It's a Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood

Hi guys :D I'm pretty bored, nocturnal, studying the lac operon for the MCAT, listening to Glee soundtrack. While my mom and I were taking Lucky, my golden retriever out for a walk around the neighborhood last week, I brought along my camera to snap some shots of cool flora for a little Walkabout San Diego.

I learned that:

1. There is some WEIRD stuff out there. You can pretty much drop anything down on the ground and it will grow a plethora of oddness. I am one of those people that shrivel and die in homogeneity, so I thrive for diversity in my local plants too so sue me (Okay don't. That wouldn't be very nice).

2. Lizards are everywhere! They're so cool :D

3. My camera is pretty darn awesome at picking up colour. Oh the things in life that make me happy.

4. Sidewalks are very difficult to walk on if you live someplace mountainous. Which I do. Odd, eh? San Diego local forecasts report 3 places: oceanside, mountain, desert, all within 30 minutes of where I live. The main divider to tell if you're going to have a wildfire or not is a major highway. Another oddity. And Mexico is right there. It's kind of weird thinking that you're a leisurely drive away from another country.

Cactaurs! (Shoutout to all my fellow Final Fantasy fans out there)

Cacti come in all shapes and sizes. I think my favourite are actually the big juicy round ones that grow by the side of the road. Here's your prototypical one. Looks way better than the bug-eaten dried up ones I found pretty much the entire way from Arizona to here.

 

Fuzzy cactaur, anyone? My mom said that it's a baby cactus with baby fuzz - it hasn't earned its spikes yet fu fu fu. I'm not sure about that though. Kind of creepy

 

 Looks like a fuzzy alien plant

This plant looks like death. So random and omnious looking! I didn't feel the texture but it looks kind of waxy

This tree looks fake. Seriously, doesn't it? Like a badly made Christmas tree. Oddly enough it's real and I think there's one currently growing on the side of the road ... looks like a giant spiky plant with weird furls coming out of it. Like some alien deranged palm o_o

Bird of Paradise. I like this plant. It's so interesting. Can you tell that it's shaped like a bird's head with the beak and everything? There are prettier ones at Balboa Park. I will definitely snap away like a crazed tourist next time I'm there : )

Last but not least, some critters! Here is Lucky, my puppy boy. I still call him that even though he is 10 years old omigah. Still cute as a button!

Lizard! With a healing tail, apparently. I super zoomed this pic to avoid the sneaky little thing running off again. They're cute and tiny in reality. Oh mannn this makes me want to go to the zoo! I really miss The Toledo Zoo. I still remember when I was little my parents took my brother and me to the reptile house and my brother, about 2 years old at the time, showed a huge iguana who's boss by throwing its tail over the side of the walkway to clear room for us. He thought reptiles shouldn't be exempt from common courtesy of sharing the road with human visitors xD ahahaha! Don't worry. No animals were hurt in the making of this precious story. I miss open zoos, where the animals wander about. I don't like seeing them caged up in tanks and stuff : (

Are there any interesting flora and fauna in your neighborhood? You should take your camera with you and go exploring!