furtech: (Default)
furtech ([personal profile] furtech) wrote2012-11-04 12:39 pm

October 2012 Catch-up

Images from the fall of 2012.
october2012
FLickr set here

The weather has finally turned autumnal and dog walks can again be taken at any hour of the day. We took a couple of hikes in the mountains above the Valley and enjoyed the sunset.

The first hike had us watched by an early-rising gibbous moon. We noticed a jet-- a very modern fighter jet-- circling the Valley. Very unusual for that time of the day since there is usually a lot of airline traffic. Then I remembered: President Obama was coming in to town to be on Leno-- and his helicopter was hopping from LAX to Burbank at about this time. I love my camera: P&S it may be, but you can actually see the armament even at this distance.

A friend's daughter broke the zipper on her halloween/cosplay costume and E and I offered to repair it. The most difficult part: the zipper itself. 56" long with double sliders. None of the regular stores in the Fashion District (forget JoAnnes!) had anything even close. Despairing, I wandered the area and, true to FD form: came across Zip Up Zipper! A zipper super-store! The have zippers that are literally floor-to-ceiling-- there was one hanging from the warehouse ceiling that had to be 25 feet long! I found a stainless steel, double-slider zipper that was about 20 inches too long...and the owner just cut it down, added some ends and voila! Perfect! The FD is certainly one reason to love Los Angeles.

Bonsai class was a huge surprise!: the teacher took one of my pot-bound (cup-bound, really) 7 year old oaks and used a technique that will create a plant that has a foot of bare root, terminating in the soil of the pot. I had no idea that I'd see this that day-- it's an advanced technique that I'd never have the nerve to try myself.

tigerx3

Lastly, we had some special guests at work the other week: four Bengal tigers! It turns out that the whole place needed to be on lock-down: tigers are so temperamental and sensitive that no extraneous visitors or pets (especially barky border collies) could be in the building. One of the tigers was charming: she was a 17 year old veteran who was so calm that the trainers let us get close and take pictures with her. I've seen many tigers at zoos...but it's not until you see them this close that your really get a sense of the immense size and power. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet them.

[identity profile] vulpesrex.livejournal.com 2012-11-04 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Makes one sort of wonder why Air Force One didn't just land at Burbank; the place had received C-130 Galaxy cargo craft before, on a regular basis - and they did service L1011's there. They shut down the airspace around whatever field AF1 visits, at least while the President is there. LAX is much busier than Burbank during those hours.

Perhaps it is that they just don't have any space to park such a large aircraft (plus the support cargo craft with the limousine, Secret Service vehicles, etc), now that all the Lockheed facilities are long gone. Or maybe the airport just doesn't have a moving stairway high enough to reach the passenger deck of a 747...

Could you snap some photos of some of your other bonzai? I've always found these plants fascinating.

[identity profile] vlen.livejournal.com 2012-11-07 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
That's a beautiful lil tree, that should look fab when the time comes!

Make sure you take pictures when it gets all settled in :3

[identity profile] summer-jackel.livejournal.com 2012-11-07 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, I am so impressed by your tree---thank you for sharing the progress photos. That rock treatment should be stunning as it ages, and I wish it well. I hope that you keep posting pics of its progress; what a rare and lovely individual.