Grasshopper

It's not unusual to find grasshoppers drowned in the pool, but this one saved itself by perching on a hose. The gray bird grasshopper (Schistocerca nitens) is native to the American southwest. We see a lot of them here this time of year. They appear in shades of gray or brown, and can be as much as three inches long. (This one was definitely that big.) They eat plants, but unlike some other species (including locusts) they do not form huge, destructive swarms. They fly rather awkwardly, sometimes crashing into people when they should be escaping.

Incineration

In the 1940s and 50s, it was typical for houses built in South California to have these back yard incinerators for burning household trash. Use of the incinerators was considered by many to be a major source of air pollution, although others believed that industry and automobiles were really to blame. By the end of the 1950s, use of the incinerators had been banned, and most were eventually hauled away, presumably to landfills. But a few remain, often forgotten behind a tool shed or in an overgrown corner of the yard. This one, in remarkably good condition, has been kept by the homeowner because her pet tortoise likes to sleep in it.

Eichler Homes

In the early 1960's, well-known real estate developer Joseph Eichler built a tract of around 100 houses in an area sometimes called Balboa Highlands, in Granada Hills. The principal architects were A. Quincy Jones and Frederick E. Emmons. Many owners have remodeled these midcentury homes, while others have preserved and restored the original style. This one on Nanette Street was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 848 in 2006.

Beware the Traffic Cam Trap

On a recent weekend, we took a drive out to "Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park". This park, at the south end of Reseda Blvd., has some great views of the valley, and offers paths and trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. It wasn't nearly as crowded as I would have expected on a Saturday with such pleasant weather, so we easily found a parking spot in the free zone. As it happened, I had forgotten to wear appropriate footwear, so we stuck to the easy paths and didn't stay long.

Imagine my husband's surprise a few days later when he received a traffic ticket in the mail. The notice claimed that we had failed to comply with a stop sign at the park. Normally we respect traffic regulations, and we couldn't even remember seeing a stop sign there, so this seemed very strange. But, sure enough, the videotape (conveniently available online) showed us rolling right through.

The stop sign in question is located several yards from the entrance to the park, at a point where there is no cross traffic, no pedestrian crossing, no gate, and no information booth or ranger station. I suspect that many people, like us, never even notice it, because they are focusing on the park entrance ahead of them (which would be a much more logical place to stop). This sign seems to have no real function other than to generate a little income (at $100 a pop) for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

This is a cautionary tale. Always keep an eye open for odd traffic signs in the parks, and always assume that Big Brother is watching.