Back to Descanso

 Well, I finally made it back. I've been wanting to go back to Descanso Gardens, but it was taking me a long time. The photos they were sharing of their plants were very appealing, and fall colors are what I want to photograph for now. They are wistful but also beautiful at the same time, and they have many wonderful arrangements at this garden. 

(As I write this there is thumping rap/hiphop music being played in some house in the front. For it to be that loud, it has to be coming from some car in the street or else, heavily amplified from a speaker in the apartments. We heard three gunshots today at about 5:37 p.m., and my nieces got very scared. I don't know if this is a sign of things to come, if thugs have moved into one of the apartment units. I doubt it will turn out well, I am betting they will not pay any rent, and will file for delays for their eviction. But, it could be coming from another house, or a car visiting the gangbanger who lives with Doña María in front.)

So, I went on a day when we were supposed to experience Santa Ana Winds. Turns out, there were no winds, and the cloud cover dispersed somewhat, so it was a good day to go. The drive is short, too, about one hour. I left at 10 a.m. and arrived at 11, and went first to Pollo Loco to buy something to eat so I wouldn't feel the misery of hunger as I was trying to enjoy the sights.

The fall colors were beautiful. I loved the rose garden, and I photographed some gingko trees with wondrous yellow leaves. Some trees had lost all their leaves by now, but there was still plenty of color, especially in the yards of the houses in the area leading up to Descanso Gardens.

This was a day to explore the big ponds to one side that I had not seen on my first visit to the garden a few months ago. They are rather modest ponds, and there is a scum of green algae on them that renders them slightly unappealing, but there were also a few good vantage points. I walked around the ponds, sat on benches, recorded reflections on current personal matters (my tía Socorro has been found to have an infected tumor in her intestines which has been really bother her). I walked around as well taking photos with my Minolta Autocord and my Fuji GW690ii. This time, no 4x5 camera, it was really weighing me down and I was tired of it. Those film holders especially are very heavy. 

These are a few photos from the end of my visit, after two and a half hours. I will try to get around to publishing other photos. Now, since we are supposed to be on strict quarantine because of the rising Covid death toll (around 2,000 fatalities nationwide on average on a daily basis), I will cut back on my visits to other places. I am getting pretty worried too, and my mom said that she heard on the news that we should not only wear facemasks when we go out, we should wear eye protection and also keep to very strict (and ample) social distancing. She is very frightened, and so am I.

I wish for health for myself and my family, and protection from Covid and from depression. I also wish for tranquility and peace in the next few years. 2020 was a very hard year for all of us.

(The police should have come to investigate the gunshots but I don't think they did. That will only embolden the culprits who fired them, since they will think they can act with impunity.)