Leo Carillo Tidepools

A piece of kelp brought in by the tide

I must say that I tend to form a bubble around where I live in Los Angeles.  I never venture too far from my home and the Museum, where I work.  If anything happens outside of a 15 minute driving radius, I seriously question if it’s worth it.  And Los Angeles is great in that way, I have all the food options, grocery stores, shopping and entertainment right where I am.  For me, Los Angeles is exactly between the Page Museum in Miracle Mile and Downtown LA, south of Wilshire and North of MLK.  And while I personally feel this is the “authentic” and “real” Los Angeles, I do feel like I miss out on places and activities that happen outside my bubble – in areas where I think most people imagine “Los Angeles” happens.

 

The point is, since I’ve been in LA, I’ve probably gone to the beach/west side maybe(?) 10 times.  Which isn’t nearly enough. In my defense I am rather particular about my beaches and my ocean side experiences.  I’m not a long stretch of white sandy beach lounger all day kind of person.  If the defining feature of a beach is just it’s sand, I’m frankly not that interested.  If the beach has some particularly interesting natural features like cliffs or pebbles that is more of a draw for me.  And the Leo Carillo Tide Pools in Malibu are exactly that!

With all that being said one of my favorite ecosystems are tidal pools!  I think what I like most about is is that they are in a way a miniature of an ocean – and miniatures might be one of my favorite things ever.  I also like how the animals and plants in the tidal pools have to be so adaptable.  In any given day they are subjected to varying temperatures, salinity and oxygen levels in their living spaces and many of the animals have very impressive variations to adapt to their constantly changing environment.

Well, without any further ado, the beauties!

See the hermit crab in the middle left side?  There were so many at the pools!  Some were even battling it out.




Some interesting specimens - looks like some type of mussle mixed in with dinosaur scales!  I asked the collection manager at the museum what the scaley ones are and he figured they're most likely Goose Neck Barnacles (Lepas anatifera)!



An anenome underwater trying to get some tasties as the waves come in and out.



A closed anenome.  It's important to protect it's tendrles from the sun!  I wonder why it has all that debris attached to it.



Sea Star!

Some urchins!  They used to freak me out with their pointies... still kind of do.

Christmas on the Farm

Barn on Phoenix Hill Farm



Holly berries on a holly bush



Cows feeding on summer hay



Fireplace with stockings and a hand painted fire (by my dad)



Gingerbread houses made by the cousins.



Peach moonshine!

Conjoined Pumpkin-Head

I really love doing craft swaps – for those of you unaware of this super amazing thing, it is when you and a partner make a crafty object around a theme and personal interests.  There are set guidelines on how much time and money is spent on a project and how long you should take.  At the end of the crafting period you and your partner swap (usually by mail)!  It’s a good way to get a handcrafted, custom made item that you couldn't make yourself. 

Anyway, the theme for this swap was “Vintage/Retro Halloween” although in retrospect I went for a more antique-y look.  My craft partner really made it easy for me when she said she loved pumpkin heads and skeletons and physical anomalies.  It was like BAM! Conjoined Pumpkin-Head!



The Front

Wire armature with blue tape to fill it out a bit

My initial plan was to make a wire armature and cover it with paper mache, but the armature was a bit too small and slippery for paper mache (or I lacked the finesse) so I switched to covering the body with sculpy.  For the pumpkin heads I ended up ditching the wire armatures in favor of plain ol balled up newspaper.  After baking, I sanded them down a bit and painted it with acrylics. The heads were attached by a rod and E6000. I’m really pleased how it turned out, especially since my experience with sculpy is limited.



The back

I feel like a scientist...

Pests are a huge problem for a museum and employees are encouraged to be ever vigilant to keep an eye out for potential problems.  That was the case a couple weeks ago when Brian Brown, the Entomology curator, sent out an email to keep everyone on the lookout for a pest that keeps popping up, the Stout's Hardwood Borer.  As the name suggests, it is a beetle that has an affinity for eating up hardwoods such as oak, maple and eucalyptus and can cause a lot of structural damage as well as damaging artifacts.  Anyway, I took the email as an interesting anecdote to my job at a museum, but I didn't think I'd actually find one.

