappled shade. Some blame the recessed porches for creating too much shadow. Others curse the light bounced from the pitched roof. I just think all of these structures are equipped with some kind of magical early 20th Century cloaking device that won't allow reproduction in any form.

But kudos to my fellow San Gabriel Valley bloggers for stepping up to the challenge! Petrea presents a world-class effort here and follows up here, Ben gives us a nifty shot here, Mister Earl is on a roll here and here and with a most lighthearted touch here, Sarah Jane over at Hatching a Patch takes the initiative with this great entry , GOSP reader Barbra jumped right in with these lovely shots on her blog, and Keith may have earned the title Craftsman Smackdown King with this great shot although Elaine way up north in Willits throws it down pretty hard with this fantastic image. Nice job, gang. But we all still know that Craftsman homes belong to a rare breed of California superstars: they really do look better in person.

Still, the quest continues...

The Craftsman Challenge

Beautiful, unassuming Craftsman architecture: it's part of what makes South Pasadena and several other sections of the San Gabriel Valley so special. Here we are, smack dab in Arts and Crafts Central. Street after street, lined with perfect examples of the period -- homes nestled amid tree branches, bright river rock tucked into dark earth, porches relaxing into shadow, pitched rooftops bathed with light. Each one a study of sun and shade, with subtle details disappearing into foliage.

And every one almost impossible to capture with a camera! Those architects 100 years ago succeeded in their goal of designing homes that blend seamlessly into the landscape. It's like trying to photograph someone in a jungle who is splattered with mud and wearing camouflage pants.

So, after months of frustrated attempts, I pass the challenge on to my fellow San Gabriel Valley City Daily photobloggers ... show me your local Craftsmans! (I'm counting on you Ben, Petrea and Keith!)

UPDATED January 16, 2009: Click here for links to bloggers who have accepted the challenge!

UPDATED January 25, 2009: Bringing up my amended request from the comments below: I may have mentioned my San Gabriel Valley cohorts but I include ALL bloggers in this challenge. Show me what you got!