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I've collected several hand fulls of these dark purple seeds from this tree in the past month and I'm a bit confused as to what it may be. At first I thought it was Dictyosperma Alba (Hurricane Palm) but now it looks more like Mt. Lewis King Palm) I've included some photos of the tree, fresh seeds and cleaned seeds. Your help is much appreciated. Many thanks, Rob

Maybe not the prettiest ones I've seen, but this pair is up there for among the tallest I've seen recently (sorry for the shade--comes too early these days...): And this grove, while shorter and somewhat marred by a 40' Washingtonia volunteer that probably was half the age of these, was still not bad, especially for a college campus: Surprisingly, very few kings or queens (or even washies) are on the Long Beach campus.

Terry's high school reunion post prompted me to ask this question, although it was something I was already thinking about. I want to put together a list of tunes that put you in a summer mood. They need not be great music, just music that takes you back to a summer moment or feeling. Driving down the road with the windows down and the top open, and Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" comes on the radio, and instantly my mood is light and upbeat. Yeah! Summer!! Another from my past is "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb. I hear the opening bass riff, and suddenly it's 1966 and I can smell the seaweed on the wet sand at Refugio Beach near Santa Barbara. What tunes do you associate with summer?

This is fun -- you are coming up with tunes I'd completely forgotten, but are perfect, like Kodachrome, Summer Breeze, and California Sun. Others I've never heard of, but bring summer to mind, like the Hed Kandy tune. Corey, I admit ignorance of the dance tunes of Shakira, Beyonce, Ashanti, etc., but I can see how they would give you the bouyant feeling of summer. And I totally agree with the Latin and Reggae suggestions. Sometimes I'll flip over to a Mexican station just to hear the One-2,3 - One-2,3- beat of a big guitarrón, some trumpets, and those wailing ranchera lyrics, "mi amor, mi corazón ." (Drives my husband crazy. ) I bought a couple of CDs in Costa Rica that have some fun, fast-paced salsa music, "Mueve, mueve" being a favorite. Wal, the Beach Boys are a natural, and Sloop John B is a perfect choice! Mungo Jerry, though, wow! Yes it brings summer to mind, but it's such an earworm song!!! Aieeeeee! Any other ideas? I'm checking them all on YouTube, it's kind of fun. This will be a good playlist for a summer BBQ.

Bubba was asking about tropicals at the US Open in Torrey Pines. I went to the practice rounds yesterday, and can confirm there is nary a palm to be seen. The only tropicals are potted plants in the hospitality areas: A pair of lithe queens: Some youthful washingtonia: A nice succulent arrangement for those who like 'em: But most of the scene is grass and the endemic Torrey Pines, with the occasional eucalyptus:

Excuse my faulty memory -- my guests, all avid golfers, were kind enough to point out players to me and give me some backstory, but I didn't take any notes. Glad you enjoyed the photos; I wasn't planning to take my camera until I saw your question about the course.

It was a very pleasant way to spend a day, and there is a very positive vibe in the air. Golf fans are a very civilized lot, well mannered and polite, quietly passionate about golf. The logistics of putting this all together must be absolutely staggering, what with three hospitality villages, a media village, the grandstands, concessions, restrooms and parking. There is a LOT going on behind the scenes. But you can feel the excitement building and the money flowing into the San Diego economy, so it looks like it will be a successful event. I did not see Tiger or Phil. Tiger teed off at 7am and was gone before I arrived, and I can't tell you what Phil's dad told us when we saw him in the merchandise tent -- someone would have to kill me. The biggest tent is reserved for the merchandise -- LOTS of golf stuff in there, over 600,000 items. This is the new Lexus hybrid which was on display (Lexus being a sponsor). Doesn't use much gas, but you have to spend $120,000 to get it: Cheers!

This gentleman with a notable accent won "The Open" twice, I'm told: And this gentleman won the US Open twice, I'm told -- and I learned The Open and the US Open are not the same thing.

Camilo Villegas has style: Hey, let's play "Guess the Golfer": If you know their names, you get a gold star!

Golf. Yes, well, I am the person least equipped to post about golf. So I looked for crowds. The nice thing about going to the practice rounds, is you can see the players without a periscope. You can wander into the grandstands and marvel at Justin Rose's swing to your heart's content. Or Brandt Snedeker, D.J. Brigman, or whoever you happen to admire. Since it's not at all crowded, if you do see a crowd, you can figure somebody special is there. So this is the first guy I photographed: Hey, there's Bubba! Oh, different Bubba...