Photo Brian Brown sent out

But I did!!!  I spotted it on my way to lunch hanging out above the doorway to a stairwell.  I got really excited and started to panic (as I am wont to do when I'm excited).  I really wanted to capture it alive and give it to the Entomology people, but just as I grabbed a cup to capture it, someone tried to smash it!  Yes, it is a pest; yes, it should die, but it should be kept whole so it is easier to identify!  Luckily, the ham-fisted, would-be smasher missed and I caught it and promptly gave it to Giar-Ann Kung, Entomology Curatorial Assistant.

My little insect!

I thought that was that until Giar-Ann sent me a photo of my little Stout's Hardwood Borer all pretty and pinned in the Entomology collection!  It even has my name on it!  So. Proud.

Bees - My Totem

Honey Bees.  I really love honey bees.  If I were to have some sort of spirit animal or witch’s familiar I’m pretty sure it would be a honey bee.  Why?  I love how they all work cooperatively and so hard for their community, I love their symbiotic relationship with flowers, I love how beautiful they are, I love them as symbols of fertility, I love honey, I love how most of the hive is female, I love the hexagonal honeycomb, I love their translucent wings, I love how intent and focused they are on their task of collecting nectar and pollen, I love the sound they make, I love how they are producers of their own food and make wax.  I think they’re great.

Counting Layers of Moussaka - a Tribute to Jerry Nelson

One layer of Mou-ssa-ka!

Two layers of Mou-ssa-ka!

Three layers of Mou-ssa-ka!

Four layers of Mou-ssa-ka!

One, Two, Three, Four layers of Mou-ssa-ka! ha ha!

In case you missed it Jerry Nelson was the voice of Count the Count on Sesame Street.  He died last week at the age of 78.  In addition to Count the Count he performed as Mr. Snuffeupagus and Camilla the Chicken (Gonzo's girlfriend) and was also a puppeter and voice actor in Fraggle Rock.

But my post is funny right?  Right? .... anyone ....?



This is How I L.A... The Red Lion Tavern

The Red Lion Tavern is a great, long-standing German restaurant with a fantastic open air beer garden and is always the natural choice for Museum family get-togethers.

The Red Lion does have traditional restaurant style seating and service to accommodate families. With overstuffed booths and beefy tables it really feels like you've left the sleek modernism of L.A. and have been transported to - Germany? maybe not, but you've definitely left L.A.  I've never eaten  downstairs, but go up the stairs to the left and you'll find where the Red Lion really shines.  It's pretty dark and windy going, but follow the sound of revelry and good times being had to the beer garden! (Wait, did I just see a cigarette vending machine?!)

Why yes, yes I did.

We went pretty early (6 pm) on a Thursday and were able to snag a big table and a few smaller tables to push together.  Some may say that the decor is cheesy and the fact that the waitresses all wear some type of dirndl proves the point but, really, would you have it any other way?

Regardless the atmosphere really complements the type of food they serve (liquid and otherwise).  Don't miss the Sausage Platter that has three types of wurst and is served with pickles, pickled peppers and some FANTASTIC mustard.  Also ordered was a GIANT soft pretzel with more mustard and potato pancakes served with sour cream, apple and cranberry sauces.  So happy!

Look at it, you know you want it.

But what about the beer?!  No worries, there was a lot of beer - I started with the Franziskaner Hefeweizen, because when it doubt Hef-it.  If you're uncomfortable with a German beer list a Hefe will always serve you well - fruity, lightly carbonated, pairs excellent with food.  But the overwhelming favorite with the Museum crowd is the Spaten Optimator a full-flavored dark beer that reminds me of raisins.  I think it's really good, but I suspect the real reason people love it so much is the high alcohol content (7.2%). 

But in the end it's all about the company you keep.  In my opinion sharing food and drinks really is the highest expression of friendship -- If you can't sit down and eat and drink with someone for hours on end, you really aren't friends.



Here's to you guys!