The story of Elizabeth Lake

It dawned on me that most people don't know where Elizabeth Lake is, nor doing they know anything about it. So I decided to create a new category called "The story of..." A photo-journalistic approach in introducing Elizabeth Lake to the world, if you will.

This next, brief historical account is taken from Wikipedia...so read with a discerning eye.

"Elizabeth Lake is in the Antelope Valley, surrounded by rolling golden hills. It once straddled the boundary of the Tataviam and Kittanemuk tribes. The Tataviam may have called the lake Kivarum.

In 1780, Father Junipero Serra named the lake La Laguna de Diablo. The lake earned the name La Laguna de Diablo because all those who lived by it believed it to contain the devil's pet, also known as the Elizabeth Lake Monster. Sometime after 1834, the lake was named Rabbitt for a very short time. Then it became La Laguna de Chico Lopez.

In 1849, Elizabeth Wingfield was camping with her family beside the lake. She walked down a log which extended into the water to fill buckets for cooking and drinking. Elizabeth slipped off the log and fell into the lake. Although she wasn't injured, several other families also vacationing, witnessed her stumble. In fun they began calling the lake Elizabeth's Lake. The name caught on and locals started calling it Elizabeth Lake. The name didn't become official until much later. It is now sometimes incorrectly referred to as Lake Elizabeth since the local golf course and the community sign project have mislabeled their welcome signs causing much confusion.

In 1924, Judge Hughes separated the western part of Elizabeth Lake to create a recreation resort area. This part of Elizabeth Lake was renamed Lake Hughes."

Pictured above is the sign, newly erected last year, welcoming visitors to Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake. I will have more for you later.

I need a vacation

It is way too early to be talking about vacations, but I need one none-the-less. I think Jack Nicholson said it best..."All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." I work too much, I try to do too much and it's beginning to wear thin on me.

I would love to go on an Alaskan cruise and go kayaking in the crisp cool waters. Or maybe walking down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées drinking incredibly rich hot chocolate. Yet again, how about exploring somewhere new and exciting: Sub-Saharan Africa, Glacial Greenland or traipsing through the rain forests of Madagascar?

Ah well so much for dreaming, back to the grind...

Other signs of spring

Poppies! The poppies are coming!







Now that's nesting shesh!

My little garden

I was inspired by the recent poppy explosion to get some gardening in this weekend.

On a recent trip to Costco, Kim and I purchased a new tumbling composter. With a lot of elbow grease and some ingenuity, we finally got that pain in the butt assembled. This will make composting a snap. When that was all said and done, I decided to plant scallions, cucumbers, carrots and romaine lettuce from seed. I threw in one more sweet basil plant for good measure. I'll have to wait to see what grows, so to speak, but I'm sure something will pop up. I'm officially sore and tired, but I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment after digging in the dirt.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]