Wednesday was cold and grey at the beach, typical for winter in San Francisco.
Aside from a few people fishing and a couple of dog walkers, I was alone. To my great delight, I discovered a beautiful little splash of color. To the person who created this, I thank you..!
I was suddenly reminded by a Facebook friend that I had these photos. The only thing they have in common is that they were taken on the same day in Golden Gate Park and involved water.
The American Coot has very cool feet
Today we want to celebrate our return from the dreaded 403 error code to wish our favorite blogger Nekoneko (aka Catgirl) a very wonderful and happy birthday. She has the great movie review site, Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox where she reviews horror films from all over the world. Be sure to give her site a visit.
With special thanks to Cheezburger…
Happy New Year!
Now is the time to take a minute and look back on this past year, and the ways it affected the JBoD microcosm.
We spent much of 2012 watching sunsets and wildlife (fins!) from local beaches, but in April, we chose to visit the neighboring hill known as Bernalwood where stunning California poppies in full bloom awaited. On another more recent trip, amazing clouds treated us to an ‘air show’…
In May, we finally managed a trip to see the California Academy of Sciences. The albino alligator named Claude is a real beauty.
I took a lot of photos, so it’s in four parts. One, two, three and four.
In May, our glorious Golden Gate Bridge turned 75 years old. I’ve lived here for ten years and I never get tired of seeing her.
In June, a contractor working a few doors down from our home base cut into a gas line, resulting in a gas explosion and fire. Purely by chance, prevailing winds minimized the spread of the damage, a very good thing considering how long it took to shut off the gas. The kind of scene best left in movies, not real life. The Pointy Eared people weren’t amused…
Then in July, we lost our sweet, comical tyrannical food thief Kitsy to FIP. It was sudden and awful and I still haven’t been able to write a proper post for him. As for Lastech, he is still coming to terms with the possibility that the virus which took him might have been introduced by Miss Jenny. So little is known about FIP and no test being available, it remains a painful mystery.
In August, we went to the park on a foggy morning and came across some wildlife with a pissy attitude.
In September, Miss Nightshade Jenny brought me a most bizarre gift.
Later in September, we got to see the Space Shuttle Endeavor fly over the Golden Gate Bridge. Incredible!
In November, we went to the Japanese Tea Garden and Arboretum for a bit of zen. We wound up having a wonderful surprising encounter with a hawk.
A week or so later, we went exploring the Coastal Trail near the Golden Gate Bridge. We encountered another hawk, a couple of hummingbirds, a slug and a wonderful sunset.
We finished off the year by exploring the cliffs around Battery Mendell, a coastal battery that was built before WWI.
That was our 2012 for the most part. Some was good and some was bad. Hopefully, 2013 will be an even better year.
Happy New Year from JBoD
Rudha-an, Lastech, Tito, and Miss Nightshade Jenny
It’s not raining right now. It’s an amazing thing. While we were safe enough, there were floods and rock slides and trees falling all over. It was a mess, to say the least. We had horizontal rain and hail thanks to high winds. Tito was NOT amused and spent a lot of time hiding as a result. He’s happier now.
Our thanks to Cheezburger.com for this one.
We’re not doing anything exciting for Christmas. We picked up a leg of lamb and some fancy taters. With luck, Miss Jenny won’t be able to steal one and bring it to bed like the last time. We might go off to the park or the beach for a good walk though. 🙂
I would like to apologize for not posting lately. I’ve been doing some major maintenance on the blog (behind the scenes). I should have it all tidied up soon.
It has been raining and raining here. I don’t mind. As you can see here, it makes our hills a very pretty shade of green.
Here are the beasties.
Here are our two “angel” kitties.
And now for the recipe. I love pumpkin bread, but most times I find it dry and mealy. This recipe is NOT dry. It’s moist and wonderful. My mom and dad have made it for years.
Mom and Dad’s Pumpkin Bread
5 cups pumpkin (1 large and 1 small can)
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts
5 cups flour
Mix all the ingredients well. Makes 2 large bread loaves, or up to ten smaller loaves. Bake at 350 for 1 hr. and 5 minutes. May take longer. Bread is done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
We always greased the pans and sprinkled them with sugar (rather than flour). We also sprinkled a bit of sugar on top as it made the top crunchy.
Obviously, this is NOT diet food. 🙂
This is why we do NOT have a Christmas tree in the apartment.
It’s cold, rainy and a good day to stay indoors. Tito and Jenny have spent most of the day snoozing.
Here’s the reason we don’t have a Christmas tree. This video is brought to you by rathergood.com
Tuesday, we found ourselves between storms and there were big puffy clouds over San Francisco, so off we went. Bernal Hill aka Bernalwood was our destination.
We decided to go out and play again on Friday afternoon. The Marin Headlands are full of coastal batteries. Most were placed as a result of WWII, but some, like Battery Mendell were built before WWI. Old and dilapidated, they are both an eyesore and a thing of beauty. No longer owned by the military, they are now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).
Continue reading “Coastal Batteries: Mendell, you are there”
No, I am NOT a Trekkie. The proper term is Trekker, thank you. That said, the playtime of Tito and Miss Jenny bears a close resemblance to Klingon foreplay. Pon farr? Not so much. Be aware, Tito is neutered and Miss Jenny is spayed. We are responsible kitty people. I figure that whoever wrote about the Klingons and their sex life had to have had a fascination with cats, big and small.
After the playtime and violence that occurs, this is the result.
Miss Jenny, as an orphan did not have a jinaq. Tito didn’t mind.
Ok, here’s a bit of humorous Christmas music. It may not be safe for work, so beware. This is brought to you by rathergoodstuff at Youtube.
