A Palmy Afternoon in Spring Valley

[MattyB]

Sorry Paul, there was no room for the "a".

For this weeks "PRA" we decided to do a quick juant down the hill to see what the urban sprawl of Spring Valley had to offer in the palm department.

Lamar Park off of Bancroft.  This used to be a field full of overgrown reeds, shifty crack heads, and a condemned house.  Now it's a county park and they burned the house down for a fire department training excercise and cleaned out all the overgrown reed.....crack heads are a little more resilient.  You can see the very old date palms as you drive down Bancroft.

Phoenix canariensis have naturalized all along this natural wash.

[MattyB]

This is what it looks like if you're a gopher.

[MattyB]

Gopher view II

Paul's got pictures too.  We're teaming up on this thread.  PRA team activate! ???

[paulgila]

allright! "tag-team" posting! lets rock and/or roll!!!

"i think i just heard a gopher--hold me!"

spring valley river basin in all its quiet majesty.

matt frolicking in the ditch,just like i used to do as a kid in the asylum.

looks like someone took a bite outta this big fella.

[paulgila]

heres matt taking his "gopher perspective" shot.

as an actor he excels at getting in to the psyche of gophers & other small-ish rodentia.

here are some palms since i got bored of matt being in the ditch for so long.

don't roll around down there TOO much matt,theres broken glass & toxic waste!

and watch out for the "ditchbillies"!

[paulgila]

http://s36.photobucket.com/albums....145.flv

http://s36.photobucket.com/albums....145.flv

<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i36.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid36.photobucket.com/albums/e6/paulgila/spring%20valley%20dec%2007/Koda145.flv"></embed>

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums....MG]

first movie ever filmed entirely in spring valley that day

on a budget from reclaimed asbestos.

[paulgila]

"i know yer down there,gopher!come out & face me"!

matt heads off into the sunset after hours of waiting for his adversary to no avail.

[MattyB]

:laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:   I kill me!

More Phoenix canariensis

And more.....getting tired of Phoenix yet Kris?

[MattyB]

This is where it gets a bit sketchy

Let's go in for a closer look at the urban river

I think that's where Satan lives.  Time to turn back.  Paul was already inside laughing.....I don't know why but it was scary. ???

[MattyB]

Turning around.....let me outa dis place

Ohh, CWB I know him...nice guy

Medical waste, it tasted wierd.

[MattyB]

Urban litter

[paulgila]

matt needs new pants.i think you know why.

this one looked lonely.

sorry matt,but my composition is better.i guess it could've been my fist in yer eye.

[paulgila]

castor bean plant.

stumphead.look like anyone you know?

yeah,it was warm,but still tasted like malt liquor.

almost.

CIDP canopy.

[MattyB]

This Phoenix dactylifera clump was amazing!  It's the large clump pictured at the left of my first post.

This is why the palms are growing so good, Bum Fertilizer.

I call this one: "Beerbagbuttcrackpipe"

[MattyB]

Typical Spring Valley yard.

Branching at about 30 feet up.  There used to be two branches but they cut one off.

[paulgila]

everything looks golden in the late afternoon sun.

looking northwards for no particular reason.

ok--beverly hills it ain't!

[MattyB]

Driving down Olive St. we saw this business that looked kinda palmy.  So we must investigate!

Around the side is a surprise!  Rhapis, Chamaedorea, and Dypsis.

[MattyB]

Paul pushed me down.  He's mean and smells funny.

Cool Chamaedorea.

Old Dypsis lutescens

[paulgila]

(MattyB @ Dec. 24 2007,13:38)

QUOTE

This Phoenix dactylifera clump was amazing!  It's the large clump pictured at the left of my first post.

look at that physique!

thats what a diet of makers mark & raisin bran crunch will

do for ya!

[MattyB]

Kami seed

Paul looking pissed because the palms are upstaging him.

[deezpalms]

haha haaaaa! I was gonna ask about the tree that's branching. You could see it in the background in the first photo. I saw it and was like "what the?"  

[MattyB]

Chamerops humils as the sun is going down.

I'll let Paul catch up and post his pics of the little business.

