Just realized I missed posting Friday’s photo.
This is one of the ground squirrels who lives under our deck. We’ve taken to feeding them Dodger’s leftovers in an attempt to keep them out of the bird feeders.
The reason we call him Hoover should be apparent.
I posted a different photo for this day, but I was looking back, and I really liked this. These two guys were enjoying the afternoon outside of the coffee house. Amazing dreds.
I have this feeling I should know their names.
Not that we saw her or anything, when we pressed our lenses through the fence above Shambala, her animal preseve, but she’s still doing press releases and is performing in an upcoming spoof of The Birds…with Suzanne Pleshette, no less. I was only concerned about this because some one on the train said that Tippi was dead.
We were astonished that our little Kodak digitals got such great shots, all the way from the road above the preserve. This photo isn't cropped, and we were about 100 yards from this fellow. Shambala is only about 5 miles from our house. We must make reservations and take the tour from ground level. Check it out for yourself at www.shambala.org
Okay, here's another thing I heard on the train, but I don't know if it's true. A guy said that the mansion pictured below (taken from Vasquez Rocks--D and I went on Saturday) is owned by Justin Timberlake. He said he knew this because his friend owns the company that installed the copper tubing underneath the driveway...to heat the driveway in case of snow! This is one long driveway, folks.
I stopped on the way home last night and hiked around Vasquez Rocks for about an hour. This park is only about 15 minutes from my house, and I drive right by it every day.
It was overcast and cool yesterday. Really nice hiking weather. I explored for an hour, climbing up high, following trails marked only by the wildflowers that have filled in during the spring rains, cutting between boulders to get back to the parking lot. It's easy to get your bearings because all the rocks point in the same direction. There was some crazy earthquake action here back in the day.
Hiking like this, where there are lots of little side trails and places to go right over the rocks, is good for your mind as well as your body. The time really flew because there was always some new perspective to enjoy.
D and I are planning to go back Saturday morning. He has to see how the green and the flowers. The last time we hiked there it was about 107 degrees and we were pretty beat by the time we finished.
Innocent erosion or weird scary monster footprint? You decide.
Oh, and yes. This is where Kirk fought the Gorm, for all you old school Trekkies out there. (Screen capture is from the Internet, of course!)
One of the coolest production gifts I’ve ever received. I’m already in love with my new toy!I downloaded Bookworm and The Business podcasts from KCRW and listened to interviews with Kurt Vonnegut, Octavia Butler, and Ron Howard on my commmute.
And then! I was able to use the voice recorder function to make note of a thought I had about the book.
As I got out of my car in the morning, ready for a long day of work and then writing group dinner, I noted that I was packing an MP3 player, a cell phone, my laptop computer and my digital camera.
Did I mention that I like tech toys!?
Some of you may have had your fill of flower pix, but I have to explain. I never cared that much about them either until I bought a house with some flowers in the yard. They just pop up! At some point, boom there they are!
There are about a dozen mini roses in each of these little clumps.
This last shot is to give an idea of the scope of the plant. There are also a lot of shorter branches off to the left that haven't bloomed yet. They get more shade, I guess.
Never heard this term before, but it sure applied today. This morning it was fairly clear where I live, but then I dropped down into the fog.
Jeez, look at that skid mark. What do you suppose that jerk was doing?
Um. Taking photographs?
A real live person. Possibly an illegal immigrant. A human being who deserves to be treated decently on the job, which means simple things like being provided with water to drink, a place to take a break out of the sun, a reasonable workday length and toilet facilities.
It seems like documenting immigrant farm workers would make them less vulnerable to unscrupulous employers. We should be watching the employers and demanding that they treat workers in the way any of us would want our kids to be treated if they were hired.
The situation is what it is because we’ve allowed it to continue. I think it’s a good thing that we’re talking about finding solutions.
I have to say, though, that my Day Without an Immigrant involved significantly less traffic. An unitentional side effect.
Traffic was light this morning. What tha?
So I stopped at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf a few blocks from where I work to refresh my supply of their Chai and Carnival Mate.
The counter guy was very friendly. Impressed that I stopped there even though I work above Priscilla’s Coffee House and across from a Starbucks. CBTL has good loose leaf teas. Starbucks and Priscilla’s only carry Tazo in bags.
I did buy a rare cuppa Joe this morning. Mmm. Smooth rich slightly bitter dark roast.
Hmm… I took this for a weekly challenge (this week: photographing body parts), but I didn’t use this one. And it turned out to be the only other one I took yesterday!
I left work early and got home in time to write for about an hour. I really don’t ask a lot of my life, but time to write is really crucial.
Maybe this photo is of me asking for a little help from the universe in getting through this endless, sometimes soul crushing rewriting process. Writing is voluntary manic depression. You have these incredible highs and lows as faith in your story and your ability to tell it waxes and wanes.
Does that count as something I learned today? I didn’t know it yesterday.
I was invited to the Commander in Chief wrap party. Whoo hoo! D and I are going. It would be fun to see any of the major cast members. Whoo hoo!
Remember, I was born in a place called Bug Island.
I went to Papoo’s to write between work and my writing group. The waitress there is really great. She lets me (or me and MGS) sit in the closed section where it’s quieter.
That’s my car, POTUS, waiting for me to come out. She’s very patient.
According to the Urban Dictionary, an Emo Kid, is a kid who “rejects the ‘pop culture’ and joins the counter-culture realm.” Apparently this term has been around since the '80s. And it's derived from emo music which dates to the same era. I guess I just have to admit that there are some things I missed out on.
...was the only U.S. President who was not elected either vice president or president. He was appointed VP after Spiro Agnew left office and became president when Nixon resigned.
Huh.
Family gathered in celebration of the lovely Aunt M’s 95th birthday. Cousin S found this hat at Disneyland and, truly, it needed to be at this party.
My husband commented that he felt that his family was shrinking terribly when his only brother passed away this spring, but that it’s actually gotten bigger because we’re in better contact with his witty, smart cousins and their husbands. Another of life’s welcome surprises.
