huntington gardens « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘huntington gardens’

Ducks, ducks, ducks

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: animals, experiences, huntington gardens, videos

02 December 2010

ducklings from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

duck swimming from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

swarming swimming ducks from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

ducks foraging from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Natural model

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: animals, huntington gardens, observation, videos

26 November 2010

A funny lizard at the Huntington Gardens, completely unaffected by the thing in its mouth. Doc was trying to get a picture, but the lighting was screwing him up since the sucker was half in the sun and half in the shade.

lizard eating from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Huntington Gardens: pond & desert

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: experiences, huntington gardens, interesting, los angeles, pictures, plants

01 October 2010

The final installation of the gallery of pictures from the Huntington Gardens. See Part 1 and Part 2. Click pictures for original size.

: This plant seems to want to be 2D.

: A dragonfly resting on a reed.

: A cluster of lily pads hides two secrets! Little turtles!

: One of them swims off and the other follows suit.

: I wonder if their necks get tired like that.

: A wasp takes a rest by my feet.

: I was really hoping to see a frog…

: This turtle was working on its tan.

: I figured a flower petal wouldn’t scare the koi as much, and was pretty much able to touch it with my ploy.

: I think it’s fascinating how large and tall lotus flowers are.

: Don’t step here! It’s a pond underneath! Check out the turtle poking out. 🙂

: That bird is up really high on this cactus tree thing.

: I love the wings! A bit of flash as they open up, then they retract and it goes away.

: Some of these desert plants grow really tall!

: I wonder if they get water up to the top the way the sequoias do.

: These cacti decided it wasn’t worth it to fight gravity.

: This is a pretty cool cactus. Looks like someone designed it with layers.

: This pretty much looks like a tree.

: They stand up so straight! They kind of look like fingers.

: Perhaps these flowers grow larger because they are closer to the ground and get more nutrients and water?

: They can grow pretty elaborately. It reminds me a type of coniferous tree, but I can’t remember what.

: These things grow almost as tall as palm trees!

: Cousin It in old age.

: This is one happy cactus!

: It looks rather like a snow globe. So perfectly round!

: This is quite the menacing cactus.

: So geometric… these would work as a great fence.

Bird atop cactus tree

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: animals, huntington gardens, videos

30 September 2010

That bird may not look so far, but then I zoom out and you can see just how crazy cacti can grow.

bird atop cactus from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Huntington Gardens: Chinese & Japanese garden

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: animals, doc, flowers, huntington gardens, opti, pictures, plants

12 September 2010

A continuation of the last gallery of pictures from the Huntington Gardens. Click images for full size.

: Entering the Chinese garden, so of course there are lotuses!

: It’s good to walk barefoot on these to stimulate your feet and get some self-reflexology treatment.

: Enjoying a bit of massaging on my feet.

: A momma duck led her ducklings around to have some fun and enjoy the day.

: Enjoying my vantage point.

: It looks just like the Menchies logo!

: Using a dead stem as its platform.

: On one stem, a dead lotus. On the other, a dragonfly.

: Holding up the bridge, that one.

: I used my plate from lunch to attract koi that thought they’d get food.

: They blend in quite well to the floor of leaves.

: Having a little family outing/field trip.

: This is a duck herding her young.

: And plop, in they go to follow mom.

: There they go, off to the next adventure.

: Among the blur of the scenery is a dragonfly passing by.

: We enter the Japanese garden and find a bridge with the highest arch I’ve ever seen.

: I dub it “beta koi” because it’s a koi that wants to be a beta fish.

: Another blurry shot as I catch a dragonfly in action.

: So I’m guessing it’s a princess ant since it has wings.

: Check out how one pair of wings is flapping down while the other is flapping up!

: With the huge lotus leaves as a backdrop, a dragonfly rushes past.

: Captured both a dragonfly and a koi in this shot!

: This one had that “feed me” look, but I had nothing to offer.

: A smaller, cuter dragonfly with a head like a hammerhead shark’s.

: Using plants to create a canopy, now there is something I like! Definitely want to consider that for my future backyard.

: A mini bamboo forest greeted us at the top of the hill.

: The ripples of water are carefully raked into zen gardens.

: So small and delicate! There are these plastic pieces that kids use to make jewelry that look kind of like this when put together. You know what I’m talking about?

: I found a baby leaf yet to completely unfurl into its adult self.

: Off they go into the bamboo forest.

: Deeper and deeper they go… if there was a horizon or sunset, they’d disappear into it.

See the final part here.

My dream plant

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: huntington gardens, interesting, pictures, plants

21 August 2010

I have always wanted to have my own Venus flytraps, but they are hard to come by. So instead I took time to admire the ones at the Huntington Gardens.