Rose with Rose Hips, Botanical Garden, San Francisco - August 31, 2014

My dear friend, Joanne Olivieri, blogger, writer, poet and photographer, among her

many talents, introduced me to the San Francisco Botanical Garden.  I had lived in

close proximity for over 20 years without having visited.  Now, far away in India, I

often look back at my pictures since, in this hot, humid climate, I, sometimes, long

for the flowers, foliage, and trees of the Bay area.  The Garden, however, hosts

beautiful specimens from all over the world.

For the Our Beautiful World theme this week, "Seeds," I chose this rose photo

I took at the Botanical Garden, complete with rose hips.  

According to Wikipedia, the rose hip, which is the fruit of the rose plant, begins

to form after successful pollination in spring or early summer and continues to

ripen through autumn.  You can see here that this flower is still being visited by

bees and the hips have grown quite large.

Rose hips are the seed pods of roses.  Roses can be propagated by removing

the seeds and sowing just under the surface of the soil.  They are slow to germinate

and this may take months.  They usually require a period of chilling.

Rose hips have many uses.  They are one of the richest sources of vitamin C.  

They are often used for teas, jams and jellies, other beverages.  Current trials are

being run for their use in treating various medical conditions.

Rose hips are best harvested after the first frost and, because the seeds have

hairy coverings, it is best that they be removed.

Because of their high vitamin C content, rose hips are often used in the treatment

of colds and flu.  They are often used in the treatment of stomach disorder, diarrhea,

constipation, ulcers and like conditions.  Much of the vitamin C content of rose hips

is lost during drying, processing and storage.

For more information on rose hips, refer to the links below.  Web MD, especially,

has good information on medications, including vitamins and supplements.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip

http://gardening.about.com/od/rose1/f/RoseHips.htm

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-839-ROSE%20HIP.aspx?activeIngredientId=839&activeIngredientName=ROSE%20HIP

I am participating in 

Our Beautiful World, Week 62, Seeds

Show us what makes your world beautiful.

Sundays in My City - Raksha Bandhan - August 10, 2014

from Bing Images, domain free

Spending so much time in India, I've had the pleasure of experiencing many

of its religious and cultural celebrations and holidays.  Raksha Bandhan is one

of my favorites and I wish we had a counterpart in the United States.  It is a Hindu

festival which celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters.  It

has also come to celebrate any such devoted relationship between men and 

women who are not related biologically.

Raksha Bandhan is an ancient festival, celebrated worldwide by Hindus, Jains,

and many Sikhs.   On the full moon day ( Shravan Poornima ), a sister ties a rakhi

( sacred thread ) around her brother's wrist, symbolizing her love for him.  She

offers prayers for his well-being and for his life-long vow to protect her.  The brother,

then, affirms his promise to protect his sister.  It is a festival which affirms family ties.

Preparations for Raksha Bandhan may begin well in advance.  Many sister weave

the rakhi for their brothers.  Some keep it simple with colorful string.  Others add

amulets and stones

This symbolizes the sister's love and prayers for her brother's well-being, and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her.^[10][11] The festival falls on the full moon day (Shravan Poornima) of the Shravan month of theHindu lunisolar calendar.^[12]

            

 Raki bracelets, Bing Images, Domain free

The ceremony, typically, is performed in the morning, in front of parents and other family, 

with a diya ( lighted candle ), rotated around the brother's face, while the sister prays. 

 After prayers, the sister applies a mark ( tilak ) to her brother's forehead.  Next, the

sister feeds the brother some sweets from a rahki tray.

                                             

There are many websites and resources available if you would like to know more

about this special Hindu festival.  It is one of my favorites.  

I am participating in Unknown Mami's

Sunday's in My City

How was your Sunday?  Let us know in this forum!

http://www.raksha-bandhan.com/ ( includes recipes, quotes, jokes and much information )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raksha_Bandhan

http://www.raksha-bandhan.com/

Sundays in My City - San Francisco Night Scenes - February 10, 2013

Lucky San Franciscans were able to see the fabulous Sony Holland and her 
extremely talented guitarist lyricist husband, Jerry Holland, both nights
this weekend at Café Divine. They are about the only reason, I would brave 
North Beach traffic.  I drove around for an hour Saturday night before, I finally 
found a parking spot. The area around Washington Square, the heart of San 
Francisco's Italian section, is full of wonderful eating spots and clubs and
Chinatown is just a few blocks away.

I always love the evening glow of Saints Peter and Paul Church, Coit Tower,
and the Transamerica Pyramid.  I do love India but this city captured my heart 
when I was 18 and it is still my favorite place on earth.

Coit Tower, atop telegraph Hill, was built in 1933, with the bequest of Lillie.

Hitchcock:Coit.  On January 29, 2008, it was named to the National Register 

of Historic Places.

Lillie Coit had a special relationship with San Francisco firefighters, from adolescence

onward and is, today, there matron saint.

