Headed Home

 Now that we're at LAX waiting for our 7:20 pm non-stop back to Anchorage, we had the most beautiful day since we got here. Thanks to my mom's neighbor who drove us to the airport!   I did get in a bike-ride to the beach (stopping to duplicate some keys on the way).  

Not only was it warmer than it's been (low 70s) but clear too.  Though to the south you could see fog/clouds/haze.  This is looking north toward the Santa Monica mountains (really hills.)  I've been to a lot of places and I'm only now truly appreciating the great beaches of LA.  Not that I didn't always love the beach growing up, but I never appreciated the huge expanse of sand between the water and the buildings.  There's a lot of sand.  No rocks.  In the picture the water is to the left.  You can see a thin band of water between the sand and the sky.  

This African iris was sticking out from the wall of green between my mom's house and the neighbor's.  The plant itself was way inside, but the flower found the light.  It wasn't there yesterday.

These oranges were weighing down a tree in front of an apartment building in Beverly Hills. If people had more edibles in their gardens here they could feed a lot of people 

An oak tree across the street from friends we visited Sunday.

It's been a different, pandemic trip.  We've gotten take out, but haven't dined in any restaurants like we normally would.  

And the ceiling at our gate at LAX this evening.

This has been, until this week, a pretty chilly visit, for LA.  But it's been chilly for Anchorage too while we were gone.  Our house sitter reported that our kitchen sink pipes froze, but he was able to get that taken care of.  

Looking forward to being home for a bit.  

Sun And Rain In LA Keep Me Distracted

 There's been a lot of rain here in LA.  For LA anyway.  It was one day rain, the next day sun, then rain.  We just finished two days of steady rain, but today the sun's out.  But with all this, trying to be on vacation yet get things done and gramping, I totally missed Wednesday's hearing.  And while the Superior court has it live on video, they don't leave the recorded (was it recorded?) video up for people to see later.  But they're still talking technical, procedural stuff.  Though listening in would have given me some hints of things might go.  Next meeting is next Wednesday.  But meanwhile here's some LA.

Sunday was sunny and I went for a bike ride with B, an Alaskan friend who's moved down here to be near kids and grandkids.  He took this picture of a house in Marina Del Rey.  This is NOT a typical house.  

It had this sign in the lower left.

Some gentlemen fishing at the boat docks in Marina del Rey.  

Monday morning it was still sunny, but clouds were rolling in as we went to Will Rogers State Park for a hike back into my earlier life.  This is where Will Rogers lived.  His house is there and there's a polo field that's active on weekends.  And also a trail that loops around the property.  

The rain was a fine mist by this point.

All tree bark fascinates me, but eucalyptus trees hold a special place

Here's Will Roger's stable/barn in the wet Monday.

And here it is when it was finished in 1927.

One of the things I like about this park is that it's surrounded by chaparral covered hills.  A smell that takes me back to childhood.  I think it might be why I like David Hockney's swimming pool picture, which I once had to recreate digitally in a computer art class I took.  It was painted at a house not far from here with hills like this in the background. I want you all to know I really liked this picture well before it sold for $100 million.  

In the past when I've hiked this trail I've seen coveys of California quail.  But not this time. 

It was raining when we went to the cemetery to put flowers on my mom's and other family members' graves.  When my brother died young, my mother went to the cemetery weekly to keep fresh flowers from her garden on his space on the wall.  My mom was a lab technician and X-ray technician and so she filled test tubes with water and taped them to the wall.  Many years later, the cemetery got plastic vases and put holders up on the wall.  My inlaws and step father were added to the wall, and more recently my mom.  So when I'm down here I gather flowers - mainly epidendrum, what my mom called 'poor man's orchids' and jade plants - because the last longer.  

A couple of years ago I filled some of the vases with soil and put  jade plant in.  When we came again nearly a year later, they were still alive.  One of the cemetery caretakers was making sure they got water.  Because of COVID I wasn't sure what I would find this time.  We haven't been there for almost two years.  But I shouldn't have worried.  Each vase had a healthy jade plant, one had a different succulent, alive and thriving.  We added the flowers we brought and I have to leave a thank you for the caregiver before we return to Anchorage.

Nearby my mom's spot is this one.  

Yesterday it was raining again.  I had an appointment in Beverly Hills with the eye doctor who's been checking my contacts since 1975.  I took my granddaughter with me and she had a number of questions.  

They had a COVID testing site in the parking lot.  

