Tags
Balboa Park, dressage, Griffith Park, Hilda Gurney, horses, Keenridge, Lake Balboa, Los Angeles, Marmalade restaurant, pepper tree, Thousand Oaks, waterfowl
USA 2018 (15), Horses, waterfowl, and people. From Bozeman, I flew via Denver to Burbank, Los Angeles. And true to form, the second of these flights was about an hour late arriving. I’m not sure we were ever given a reason this time, but it meant my niece, Karina, had to hang around for me. There wasn’t much of the day left, and there are no photos of that day.
Karina was having car worries, but she had worked out a plan to minimise disruption the following day, Friday 23rd February, which she had kindly taken off work. In any case, as I told her, I wasn’t there to do stuff, but just to be with her in her normal life – though, as she replied, sitting around in a car dealer’s was hardly typical! However, that was not for long. Having deposited the car, she took me off (thanks to a courtesy shuttle) for brunch at ‘Marmalade’ in Thousand Oaks. She had warned me late in January that they had been experiencing temperatures in the eighties Fahrenheit (upwards of 26ºC) in her part of Los Angeles county. This had not lasted though, and my t-shirts were unnecessary. While it was sunny, there was a definite chill in the air, and locals found it cold.
Karina practices dressage to what seems to me (a total non-expert) a very high amateur level. We visited the Keenridge stables, where she has a few lessons from a former Olympian, Hilda Gurney (bronze medal US team dressage 1976). The aura of this woman was palpable.
From here we went to spend time (and Karina effort) with her own horse, Klassie, at the equestrian centre where he is stabled.
Towards the end of the day, because Karina knows I like walking, we were joined by a friend of hers, Sara, who took us into and up Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
The following day, Sunday, Karina had another car problem, but this could be sorted at a tire/tyre place within walking distance of her home, after she had paid an early visit to her own stables for a lesson there.
Looking at the time available for the rest of the day, before an evening meet-up, we decided to visit a local park, which Karina had never got around to seeing herself. I was pleased to give her a reason to do so. It looked as if it might take us no time at all to walk around the lake, but Karina did not know just how long I can linger when looking at wildlife! (This time I had no wildlife expert or bird book to identify the birds we were seeing, so I have been hesitant in my labelling. One problem is that there can be American versions of Eurasian birds which look almost identical, c.f. ravens and magpies. Corrections and additions would be gratefully received.)
A further visit to Klassie ended the afternoon, and I was delighted to see this coyote hanging around, on a hillside just outside the premises, as the sun began to set. The evening was spent very pleasurably at the restaurant of an Irish pub, (I had fish and chips!) with three of Karina’s horsey friends. The talk was very little of horses and much of my Yellowstone trip, which I was delighted to recount.
I thought the photo of the coyote at the stables might be the last picture in this whole USA 2018 series – but I was to be mistaken. The flight home was very visually exciting.
susanpoozan said:
You certainly had a nice time without any snow for a change!
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Musiewild said:
Snow in southern California would have been very worrying!
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Olive Simpson said:
I saw a horrifying video of the wild fires in that area threatening a stables, and the frantic attempts to free the horses and get everybody out as the flames advanced. You are certainly ringing the changes temperature-wise on this trip! Clare Balding has been doing programmes about horses on R4 1.45-2.00 pm every day this week. Fascinating one explaining how the dressage moves the horses do are based on the jobs they had to perform in combat situations. Who knew??
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Musiewild said:
Yes, I happened to catch that very broadcast as I was in the car at the time. Fascinating. When the fires near Karina’s stables happened, in September I think, they took the decision to evacuate in very good time, so there was no panic. And fortunately the flames were stopped before they reached the stables.
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tootlepedal said:
You have got a bit of everything in this trip.
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Musiewild said:
It certainly felt like it.
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maryh said:
I hope it was not too difficult to adjust to the much higher temperatures than you had been used to in Yellowstone!
Enjoyed the pictures of your various activities with Karina.
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Musiewild said:
It was only around 14deg C in California, and there was a bit a of a chill wind. Without my huge parka and boots, I was quite cold enough, thank you!
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Christine said:
And here I thought you wouldn’t find it cold after the freezing temperatures in Yellowstone!
I thought about your niece and her stables when there were the fires. I’m glad they could be safely evacuated.
Did you say hello to the Californian coyote from its Yellowstone colleagues?
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Musiewild said:
I don’t speak coyote I’m afraid. And in any case, I expect they have a different dialect!
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