Rain and snow

We had rain! Big deal, you say!

Consider that 2009 rain was half what has been normal (6 inches less than normal) and you can see how dry things are. It's surprising that we haven't had more fires!

Last week was the rainiest for a long time! We had almost 2 inches over three days. It was the rain system that hit California a few days earlier.

You can see from the photo that our mountains are snow-capped. Mt. Lemmon (9,000 ft) had several feet of snow and the ski run there is open. The road up the mountain has been closed until today.

All the washes had running water. The few washes that cross over streets forced the streets to be blocked off. They're always a few who insist they can plow through the 2 or 3 inches of fast-running water - and get stuck. They have to be towed out and probably get fined.

Just had to let you know about this wetting event!

Rose Parade IV

These are dancers, a part of the Mexico float. Pretty spectacular, right?

This float is called Look, Ma, No Hands, showing various activities not needing hands to perform. Some of us need hands, though!

This is called Hot Doggin' ... Going For the Gold. Note in the little house at back, there is a pug on a skate board, about to slide down the ski slope. They had two pugs who would alternate the slide. The floats move so fast that I couldn't get a pic of that!

This is New Mexico's float, called Enchantment in the Air. You can see a larger version by clicking on the picture. Note the hot air balloons, representing the festival in Albuquerque every year.

This is Kaiser Permanente's float, Magnificent Tales of Health. The cornucopia in back is pouring out fruits and vegetables.

This is part of the Boy Scouts float. Note the plaques each is carrying. Each is one of the merit badges, drawn with flowers! Even though I'm an Eagle Scout, I could identify only a few of the badges.








That's the end of Rose Parade-whew!
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www.actuary-george.blogspot.com

Rose Parade III

Continuing the floats, here we see the Ohio State University float and band. They had to scoot from Pasadena to the Rose Bowl, so as to perform during halftime.

And here are the Oregon State cheerleaders - let's hear a Hoorah! They, too had to hurry to the Rose Bowl after they got to the end of the parade route.

This float showed past winners of the Rose Bowl game. You can see a larger version of the pic by clicking on it.

And here is a very attractive float by the City of Torrance, labelled Garden of Dreams. If you look carefully, you'll see that many floats use anthurium flowers. They have a rec oval-shaped leaf with a stamen that sticks out of the center. They are quite distinctive and grow only in Hawaii.

This is Barnyard Aces, interesting for those of us who are fliers.

These, of course, are a troupe of the Buffalo Soldiers. There was no indication where they are based. The only permanent location I know of is southwest of Tucson.



That's the end of this installment. Only one more to go.
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Rose Parade II

This is part of the Jack in the Box float. You can just see the man behind the figure. He was moving his figure in dramatic fashion.

The next one is the actual float, with dancers decked out in yellow and pink headdresses. You can see Jack and his gold-bedecked companion at the very top.

Here we have Mountain Majesty, a collection of zoo animals. Note Jack Hannah of the Columbus, OH zoo at lower right.

Here, we have the McDonald's float, the International Space Station, though I only got the part with Ronald.

Next is the Terra Cotta Warriors float. There are models of some of the Warriors visible in the front of the float.

This shows the Warriors in some detail, along with the beginning of the dancers.

And here are the dancers in all their finery.

That's all for this post. More to come.

Check the blog for better views of the pictures and the ability to click on a picture to see an enlarged version.

Rose Parade

Yesterday was a first time experience for me. Visiting my CA daughter, we had the opportunity to see the Parade of Roses first hand. The first picture shows the crowd, which lines both sides of the street as far as the eye can see. Many apparently arrive the night before and have a fun night, as you can see from all the junk on the street.

The third picture shows Colorado Blvd, the main route for the parade. We were at about the half-way point, but it was a "ring-side" seat, for sure!

The second picture is of the Pasadena police motorcycle squad doing their show-off.

The next one shows the Wells Fargo float with, presumably, a couple of the executives in very appealing dress.

Since there's so much to show, I'll split this up into several installments.