Raven Jake Dawes

The hummies have left the building

Near as we can figure, that hummingbird probably started nest construction while we were out in the desert, round about the weekend of April 20-21. Not sure, 'cause we didn't even see the nest (despite the fact that it was on the lamp chain near the front door) until sometime later that week. Didn't think there were any hummie kids in that nest either - they were real quiet and their mom was never around. Then a couple of weeks ago they started getting big and on Monday - Memorial Day - they just up and moved out. Gotta admit I was expecting a little more practise flying and whatnot, but no - bam, they were gone. Down below is the runt lookin' around a little before making his move. Ain't been back since. Good luck and god's speed, little hummies.

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Hummingbird Chicks!

Garden Week 2

Big news goin' into week 3: the zucchini have little flowers on 'em and the pumpkins are getting their second set of leaves. Lookin' good, Cucurbitas...

Hummingbird Chicks!

Y'all, when we came back from the desert a few weeks back, we were kind of surprised to note that there seemed to be an inordinate amount of hummingbird activity on the front porch. Turns out one of 'em had built her nest in the lamp chain, which is a pretty unlikely spot for a bird's nest but it is well-protected and pretty much predator proof. That bird gave me fits. If she'd been a human mom, I would'a called Child Protective Services and had her hauled off to jail. But despite the neglect, the kids are doing fine.  They're starting to feather up (there are two of them) and beak out and they're just as cute as can be. Won't be too much longer before they're flying. 

This article about the ancester of hummies and swifts is kind of interesting

And I stand corrected: it seems that hummingbirds are kind of infamous for building their nests in weird places. This one isn't an isolated case. Seth Inman blog

Congratulations to Harold Kast

Last night the La Cañada City Council honored my friend,  17-year-old junior assistant Scoutmaster  Harold Kast, for earning every merit badge there is. That's right. Every one of them. Harold's dad Martin, Scoutmaster of Troop 509, chartered by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, simply explained it the best, "There have been 110 million Scouts in the past century, he explains, and only 190 have earned every available merit badge. That's one in a million; Harold is one in a million." Now that he is, and I ain't sayin' so just because of this badge thing. Harold is one of only three youths in the 103-year history of the organization to have as many as 135, according to meritbadgeknot.com, which tracks, verifies and celebrates the achievements. He had an edge there - they didn't used to have so many of them. 'Course Harold earned his Eagle when he was just 14, and his sisters set the bar pretty high too - it's a committed scouting family - so he really had to distinguish himself. And that he did. Harold's turning 18 in a couple of weeks, takin' off for Fullerton in the fall, and I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next for young Mr. Kast.

Aloha Hula Ho'ike 2013

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to be the invited guests of Susan McLeod and her husband Jerry Smith  to Aloha Hula Ho'ike 2013 at the Orpheum Theater downtown. The Orpheum has had a major makeover and looks great, by the way. The Ho'ike showcases the work of the Aloha Hula Dance Studio in Granada Hills where Susan has been taking lessons over the past few years. What an amazing show - 300 dancers on the stage and around 2,000 people in the audience. Three hours of Polynesian dance. All the girls did a terrific job - even the little teenies. I was pleased that a lot of boys are getting into dance - dance class was one of my favorite things as a youngster, and boy did I take some heat for it. Good to see things are changing. Of course, the best offence is an awesome Haka -  just ask the New Zealand All-Blacks. 

The San Dimas Ho'olaule'a is comin' up on June 8-9 and it goes to support the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center

Garden 2013

This almost don't deserve mentioning - almost. After all the trauma and drama of last year's garden's plague of ground squirrels, I'd pretty much given up hope on the whole havin' a garden thing. But then Jason and Rachel gave us a couple zucchini plants and one thing led to another, and before I knoew it, I was planting again. This time around, just a couple squash and a small pumpkin patch. And we'll just have to see what comes up...

Ray's Silver Storm

This here is Ray, proud owner of a beautiful '76 Rolls Silver Storm. All original equipment, natch. Now I'm a bit remiss because I neglected to note the name of Ray's smoke shop, which is located right next door to the California Institute of Abnormal Arts at 11338 Burbank Blvd. in NoHo. However, there's no missing it: beautiful ride and Ray himself, generally sitting shotgun, smokin' a hookah when he doesn't have business to attend to.

 

 

 

Zombie Jake

Now folks, I'm an old-fashioned kinds guy, so when I think about zombies, I'm liable to be thinkin' of old-school zombies. The ones that are the thralls of some voodoo witch doctor in a Caribbean paradise. These new-fangled animated corpses and the quick-moving vampire-zombie hybrids are alright, I guess, but it just ain't the same thing.

But none o' that prevented me from zombie-ing it up for a music video yesterday. The artist is Tim Hicks and the song is, I believe, Hell Raisin' Good Time. And me and the other zombies had exactly that. Wishing every success to Tim as well - he and the whole crew were a pleasure to work with.

 

California Institute of Abnormal Arts

Folks, I'm almost ashamed to say that I ain't heard of the California Institute of Abnormal Arts until last night, when Jane, Sigrid and Greg "forced" me into goin' out for dinner and a show. An old acquaintance  of ours, Zamora the Torture King, was making a rare L.A. appearance. That's him over at the right. Eatin' fire. He also swallows lightbulbs, walks on broken glass, lies on a bed of swords while having a cinder block smashed on his chest; all of those old sideshow acts - he's done it.

Joining Zamora was one of his co-stars from Knott's Scary Farm, Dr. Odd. Mike Odd is also the lead vocalist of Rosemary's Billygoat. He's been studyin' up on the snake oil, though, and has apparently invented some sort of tonic. Or maybe it's an elixir. Anyway, if it don't cure you, it'll surely kill you. Either way, problem solved. Dr Odd's electric chair short circuted during one of his therapy sessions (below) but he seemed just fine. Probably on account o' all that "medicine."

Now the California Institute of Abnormal Arts, [CIA] which is nestled among the head shops and auto repair places in North Hollywood, is the brain child of one Carl Crew. Carl, much like myself, likes his entertainment with a sideshow twist, and that's why he's known as "The Barnum of Burbank Boulevard." His institute has the look of a Wunderkammer, or an old-time museum, and the performance space is kind of a circus tent / burlesque stage / speakeasy with broad strokes of pirate-clown set dressing.

Going through the gate (Carl handles the tickets himself) he manages to personally meet and greet each person coming through the line. Unfortunately, his hand stamping device is a little old fashioned and it gives you a hell of an electrical shock and kicks up quite a racket. Maybe he'll just get an ink stamp some day, but I wasn't going to pay another $12 for in/out privileges. 

From there, you start through a creepy maze of semi-permanaet shrines, sitting areas, tiki bars and suchnot. A skinny cat popped out to meet up, and I got a fondness for the sort of casual atmosphere that encourages curious critters to put in an appearance. 

Anyhow, it was a great venue, a fun show and a terrific night out. It's kinda hard to tell, but over at the left, I'm hanging out with a Feejee Mermaid. Down below, I'm hangin' out with Mike Odd. Discerning readers will immediately be able to tell the difference.