The views from Coit Tower are incredible but, with accessibility only by one road,

there can be a very long wait to get to the top of Telegraph Hill.  Fortunately,

there are frequent buses.

Saints Peter and Paul Church, known as "the Italian cathedral of the West",

is a Roman Catholic church located in San Francisco's North Beach area.

Since it was consecrated, it has been the home church and cultural center

for San Francisco's Italian-American community. In recent years,, it has also 

become the home church for the city's Chinese-American community.  San

Francisco's Italian and Chinese sections border each other, providing a

wonderful glimpse of two cultures and incredible dining opportunities.

There were five bomb attacks against the church, in the course of one year,

from 1926 to 1927.  these were attributed to radical anti-Catholic anarchists.

Joe DiMaggio's first wedding was held here ( not the one to Marilyn Monroe )

and his funeral took place here.

When it was completed in 1972, the Transamerica Pyramid it was one of the five 

tallest buildings in the world.  It is still San Francisco's tallest skyscraper.  It is

no longer home to the headquarters of the Transamerica Corporation

I am participating in 

Sundays In My City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Peter_and_Paul_Church,_San_Francisco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transamerica_Pyramid

Macro Flowers Saturday - The Matilija Poppy - July 2, 2011

I first met this incredible flower, the largest variety of poppy, from the family
Papaveraceae, just last year ( I am sixty-six ), much to my dismay.  The only two
species in the genus Romneya are perennial shrubs, native to northern Mexico and
California.  It is reputed to be difficult to grow but, once they establish themselves,
they are hard to remove.  I don't see why anyone would want to rid themselves of these
lovely beauties, which have been nicknamed the "fried egg flower"!

According to Wikipedia, Matilijas prefer warm sunny soil with good drainage.  Another
interesting tidbit is that, in the wild, they are often called "fire followers" as they often can
be found in burned areas.  What a beautiful blossom to give hope after devastation!

The San Francisco Botanical Garden has a wonderful section with these beautiful
flowers as does the Marin Art and Garden Center.

I am participating in Macro Pictures Saturday - check out the site and add your own flowers

to join in the fun!

Camera Critters #129 - Great Egrets at The Palace of Fine Arts - September 25, 2010

Critters #129 -  Great Egrets at The Palace of Fine Arts - September 25, 2010

I've been living in the San Francisco area for over thirty-three years now and I've been

visiting the Palace of Fine Arts for that long.  It is a beautful structure that was built for

the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.  After the exposition ended, most of the buildings

were demolished but a Palace Preservation League fought to save the beautiful building

and columns of the Palace.  It is the scene of movies, weddings, and is a popular tourist

attraction.



Palace of Fine Arts from Wikipedia

I have always seen duck and seagulls, in large numbers, at the Palace but, when I was

there on Tuesday with my friends who were visiting from Minnesota and Chicago, I was

so suprised to see egrets in the lagoon for the first time.  They were so beautiful.



I am participating in Camera Critters - come join in the fun!

Mellow Yellow Monday #87 - Fishies - September 20, 2010

Mellow Yellow Monday #87 - Fishies - September 20, 2010

Fishies at the Atlantis Hotel Aquarium with bits of yellow on their tails

If you are vacationing in the Nassau - Paradise Island area and aren't at the Atlantis Hotel,

it is well worth a stop to see this resort which officially opened in 1997.  It was built by

South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner and Kerzner International Limited.  In 1003, its

"Bridge Suite" was ranked by Forbes as the most expensive hotel room in the world

but, of course, others have taken over that title.

There are mutlipe attractions at the Atlantis, not the least of which is their 141 acre

Aquaventure which opened in 2007.  According to Wikipedia, "The Dig is a series of aquariums located beneath the lobby of the Royal Towers and is the world's largest open air marine habitat. Hundreds of different aquatic species can be spotted in the Dig's various tanks such as angelfish, sharks, manta rays, one of which being larger than ten feet, and various types of jellyfish. The goal of The Dig is to provide guests with a taste of life in the legendary destroyed city of Atlantis. If one observes the bottom of the floors in the different aquariums, wreckagewreckage and debris will be scattered about representing the "Lost City of Atlantis."

I am participating in Mellow Yellow Monday - join in the fun!

"Y" is for Yesterday - Alphabe Thursday, July 8, 2010

"Y" is for Yesterday - Alphabe Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Beatles recorded "Yesterday" in 1965 as one of the songs on their album, "Help."

Wikipedia reports that "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written and "it

was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone."  No wonder it achieved the

status of best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners.  A year later, "Yesterday," was "voted the #1 Pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling 

Stone Magazine."  It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1997.

While "Yesterday" was attributed to being written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Paul McCartney is its sole author.

I would be surprised if there is anyone around today, except perhaps the youngest of children

who does not know this song. 

Here is a You Tube video of "Yesterday."  It certainly plunges me into nostalgia.

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday. Join in the fun!