I went to the Lake Shrine as a child and young adult. I never thought about the religious significance of it back then. It was just a beautiful walk with these somewhat unlikely decorations. Yesterday, when I called B, he surprised me when he asked me to show him something in LA. He lives in Anchorage, but his daughters - and more important his grandson - live in LA now. So he and J are here for the winter. But I haven't lived in LA for thirty years. But I remembered this place and no, they hadn't been here. So today we went.
The monarch butterflies are arriving. There's more explanation at Best-California-Beach:Millions of Monarchs travel every year from the colder regions of North America to warmer sites where they can safely overwinter. They fly, en masse, as high as 10,000 feet, returning to the same groves as preceding generations.
Monarch butterflies usually only live for about six weeks, but the migrating generation can live for up to eight months. So Monarch butterflies manage to travel thousands of miles to arrive at a destination they've never been to before.
This windmill was on the site when the meditation group bought the property in the 1950's. There's a meditation chapel inside.
And this Indian arch is across the lake from the windmill.
There are many, many, many flowers in the garden around the lake. Here's a rose.
On the hill above the garden is a Hindu temple. This was not here when we left LA 30 some years ago.
The orchid was in the temple.
From the Self-Realization Fellowship we drove up Sunset past the school I worked at while I was a student at UCLA. It was a great time. I had morning classes. Rode my Honda 50 down Sunset to the school where I worked noon duty on the playground, then rode the rest of the way - past the self-realization center - to the beach to play volley ball and body surf. Then back up to the school for after school playground, then back to UCLA, along a Sunset that had a lot less traffic than it does today.No one had eaten much today, so we stopped at an upscale supermarket (we were in Pacific Palisades, so everything is upscale) where we got focaccia sandwiches cooked in the oven.
While waiting for the sandwiches to cook I wandered around the market. Here are some olives.
And, of course, I can't fail to notice the salmon. This is for formerly frozen salmon. This was the most expensive. They had some other wild salmon for as low as $15 a pound.
Then on the way home, B said we were relatively close to their daughter's place, so we took a small detour and visited her for a few minutes while the baby was napping.
Are some of those Monarchs from Alaska, Steve?
ReplyDeleteI love that you can go home and instead of being like, "Huh, that's new. . ." then forget about it, that you create a story around it that evokes the senses.
I don't remember ever seeing a Monarch in Anchorage. The link says the come from "as far north as British Columbia."
ReplyDeleteI don't think I mentioned sound. Sunset has gotten much busier and the traffic noise comes into the self-realization center. I remember it being a quiet refuge. But after so long in Alaska, maybe I have a different sense of quiet.
man alive... i like the looks of the olive spread over there...
ReplyDeleteYou didn't mention sound, but I can imagine it, and I can look at everything and imagine the smells, too, but my imagination probably doesn't do it justice.
ReplyDeleteYou did say BC, but don't we have Monarchs up here?
I see olives all the time, I see fish in the grocery store at least 3 times a week-- but I seldom smell either or even notice their colors or texture because I am chasing children or keeping someone from pulling my cart over or jumping out of it and running over the list in my so-called mind. I am rushed. I look at lakes but seldom have the time to breathe in everything around me because I have small people wanting to get wet, catching critters. . . or notice ivy growing up a building.
When I read your blog and drink my tea, or occasionally a glass of wine, I look at your pictures and think of these things.
Thanks Clark, I rather like that shot myself.
ReplyDeleteTNC, I don't know how you stay sane with all those kids. With one or two, we used to look at everything and play games, like "who can see seven green things?" Or walk on the letters that said No Parking and spell them out. But you have more than two. At least a couple of people are getting something out of my pictures. Thanks.
The game idea is a great one-- I need to do that. Mu nine year old has discovered Google Maps and spends about an hour a day on this memorizing maps and looking at places, or looking at atlases. The kids will either be a city planner or a cartographer when he grows up.
ReplyDeleteWhen we went to Eklutna to spent the night, I was using my binoculars to enjoy the mountains. He said, "Mom, have you ever been to Romania? they used to be Communist, you know. What's 'Communist'?" the two year old was tripping in the mud and crying while Mudd himself was saying, "Hey, this is fun!" and they had a mud fight. In the middle of the Chugach National Forest I was discussing communism, locations of Eastern European countries and making mud cakes and drying tears!
I think that the games you played are a wise idea because it keeps them focused. It also keeps the adults (myself) able to keep thinking. This is next on my agenda. Sanity comes in little nudges and tips from friends who've been through it!