Arachnophobia?

I photographed these daddy long-legs spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) in the women's restroom of the horticulture building at Pierce College. They seemed cozy, moving around their web in the narrow space between the side of the toilet and the wall. It's a good thing I'm not afraid of spiders, but this might explain why this restroom, unlike all the others on campus, seemed so clean. (Well, except for the part with the spiders.) No one dares use it. Apparently the Plant Facilities department has not yet issued brooms to this remote outpost.

Usually found in or around houses, the daddy long-legs is sometimes also called the cellar spider. (It is occasionally confused with a couple of other species that are also sometimes called long-legs or daddy long-legs.) They like to hang upside down from their webs and wait for prey. They eat small insects and spiders. When food is short, they will eat their own kind.

Old Trapper's Lodge

This is California Registered Historical Landmark No. 939. These folk art sculptures were created by John Ehn, who was born in 1897, over a 30-year period that ended with his death in 1981. The oversized figures and humorous tombstones were intended to create a vision of the mythological Old West.

Originally located at a motel in Sunland Sun Valley, the collection had to be relocated in the late 1980's to make room for development. It now resides on the Pierce College campus, in an out-of-the-way spot near a cow pasture and some agricultural buildings.

A plaque dated 1969 identifies this as Alvin Cleveland Park. Most people on campus (including employees) don't even know it exists. It's a cute, quiet mini-park, well shaded, with picnic tables, paved paths, and a water fountain. The day I visited, one table was occupied by a young woman peacefully studying.

The Botanic Garden at Pierce College

This two-acre garden on the Pierce College campus displays "Mediterranean" plants suitable for the Southern California climate. In addition to native California plants, there is a nice variety of specimens from Australia and South Africa. The plants are labeled, so it's easy to borrow these ideas for your home garden. The area is bisected by "Evolution Walk", a pathway depicting major periods in the history of life on earth. There are additional pathways, benches and shaded seating areas. A small pond is home to turtles and frequently hosts ducks and egrets. Many other species of birds are attracted to the garden, which includes a fair number of hummingbird feeders.

Rainy Day

The day before Thanksgiving and the first serious rain of the year made for sparsely populated walkways on campus this morning.

Wednesday was a busy day on campus. The "Free Speech Zone", which usually hosts only the Bible ladies and an occasional salesman or two, was the venue for a political-religious group with huge, provocative posters, handing out flyers to passersby. According to reports in the school paper, some past demonstrations have led to shouting matches, but as far as I could tell, nobody got loud on this day. The campus police were posted a few yards from the edge of the zone, just in case.

Free Hugs

On Wednesday a group of students positioned themselves on the main walkway, offering hugs to all passersby. I believe this was part of a promotion for one of the campus clubs. During the ten minutes or so that I watched them, only a few people accepted the offer.

I Can't Hear Your

Between classes I was sitting on a bench, about five or six feet away from this girl. She was doing homework and texting while listening to her music player. Eventually she stopped to watch the birds, but I don’t think she could hear them. Even though she had her earbuds on, I could hear the music. Fortunately, this school has a good American Sign Language program. I expect that many of today’s students will end up needing it.

Seen on Campus

I can’t remember which political conference it was that introduced the concept of the "Free Speech Zone". That is, a zone designed to prevent free speech from being heard. It caught on rapidly and now it is my understanding that all major political events in the U.S. use this device. Still, I was a bit surprised to encounter this on the campus of Pierce College, whose newspaper proudly (if somewhat enigmatically) proclaims itself to be "a first amendment publication".

There are a couple of "older" ladies who usually spend most of the day on campus sitting at a folding table where they dispense free Bible-related literature. They are always within the boundary of the "free speech zone" (usually tightly wedged into the only shady spot). When I asked, they confirmed that this is the only area the college allows them to use.

I don't think it's a bad idea to restrict people from off campus to limited areas. Otherwise we would quickly be overrun by politicians, advertisers, hucksters, and all the other annoying characters who'd like to bombard us with messages about whatever it is they're selling. But I don't care much for the way this area is labeled. And I like even less the way this kind of area is being used by government agencies and political parties. I am old enough to remember when the entire United States was considered a free speech zone.

Graduation

Technically, I graduated in December, when I officially received my Associate’s degree in Italian. It took the school another four months to produce my diploma. I was cordially invited to attend today’s graduation ceremony, but I stayed home.