And you all know how much I love cake...

This fantabulous photo taken by Ashlyn Reagan is of the three finalists for the Pasadena birthday cake developed by Le Cordon Bleu.  Pasadena, California is celebrating its 125th birthday, and it's throwing a doozy of a party at the Pasadena Museum of History on June 11.

I thought my followers would enjoy reading a trilogy of four stories I wrote for Examiner about the whole cake business--the flavors in contention, the design, the making of.  And like Douglas Adams, I will probably add a couple more before it's done.

• Pasadena’s birthday cake: Vote on your favorite flavor May 6
• The 125-year taste test: Pasadena Museum of History puts the cakes to a vote
• Stupendous Pasadena 125th birthday cake design unveiled,flavor announced
• What goes into a 300-pound cake? Creating the cake forPasadena’s 125th birthday

Enjoy!  And come to the party for a taste.

St. Francis High School graduation, May 28

I covered the St. Francis High School Class of 2011 commencement ceremony for La Cañada Flintridge Patch.  It's an all-boys Catholic college preparatory school.  I got some neat interviews with some of the guys afterwards as well as the entire recessional.  No comment on my skills as a videographer, please!

Here are the links:
St. Francis High School Graduation (stills and the recessional)
Students Share the St. Francis Experience (six short interviews with graduates)

Survey Altadena responses to be posted today

Altadena Chamber of Commerce mounted an online survey for six months, from November 2010 through April 2011.  The results are in and will be posted today at www.surveyaltadena.com.  Do they truly reflect Altadena residents?  What do you think?

Read the whole story on altadenablog.

The Golden Poppy awards were given out by Altadena Heritage on Sunday, and I covered the story for Altadena Patch. It was a lovely afternoon for a garden tea at a historic 1909 home. Read "Celebrating Altadena Gardens with Golden Poppy Awards" for all the details.  The flower at the right is not a California golden poppy, which is our state flower, but a red oriental poppy.  Or perhaps Icelandic.  I only take pictures, I don't garden!

Art on Palm: Beautiful art in a beautiful setting...and so Altadena

Art on Palm is a semiannual art show and sale held in bucolic Wildwood Park hidden at the end of Palm Street in east Altadena.  Artists and artisans display work in a wide variety of media.  I was particulary entranced by the creations of Evan Chambers, some of which are pictured here.  His art ranges from steam punk metal works reminiscent of Captain Nemo and Baba Yaga to paper-thin stemware in iridescent colors. For pictures of all the artists, read Art on Palm Displays Works by Local Artists and Artisans on Altadena Patch.

When bears come a-knockin'...what in the heck do you do?

Randy Massaro of 

Union Members for the 

Preservation of Wildlife

 

Lt. Marty Wall shows 

how coyote rollers keep 

bears out of the yard

Tim Rutt at altadenablog has a knack for writing catchy headlines, so when he posted the story I wrote about how to handle bears that wander into residential areas, he titled it "Living with bruins: grin and bear it."

Now I'm sure you all know that he meant the ubiquitous black bear (which can range in color from blond to brown to black, and blonde if it's a female), but the same advice might apply to those with USC affiliations.

In either case, they're here to stay. Asm. Anthony Portantino called a town hall meeting to educate foothills folks about bears, and Lt. Marty Hall of the Department of Fish and Game gave tips and took lots of questions. Click on the link above to get the full story.

Last one!

My youngest child just graduated from Seaver College at Pepperdine on Saturday.  What an event!  Now all four have their bachelor's degrees.  I am so proud of their achievements.

Who says it's only hard to get little kids to hold still for a photo?  The family, left to right: Alex Babich, Ramona's husband; Ramona; Gabriel, who took two red-eyes to attend; Ashlyn Reagan, Alessandro's significant other; Carlos; Alessandro Luis Monteros; myself; Alessandro's dad Jerry; Jerry's wife Marnie.

Alessandro and Gabriel after the first Pepperdine Multicultural Graduation ceremony.

The Graduate himself.

What a beautiful day it was on Sunday, when Old Marengo Park was dedicated!  Taking a deserted, sandy triangle and turning it into a verdant garden that demonstrates the use of California native plants was an effort involving the entire community--Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, Altadena Heritage, in-kind donations from local businesses, and hundreds of volunteer hours. 

The land is owned by Los Angeles County, but the park is maintained by the neighbors and other volunteers.  For more on the story, read about it in Altadena Patch.