And most of the nearby shops (but not all) had very COVID warnings.

oops, this one needed higher res, sorry

These were near where we parked the car and I thought they were pretty.  Picture didn't turn out that well.

After we went by a park where both my wife and I attended summer camp.  We didn't know each other then at all.  We only found out we'd both been there when I found an old camp picture in my mom's garage, after she died.  I should my wife my 8 year old self and she then pointed out her own image on the picture.  

They've take out most of the features that made it a wonderful place for kids - different spaces separated by different kinds of bushes and a swimming pool on one end.  The pool is gone - the the playground there was blocked off yesterday by tape because there were several inches of water.  This trail was the nicest part of the park now - and it was a giant puddle.  Basically they wiped out all the park and put in two baseball diamonds.  

And driving home down Olympic, the clouds were playing hide and seek with the tops of the buildings in Century City.  

Today's sunny again, and so we have a bike ride scheduled.  We got the brakes fixed on my granddaughter's bike and she wants to use it.  

Redistricting Prep For Monday Court Scheduling Hearing, Balanced With Some LA Photos

 Consider this like a palate cleansing.  The five court challenges to the Alaska Redistricting Board's Proclamation Plan get their first court appearance Monday, December 20, 2021 at 11:30 am.  That's tomorrow as I write this. Probably today as many of you read this.  Here are the numbers if you want to call in and listen.

I don't think it's going to be that exciting.  Here's a link to the Court's Pretrial Order.  And here's an outline of that order.  

• Pleadings
• lists the five cases - Skagway, Valdez, Mat-su, Calista, and the three Anchorage plaintiffs
• cases consolidated and given the case number 3AN-21-08869CI
• Technical Support 
• outlines who is responsible for what - access to software to view census data
• how to pay transcription service - Dec 27 deadline to agree
• Trial Timelines
• Has to be done 120 days before filing deadline June 1, 2022, thus court's decision due by February 1, 2022
• To give judge time, evidence should be finished by January 25, 2022, Written closing argument and proposed findings by January 27, 2022
• Preliminary estimate - one trial day per plaintiff; board gets 3-5 days for its case, then trial has to begin by January 11, likely sooner.  Parties invited to propose start dates for trial
• Summary Judgment Motions - court permits none
• Witnesses
• Each plaintiff may call up to 3 at trial.  May present up to three video depositions in addition.  Plaintiffs have to ID witnesses in advance and make them available for video deposition by January 11
• Board may call up to seven witnesses at trial, seven more via video deposition testimony.  Same deadline for identifying witnesses and availability for deposition (Jan 11)
• Each party shall file affidavits setting forth the direct testimony of the non-expert witnesses by Dec. 27, 2021.  Witness can be called only for cross exam, redireet, and recross.  
• Each plaintiff limited to one expert witness.  Must identify them and topic of the expert's testimony.   Board limited to three expert witnesses.  Name and topic in by Dec. 27, 2021.
• Affidavits of expert's direct testimony in by December 30, 2021.
• Discovery
• Board has to provide Court, Plaintiffs, and pending intervenors with 'the record' by December 21
• Parties shall be prepared to discuss discovery deadlines and perhaps limits on discovery or deposition at the scheduling hearing on 20 December 2021 at 11:30 am.  Parties will be sent a zoom invitation by chambers.  This overrides he earlier order setting a telephonic hearing.
• Court encourages parties to begin discussions regarding discovery and scheduling before the scheduling hearing. 
• All witnesses must be made available for depositions no later than the week of January 3, 2022
• Sequences of Party and Witness Presentation
• at a date to be determined plaintiffs will discuss and propose a sequence for when each shall make witnesses available for cross exam and redirect.
• Same for the Board
• Judicial Assignment
• Judge to be permanently assigned to the case will be announced shortly after scheduling conference
• Parties will have two business days after distribution of judicial assignment to exercise a challenge
• The assigned judge may revisit these pretrial orders as the case develops.  

Now some dessert.  We had breakfast at the Mar Vista Farmers Market.  It's become an upscale event.  Lots of vendors have booths selling vegetable and fruit, food to eat, and prepared items like honey, olive oil.  There's a place for kids to play - more children's museum stuff than playground stuff - and music.  And lots of people, masked and unmasked.  A bit overwhelming.  We ended up with empanadas and tamales.  

I liked the name and they had Khao Soi on the menu - a favorite northern Thai/Lao dish.  But it was with pork and that's further from my vegetarian presences than I go, knowingly. 

 

I passed the Mar Vista Time Travel Mart on my bike ride home.  

