What’s with the lotuses?
[couldn't get a photo while driving so I borrowed this awesome one from RockInsider.com]
The 30th Lotus Festival is a mere two weeks away, yet I drove by Echo Park Lake today and the lotuses are occupying about 25% of their usual space.
A few are blooming - maybe a dozen - but that’s nothing compared to the usual population of that entire end of the lake.
Anybody know what gives?
More info on Lotus Festival:
Friday, July 13, 2007 - 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
(Fireworks at 9:00 p.m.)
Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m.
(Fireworks at 9:00 p.m.)
Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m.
(Dates coincide with the anticipated blooming of the Lotus Flower but plenty are already blooming)
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Same thing happened last year too. There were *maybe* three or four flowers, and that was it, during the festival. Looks like the same thing may be happening again this year.
Probably the lack of any rain whatsoever this year.
Or maybe the lake is getting polluted.
Phew - at first glance I thought this post was titled, “Whats with the locusts?”
On the contrary Mike; while the lotuses were late in blooming last year, the lagoon was chock full of ‘em. This year’s crop is a drastic reduction.
And Ben’s gotta be kidding about the lack of rain, right? The things live in a water supply whose level remains constant be it drought or deluge. The water’s quality might be a factor but not the level of precipitation.
you’re right, Will — I misunderstood and thought Ruth666 was referring to the late bloom. I haven’t been by Echo Park lately to see if there are simply fewer lotuses (loti?) all together…
Last year’s late bloom was supposedly caused by a cooler than usual spring. This year’s condition is entirely different (as noted above): far less overall vegetation than normal.
My suspicions run to something in the water or a problem with the harvest of dead vegetation after last season.
The blooming’s right on schedule - no different than any other year - but reduction in the number of plants is drastic.