"I Wear a Hoodie, too!"

In memory of Trayvon Martin

That was one of my first thoughts when someone mentioned that Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie the night he was murdered*, and it was implied that the hoodie may have played a part in his death.

My very white 20 y/o son also wears a hoodie, a dark navy one, just like many of the kids here in Los Angeles, both in the suburbs and urban areas.  Some of these kids are looking for trouble, but most are not.  They're just wearing what everyone else wears.  Hoodies are warm and comfy and just right for our climate -- and for Florida's climate.

One of my 50-something grandmother friends wears a hoodie.  From the back, with our hoodies up, no one would know our race or age, just that we're both on the short side and could stand to lose few pounds, like many of the women and girls in this area.

Should any of us have to fear for our lives walking through a neighborhood at night wearing an article of clothing that millions wear, simply because some trouble-makers also wear it?  Of course not.  This issue is much deeper than hoodies.

The first person I heard commenting on the hoodie issue was a black man.  From what I was able to gather, he thought young black people shouldn't wear hoodies because it was somehow lowering themselves, or it was a symbol of something, I'm not sure what, but it wasn't good.  I pretty much ignored him, but the comment stuck in my brain.

Since then, I've heard hoodie mentioned several times in the past few days in relation to this tragedy, and I'm trying to wrap my head around it.  Somehow, the hoodie has become a symbol of what happened that night.

All that said, I'm praying for Trayvon's family, his former school, even Mr. Zimmerman, the man who killed him.  Sin and prejudice have far reaching ramifications, and many, many people have been hurt by this.

*and yes, I believe Trayvon was murdered, but that's a topic for another day and time

Azaleas

I had not noticed until this spring the delicacy of some azaleas.  Many of them are bold and bright ...

A friend commented on how the ones at our house seem to glow in the shaded front yard.

And I love the bright pink color.  But I was also enchanted by this much smaller plant (it's to the left of the bright pink azalea) and its delicate flowers.

And just for fun, while I was practicing these close ups with the flowers, I took one of this cute little guy.

Heady and Intoxicating

Grapefruit and blossoms

That's how I've been describing my back yard this past week or so.  At first, I thought it was lemon blossom, which of course is delightful.  But the scent originated too close to the house; the lemons are farther back.

Instead, it's the grapefruit tree.  The scent is stronger than lemon, and is permeating the entire yard and wafting to the front, too. 

The tree is huge, too.  It produces lots of yellow grapefruit each year -- many, many more than we can use or give away. 

Lemons

It was lemonade weather on Sunday.  Really, really hot. 

And the Meyer lemons are finally ready to be picked. 

They've been teasing us for at least a month, becoming a darker and darker yellow ... but the tree has not "released" them in great numbers, until Sunday.

For comparison, here are some Meyers and conventional lemons.

Along with being smaller and more orange in color, Meyers are more fragile.  Their skin is thin, and they will start spoiling in three or four days after being picked.  This is why you don't see them in stores very much, although I think commercial growers put something on the skin to help preserve them.

For the home grower, don't wash your lemons until you are ready to use them.  There is a naturally occurring coating on the skins that helps preserve the lemons.

Oh, about that lemonade ... it was wonderful. 

Trees

The trees are flowering here, and it's lovely.

Looking up ...

There is even beauty in the spent fruit of this pomegranate tree at the Huntington.

Pretty Flowers

A common refrain here, but we went to the Huntington again today (God surely was good when he blessed us with a free membership).

Snapdragons, pansies, marigolds.

Just wanted to share some of the beautiful flowers we saw on this lovely day.

Stock, NOT Delphinium (or Larkspur)

[**Correction, the flowers above are stock, not delphiniums.  I pulled the wrong photo, and in my tiredness when posting, I just didn't catch it.  My bad.  Still, I should have known better.**]

Enjoy!

Clivia (or St. John's Lily, Fire Lily, or Kaffir Lily)

THIS is delphinium (I hope!)

Delphinium

Valentine's Day

A couple of days ago, I developed a sudden desire for some Stargazer Lilies, or maybe freesias.  Something that smells like that but doesn't give me a head ache.  Weird, I know, but true.  I even looked for some at Trader Joe's.  They were out of Stargazers, but did have freesias.    And lots of other flowers.

And I realized it was almost Valentine's day.  Aha, I thought (usually, I buy my own flowers, but thought maybe I might get someone else to buy them for me this time).

So I told my husband, "You know, red roses are over rated this year."  

"Oh?"

And then, hemming and hawing a bit, telling him if only if he was going to get some flowers..... that I'd love some Stargazer Lilies, or maybe some freesias.  But ONLY if he was going to get some.  And that they were cheaper at TJ's too, than roses, although the roses at TJ's are very reasonable.

Long story short, a lovely bunch of Stargazer Lilies awaited me this morning.

I've learned in our almost 25 years of marriage that it's OK to drop broad hints about what you want.  Broad hints as in pretty much asking out right. 

Happy Valentine's Day and week.