Flora

Feed me Seymour!

I've been wading through our taxes so, apologies for the intermittent posts.

One thing I've been really impressed/stunned by in LA is the difference in plant life out here vs. the east coast. Of course, that's to be expected in an area as temperate as this. But it's weird that the smog-filled air here sometimes smells cleaner than the air in New York, despite the fact that LA annually ranks among the worst US cities (and always worse than NY) on "most polluted" lists.

Here are some observations:

• Eucalyptus, one of my favorite plants, is everywhere. I think that's one reason the air seems so clean to me. Go to any of the parks, take a deep breath of air, and you get that cool, almost menthol-y sensation. The trees are so prevalent in the forested areas of LA (of which there are surprisingly many), I kind of expect to see pandas in them
  
  


• Rosemary and Lavender grow like weeds. Creeping rosemary is often used in borders and on walls. Lavender is also ubiquitous, which means there's a lot of purple in the landscape, which I like 'cause it's my favorite color
  
  



they're often found side by side



• Citrus grows in people's yards in a lot of places. Particularly lemon trees
  
  



the orange things on the right are lemons;
the yellow things on the left are limes...for real



• Palm trees, of course
  
  


• There's a tree that grows commonly in the canyons that looks like it actually aspires to be one of those fake cell-phone towers that looks like a tree
  
  


• Remember in Superman II when Superman takes Lois on a date to the Fortress of Solitude and then flies halfway around the world to get her some exotic flowers? I always thought those flowers were the coolest and very rare. Until I saw them in the gardens outside every run-down apartment complex in town. It's like they're all trying to say, "Yeah our building looks like crap, but look at our exotic Superman flowers!"
  
  Seriously, though, can anyone identify what these things are?
  
  

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The latest on fitness: 4-hour hikes Thursday and Sunday; shooting for a run this afternoon or tomorrow morning. I'm easing back into a groove....