And then there were the trees.  I think this one is an oak.  

I decided this was two pairs of palms visiting, but socially distanced.  

Not sure what kind of tree this was.  I took the picture because of the tree house.  

Afternoon In Alaska - And Thanks Cameron Lowther

 We took advantage of late October sunny day to go for a hike this afternoon.  

McHugh Creek ought to still be snow free we thought.  And it was.  Well, a little snow up on top, but not like all the hillside snow in Anchorage.

All the leafless cottonwoods look so cool, just waiting for us to join their party.  

And ripe rosehips everywhere just begging to be tasted.

There are a number of little streams crossing the trail and sometimes just random water making the trail muddy.  But there are boardwalks here and there most of the time when needed.  And this particular stretch even told us that Cameron Lowther built it for us.  So thanks Cameron and all the other anonymous boardwalk builders for making our hike a little easier.  

Yes, there was sun when we left and it was still out when we got there 20 minutes later.  But it seemed clouds were coming in from the south.  But the sun was resilient and the clouds not that diligent.  

Here's one of those little rivulets I was talking about.  

Whoever lives in here, wasn't answering the doorbell.  

McHugh Creek was the perfect spot, because just south of the entrance to the parking lot there was road constructions and cars were lined up.  Which also meant, when we left, there were no cars for a while because they were waiting to get let through the construction zone.  

Driving back the tide was out in Turnagain Arm and the Alaska Range was visible in the distance.  

A quick stop at Potter Marsh.  There were three swans off in the distance.  I don't have one of those huge telephoto lens like the lady at the pull out, so I didn't eve try.  But the grasses and the still water were enough for me.  

Falling

Even though winter made a brief visit last week - checking out his winter home I guess - it is still just fall.  And after doing some chores and errands, I got on the bike for a few more kilometers.  For now my goal is 800 for the summer.  And it was sunny and beautiful.  Below is the south fork of Campbell Creek from Campbell Airstrip Road.

A quick view of the mountains as the bike trail comes out of the woods and goes along the road.

Campbell Creek, closer to Lake Otis.

Looking up at the Mt. Ash Tree

That's all.  Just lots of trees.  

 

Getting Out - Short Hike At McHugh Creek And Watching Birds At Potter Marsh

Went for a walk at McHugh Creek Sunday.  This was our greeting at the beginning of the trail (to Potter Marsh).  That's when I realized that the bear spray was at home.  I figured it was better off in the house than in the car during the winter.  [Of course, when I say something like that, I have to look it up.  There are forums where people talk about bear spray, but not very authoritatively.  But from Mace.com:

" Do not store unit in a cold environment under 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). This may cause depressurization and the loss of effective range."]

Never mind, we aren't likely to see a bear.  

It's still that in-between-time, not white and not green yet.  But lots of light from very early to later and later each night.  But it was a gray - not rainy - day and my phone camera was having trouble getting the colors right.   

 

 We took the trail going up to the homestead, but by the third long stretch of very muddy trail.  Actually, water is using the trail to get down the hill.  We decided to go back down and just stay on the trail that goes to Potter Marsh.

If you look closely, there are spots of green where plants are pushing their way up out of the earth.  

A surprise was the vibrant green and apparent health of the spruce trees.  Lots of trees have been killed by spruce bark beetle in South Central Alaska.  But there were good sized young trees that were doing just fine.  Or so it seemed.   Notice the healthy spruce in some  of the other pictures too.

The nasty spines on the devil's club are even more apparent than normal when the plants are still naked.

And during this still leafless period, the odd shaped trees along this trail are apparent.  

And there were lots of broken trees leaning in odd angles and piles of broken branch debris.  It was about this time that I remembered that our 2021 State parks parking permit was in my wallet and not on the dashboard of the car.  

Unlike the first trail, this one has boardwalks when the water gets to be too much.

The picture below is my favorite from yesterday.  The lower resolution on here doesn't help.  But I just like the texture of the tree covered hill and the various subtle shades of orange to budding green with trunks and branches here and there.  

We are almost back to the parking lot.  

My windshield was free of notices and I quickly transferred new parking pass from my wallet to the windshield.  The view of Turnagain Arm never disappoints, no matter the weather.

Right near McHugh Creek,windsurfers were out.

When we pulled over at Potter Marsh, the photographers were out.  

Soon all the straw colored grasses will be bight green.

There was even a pair of swans guarding a nest.  I'm still battling my camera when it comes to focusing on distant birds.  Eventually I hope to have a truce.  

A steady wind kept the water dancing.