Bougainvillea and Church

A Yard In Burbank California

I spent much of yesterday, Sunday the 3rd of April doing things with my daughter and her family and getting prepared to start up the coast today and so I am catching up on this blog this morning before I leave.

       The days here have been sunny and warm, today doesn't look to be any different between here and wherever I end up this evening. I am looking to cover maybe 300 miles today. 

      Yesterday my daughter was singing with the praise band at the Church they attend, and so my son-in-law, granddaughters and I walked down to the church for one of the services, which was very nice. Seemed like a great group of people. The church affiliation is called Four Square but is of the type with christian rock music and so a fairly young congregation. It was a nice service and my daughter looked great up on the stage area with the other musicians.

      One part of being in Southern California is how wonderful the flowers are almost year around. The roses are in fine form here right now, and as we walked the five blocks to the church my daughter's family attends, we saw many beds of wonderful smelling roses. But this yard in the picture, appeared to be working on native plants and removing the grass, possibly in response to the ongoing drought in California that has only gotten a little relief from this El Niño. I was captured by the bougainvillea and had to stop and take a picture. There were props that you can see in the picture holding it up and creating an area that you could go in under and then a big "stick" across the face of the porch. What you can't see in this photo is how much it wraps around the house, it was amazing! This is one of my wife Mary's favorite flowering plants, and so Mary I hope you enjoy this picture when you read this blog in Indonesia.

       There are plenty of people here, a known fact about Southern Cal, it is crowded but you end up having your small community within the larger community. Neighborhoods within the larger city. This area of Burbank where my daughter and her family live is fairly quiet mix of houses and low apartment buildings with shade trees and flowers. It has been wonderful to hang out here for a couple of days. But I will be happy to move on to less populated areas of California. I have spent most of my adult life in small communities and so I look forward to seeing fields of grass and the coast of the country today. A lovely sunny day on the Pacific Coast Highway. 

Will by the River.