[paulgila]

i actually was convinced that this place was just a front for a CIA torture operation.its the ONLY thing keeping us safe & keeping our freedom intact,you know.

all except for our "freedom from torture",i guess.

golden light.

[MattyB]

i actually was convinced that this place was just a front for a CIA torture operation.its the ONLY thing keeping us safe & keeping our freedom intact,you know.

all except for our "freedom from torture",i guess.

Well said Pohonpalapa.

[paulgila]

fat & happy,just like the gophers eating the roots of matts

carpoxylon at this very moment.

you know,i don't even ask him why he does things like this,anymore.

huge clump.

hard to get a picture of,its so densely packed.

[MattyB]

Washies lining a driveway

OK

Paul said, "stupid flash" about 20 times because it kept going off when he didn't want it to.  He's trying to get it to turn back on now. :laugh:

[MattyB]

There were dates on the ground and they were pretty big.  I think they're the edible kind.

Big honkers!  We get a lot of heat in the summer here in Spring Valley.  And there's abundant ground water.  I bet these things are good if you could harvest them with a huge lift bucket truck. ???

[MattyB]

Looking north on Bancroft @ Kenwood.  A super tall canariensis snuck in there somehow.

Looking south on Bancroft.

Woah.  That's a prickery mess.

[deezpalms]

It almost looks like a big ol' Encephalartos bush!

[paulgila]

dem bones.

[paulgila]

http://s36.photobucket.com/albums....146.flv

http://s36.photobucket.com/albums....146.flv

<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i36.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid36.photobucket.com/albums/e6/paulgila/spring%20valley%20dec%2007/Koda146.flv"></embed>

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums....MG]

heres the highlight of the thread in which matt takes his very life into his own hands by eating the perhaps deadly & possibly tasty date which could have been soaking in all kinds of industrial waste & solvents.

[MattyB]

We drove down Kenwood which is one of the sketchiest streets in Spring Valley.  There's a one block stretch with about 10-12 large apartment buildings that go way back off the street.  There must be a thousand people living on this one block.  Most of them section 8 government subsidised rent.  My parents almost got car jacked here once.  So Paul and I decided to pull over and explore.

There was this empty lot that had palms so we hadta.

[MattyB]

Back at my place and the sun had just gone down.

San Diego bay and Pacific Ocean glisening in the light.

[MattyB]

Wierd pic of Paul.  You can see the sign I put up to try and slow people down.  Hey I'm a signage contractor, I hadta.  I figured that if the "SLOW" didn't slow 'em down then maybe they'd slow down and say, "what the heck?  Was that a bunny on that sign?"

This is for all the snarky comments Paul's ever given me:  Enjoy!

http://s146.photobucket.com/albums....076.flv

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums....MG]

[paulgila]

creepy stone house behind the "bancroft ranch house",one of the 1st homes in the entire area.

i heard this was the clubhouse for the murderous mongols motorcycle gang in the 50s where they held knitting & flower arrangement classes.

back to matts for a pic of the purdy view at sunset.

matt:"its not working!"

paul: "try 'ON'."

thats it for me!hope you enjoyed the latest PRA!

[MattyB]

I out too.  Thanks for joining us.  Tune in next week when we journey to Compton, CA to see what's growing there.

Hey Paul, we should go down to Barrio Logan and do a PRA down there.  The murals are awesome and some really old palms too.  We could do Mexican instead of sushi for once!

[paulgila]

ok.lemme find my kevlar vest...

[iamjv]

Looks like you two had a good time and managed to see some nice palms to boot...  Thanks for the ventrure!  Jv

[BS Man about Palms]

(MattyB @ Dec. 24 2007,10:54)

QUOTE

i actually was convinced that this place was just a front for a CIA torture operation.its the ONLY thing keeping us safe & keeping our freedom intact,you know.

all except for our "freedom from torture",i guess.

Well said Pohonpalapa.

Whats wrong with a little good natured, old fashioned torture?  I see Matty was already assuming the position?  

I also thank you for the reminder of why I left Spring Valley..  ???

[cagary]

Any idea who planted all the Phoenix canariensis?

When? Why?