We had a busy day, today. After attending the Mass of the Holy Sacrament (virtual via satellite TV), we went to target practice, then took a drive, came home, cleaned the guns and prepared Easter dinner.
This picture has nothing to do with that, but I wanted to put something on about Easter Sunday.
Which part of the chocolate bunnies do you eat first?
Today, after shopping, we drove to Point Vicente and stopped at the L.A. County fishing access. Parking for the access is on Palos Verdes Drive South just around the bend from the lighthouse. There is a path that leads to the rocky beach area, where you can fish or look in the tide pools. It is a little steep and you should wear sturdy non-slip shoes. The hike is worth it, however, to get close to the surf and enjoy the wildflowers along the way. This a photo of the rocky beach and the offshore rock formations.
Today’s heart-healthy meal is stir-fry chicken. Broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, water chestnuts, spinach, coriander, savoy cabbage and zucchini with chicken medallions topped with scallions. This was very tasty. Not seen in the photo, but enjoyed very much is a TsingTao on the side.
Here are some comments from a couple of folks after oral arguments in the landmark second amendment D.C. vs. Heller case before the Supreme Court earlier this week. The case is a challenge by the District of Columbia to overturn a ruling by a federal court that their total ban on handgun ownership is unconstitutional.
NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre was in attendance:
I was at the Supreme Court [Tuesday], and based on what I heard, I have every expectation that the Court will soon restore the Second Amendment to the District of Columbia.
Everything I saw in court shows the District’s ban on functional firearms is out of sync with American history. The arguments today clearly indicated the Second Amendment is an individual, and not a collective, right. The District’s attorneys spent their time swimming upstream against the U.S. Constitution.
Alan Gura, attorney for Heller et al, made these comments in response to criticism about his remarks regarding continuing the ban on machine guns:
The solution to 922(o) will have to be political in the end. The fact is, outside the gun community, the concept of privately owned machine guns is intolerable to American society and 100% of all federal judges. If I had suggested in any way — including, by being evasive and indirect and fudging the answer — that machine guns are the next case and this is the path to dumping 922(o) — I’d have instantly lost all 9 justices. Even Scalia. There wasn’t any question of that, at all, going in, and it was confirmed in unmistakable fashion when I stood there a few feet from the justices and heard and saw how they related to machine guns. It was not just my opinion, but one uniformly held by ALL the attorneys with whom we bounced ideas off, some of them exceedingly bright people. Ditto for the people who wanted me to declare an absolute right, like I’m there to waive some sort of GOA bumper sticker. That’s a good way to lose, too, and look like a moron in the process.
I think Heller got himself a pretty good attorney.
Finally, there is this viewpoint shared by anti-second amendment gun haters:
It looks like the no-gunners are running scared.
It’s that time of the year when these brilliant Kaffir Lilies are seen all over the area. We’re no exception, since we got this one last year at the local shrubbery emporium.
The popular herb Rosemary is also commonly used as a decorative shrub and as topiary. It is native to the Mediterranean but also does well in Southern California. The Rosemary name has nothing to do with Rose or Mary – it comes from the Latin name for the shrub which literally means ‘dew of the sea.’ Rosemary has a reputation as a remedy for various ailments and is said to improve memory.
We have several bushes in the back yard which give us a year-round supply of the herb for the kitchen and other culinary uses – we use the thicker woody stems as skewers for shish-kebabs. Sometimes we will throw some Rosemary stems in the barbecue to add flavor to grilled chicken, pork or beef.
If you look closely at the little blue flowers, you will see a very pretty pattern that resembles an iris or similar flower. Of course, the bees are attracted to the flowers too as seen in the image above.
Click on the image below for a very big picture.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi, EF-S 18-55mm, f3.5-5.6 zoom lens.
Bear celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by briefly posing with this shamrock headgear. I say briefly because each time I put this on her, she would quickly manage to get it off.
