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Rocks and Lantana
4 August 2022
We ran across this vision a few days ago on one of our walks through the neighborhood. We took a photo but didn't really think it worthy of sharing.
Rocks and Lantana. Nikon D300 with 18-200mm Nikkor at 112mm (168mm equivalent), f8, 1/1000 second and ISO 200. Processed in Adobe Camera Raw.
Did we ever tell you we used to be employed by a university police department to walk the campus with a walkie talkie to report nefarious nighttime activities (like someone breaking into a dorm or students making out in a car)?
Walking is one of those things we do well. And don't get us started on walking to grammar school. There was no snow but the hills were theibaudian*. And they only went up.
Anyway, this intimate little scene was just a little too little. We liked the colors, sure, but nothing else was going on. Maybe the contrast between the hard river rocks and the soft lantana?
Let's not stretch it.
On the other hand, we do like the picture. We tried to convince ourselves it wasn't worth much, but we still liked it anyway. We're usually successful at persuading ourselves something we've done is not nearly as good as we think it is.
But this time, the photo just kept staring us back in the face singing a little Sondheim. "I feel pretty!" Even on this overcast occasion, that lantana sparkled.
We began to suspect there was some political meaning to it. Some social significance. Something so subtle we hadn't consciously appreciated it.
Then it occurred to us what had attracted us to this spot in the first place.
The blue of these river stones and the gold of the lantana flowering above them echo the blue and gold of California itself. And, subtly, our alma mater. Well, one of them, anyway.
Go bears. Who needs UCLA and USC anyway?