Where your money is going

In the November 2016 election, Downey residents approved a sales tax increase of ½ percent. Part of its purpose is to improve our city parks. This week, work started on Furman Park, where I regularly walk.

I'm looking forward to the improvements. But mostly, I'm looking forward to getting my park back in a few months.

Rest stop

It's still August and I'm not ready to think about preparing for winter yet. But these geese have already put their plans into action and are heading south. They seem to make Furman Park a regular stop each yeardo — you think this is the same group as last year?

The social benefits of exercise

A few years ago, my friends teased me when they caught me relaxing on the couch, eating ice cream and watching an exercise video. (Seriously, I was checking it out for future use!) I was reminded of that moment when I saw these three friends socializing on the leg press machine in the Kiwanis Fitnes Area at Furman Park.

Last summer concert of 2018

So, Downey's Twilight Summer Concert Series is over for this year. It ended with the Lindy Sisters, who are an Andrew Sisters tribute band. The 1940s swing era group kept the audience entertained with classic hits like "In the Mood" and "Rum and Coca-Cola." See their upcoming events, history, and songs for sale here.

They certainly had some of the audience up and swing dancing.

“Don't breathe to survive; dance and feel alive.”
~ Shah Asad Rizvi

Summer evening fun

Today was a beautiful day and there were a lot of people hanging out at Rio San Gabriel Park to enjoy the evening. Some people chose to relax and some chose to play.



“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 
~ George Bernard Shaw

Downey Symphony 2018

This week's attraction at the Twilight Summer Concert was our own Downey Symphony. I loved the Star Wars music by John Williams. I always enjoy watching the percussion section. They have to be so precise in their timing, even though there are lots of interludes of silence for them. They also have to be well versed in multiple instruments.

The symphony is financially supported by the Downey Symphony Society. They are having a fundraising barbecue on August 14 at Rio Hondo Event Center. Contact Katie Hare, 562-861-8507, for more information. The Downey Symphony presents three public concerts during the 2018-2019 year. Check them out here.

More music in the park

This week's presentation at the Twilight Summer Concerts was "Suave the Band." They performed a variety of different music genres including jazz, rock, swing, and Latin. You can learn more about them here. The park was packed with avid music goers.





There were plenty of dancers and lots of food to make the warm summer evening a pleasant event for the whole family.

Next week's concert series continues with the Downey Symphony.

Forever young

The Twilight Summer Concerts in the Park have started. Tonight Atlantic Crossing, a Rod Stewart tribute band, performed many of Rod Stewart's favorites.

As I watched and remembered how much I love Rod Stewart's music, I realized that no matter how old he is, for me, Rod Stewart will be forever young.

"May the Good Lord be with ya down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud, dignified, and true
And do unto others as you would have done to you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever young (forever young)
Forever young (forever young)"

Take me out to the ball game

It is baseball season and evening at Rio San Gabriel Park is brightly lit for a local ball game.

A group of small boys had their own game off to the side.

"We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing."

End of day

I like the long shadows that come as the sun sets low in the sky.

"Sunsets like childhood are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting." 
~ Richard Paul Evans

Late in the day

The afternoon sun always seems to put such a nice glow on everything. Looking out over the park grounds this afternoon, with the long shadows falling, seems like a fitting end to the day.

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." 
~  Jawaharlal Nehru

Perspective

Wilderness Park has electrical power line transmission towers along the border areas of the park.

I think these power towers are so interesting to look at. Looking straight up from below, it almost looks like a spider web. I like the angles and the intersecting lines.

And, when you look up close, you can see the sharp, spiky metal pieces that have been added. I assume they are to keep people from climbing up.

"We believe that electricity exists, because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it, but we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires. " 
~ Dave Barry

Wintry landscape

Although Downey is in moderate—normally sunny—southern California, here you can see the trees in the northeast corner of Furman Park looking very naked and wintry. All this fits with the cold, rainy weather we have had in the last couple of weeks.

These trees are part of the Memorial Grove planted here by the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). You can see more in this DDP post.

"Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”
~ Kahlil Gibran

Look at me!

Sometimes the day ends quietly. And sometimes it ends with a loud "look at me!" that you just can't ignore. This end-of-day from a couple of weeks ago was one of those. I had to stop what I was doing to marvel at the colors and beauty.

After the storm

The rain had stopped for a short time, so I headed out for a walk. The sky was dramatic with storm clouds still off in the distance, but some bright sunlight was starting to break through the clouds above. All in all, it made for a beautiful, dramatic morning walk.

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."
~ E. B. White

Your time will come

I've shown these scenes many times before, but the difference today is that it's the first weeknight this year with the extra hour of daylight after work. Everyone, kids and adults alike, were enjoying the extra daylight.

I love the transition to daylight saving time, and I used to assume that everyone else did too. Sure, for the short term, you give up an hour of sleep, but the extra hour in the evening is worth it to me.

But it turns out there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Florida has recently proposed extending daylight saving time year round. Hawaii and Arizona opt out. Massachusetts is considering moving out of the Eastern time zone and into the Atlantic time zone. Of course, neither Florida nor Massachusetts have the authority to make those changes, since our time zones are controlled by the federal government. Pretty confusing!

"There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing."
~ Brian Tracy

Dogs of Downey - Bailey and Nala

This week at Downey Daily, we're going to the dogs. I stopped by the dog park at Rio San Gabriel Park this evening and was rewarded with the sight of my favorite breed, a couple of Siberian Huskies.

Bailey, a 7-year-old black-and-white, and her daughter Nala belong to Lorenzo, who lives nearby. Both dogs were having a blast playing with the other dogs at the park.

Puddles in the park

This morning there were numerous puddles in the park from the rain we had yesterday and last night. It made for some fun reflections.



"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life."
~ John Updike

Peas sink

This week's theme is water. There is a lot of water at Wilderness Park, with two separate lakes. And where there is water, there are a lot of ducks and other birds that are beyond my ability to identify without a lot of googling.

I wrote last year about The care and feeding of birds, and how bread is like junk food to them. So when I knew I'd be at the park with a couple of small boys, I came prepared with one of the recommended food items—a bag of frozen peas.

Well, it seemed like a good idea. But there were several problems. First, peas sink. If you throw them into the water to the ducks, most of them sink out of sight before the ducks reach them. And if you scatter the peas on the sidewalk, the ducks won't get out of the water to get them.

But those other nameless birds will. So, we fed the birds—not the ducks—at the park. They ate the whole bag.

Except for the peas at the bottom of the lake.

The meadow in the heart of town

It's been quite a few years since I've stopped by the Harris Meadow and Pond at Warren High School. For what is really just a glorified drainage ditch (restoring rain water to the water supply instead of letting it drain to the ocean), the area is really quite a pleasant place to walk or sit, especially at the end of the day when the light turns golden.