Bathed in purple

The Jacaranda trees are in bloom again. I love driving down the streets that are lined with billowing purple clouds of flowers.

I might feel differently if I had one of these trees in my yard. The flowers that cover the streets and lawns are beautiful. But the seed pods that will follow in a few weeks are, I suspect, a nuisance.

Working yard art

Went into northeast Downey tonight and found these children at work in this front yard. They look very industrious at first glance, but I noticed they didn't get much done.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

Changing of the guard

I know this isn't a very artistic picture but it demonstrates something that has happened here in Downey this spring. You see, these portraits are just a few of the over 80 superintendents in Los Angeles county. Their portraits hang in the main hallway of Los Angeles County Office of Education. Dr. Wendy Doty's picture used to hang here between Culver City USD and Duarte USD. Dr. Doty has retired after 30 years of service in the Downey Unified School District. Ten of those years were spent as the district's superintendent. To commemorate what she did for the children of Downey and the city of Downey, East Middle School will be renamed Doty Middle School.

Dr. John Garcia Jr. has been hired as the new superintendent as of April 1 and his portrait will hang here soon. You can see his bio here

Les Braves

With Memorial Day less than a week away, I seemed appropriate to use a couple of my pictures from France. While in Normandy, we visited Omaha Beach - one of the D-Day landing sights. On the now peaceful beach stands a sculpture by Anilore Banon, dedicated to honor the courage of the sons, husbands, and fathers who endangered and sacrificed their lives in hopes of freeing the French people.

There are three elements to the memorial:
1. The Wings of Hope - so that the spirit which carried these men on 6th June 1944, continues to inspire us, reminding us that together it is always possible to change the future.
2. Rise of Freedom - So that the example of those who rose up against barbarity, helps us remain standing strong against all forms of inhumanity.
3. The Wings of Fraternity - So that the surge of brotherhood always reminds of our responsibility towards others as well as ourselves.
On 6th June 1944, these men were more than soldiers, they were our brothers.

What do you see?

What do you see when you encounter a pile of logs like this?

Free firewood. That's what most people see, and the cars were lining up.
Beach bonfires. That's where a lot of these pieces will end up this summer.
Bowls. That's what my dad would see. He loves taking a log like this and turning into a beautiful bowl, knots and all.
An interesting picture. Look at the patterns in the bark on these logs. Don't they remind you of an army camouflage pattern?

What do you see?

Dennis the Menace Park

Did you know that almost 100 acres of Downey are devoted to 11 area parks? At Downey Daily, we tend to focus on Furman Park (because it's close) and Wilderness Park (because it's pretty). Today, I decided to visit the rest of the parks over the course of the next few weeks.

This is Dennis the Menace Park, hidden in a cul-de-sac in north Downey. Dennis the Menace is a comic strip character originally from the 1950s, "a precocious but lovable, freckle-faced five-and-a-half-year-old boy with a famous blond cowlick and a penchant for mischief." (Wikipedia) The park is the perfect place for present-day menaces to have some fun. For a medium-sized park, it has a very large kid's playground, with lots of slides, swings, and things to be climbed.

What kid can resist the temptation to climb the wrong way up a slide? These two young girls in the main picture couldn't!

A day at the beach

A spring day at the beach...okay so Downey doesn't have a beach. This is actually on the north coast of France, but to me it looked like it could be in California.


"At the beach, time is different.Time doesn't move from hour to hour, but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun" ~ Unknown

May Day flowers

Being gone a couple of weeks on vacation meant missing some annual Downey events that we love. We missed the Downey Street Fair with its classic car show, Kid's Day at Furman Park, and May Day, when the kids from the local Rio Hondo Elementary School deliver bouquets to all the homes in the neighborhood.

But even though we missed the kids actually delivering the bouquets, we were very pleased to see that the flowers lasted until we arrived home!