I haven’t taken a huge amount of photos as I’m still learning my way around the camera. However, we did manage to go to Martinez on a bird hunt. We got lucky and there were a few birds we didn’t see last time. One nice thing about the camera though is that it seems to work well in low light and so it makes it easier to capture the pointy eared people. It also takes better action photos than the last one, so Pepi looks good in mid run.
Tito’s closeupMiss Jenny’s blue peepersTitanescu’s stinkeyeHere’s Pepi having a run.
As for the birds, here are a few. The fall migration is beginning to kick in, so we’ll try to make regular trips out there to what drops in to visit.
Teeny weeny itty bitty lizard. It was only about 3 inches long, including the tail.Black-necked stiltsNapping Black-necked stiltWestern Sandpipers
I was amazed to see a green heron fishing. The last time I saw one was in South Florida in 2001. The photo isn’t as good as I would like, but I’m happy to have seen it.
Green heron with a fish.Alhambra Creek flowing out to the Carquinez Strait.Footbridge over the creekLooking across the marsh with a sunken ship in the water.Sparrow on a bridgeOld boatSnowy egret hunting for supperFound it!Snowy egret posing nicely
While we’ll make regular trips out to the marsh, I’m hoping for a trip back up Diablo and another trip to a botanical garden. The weather has warmed up again though, so it might be a short wait.
Before I get to that, we wish to extend our sincerest condelences, hugs, and head bonks to the woman we refer to as Auntie Grace. Last week she lost her beloved doggie, Louise. Louise lived an amazing 17 and a half years with an equally amazing pet mum. I’m sure that Louise has reunited with Jake, but her loss is deeply felt. More hugs and bonks from the entire household.
For Louise
As to the camera, it gave up the ghost. I had taken well over 300,000 pictures with it. Along with the LCD screen going bad, the photo quality wasn’t good either. However, I now have a new camera and it blows the old one away. It takes great pics of the pointy eared people. Hopefully next week we’ll get outdoors and see what else it can do. I’ve been tired of only doing Caturday posts due to mostly cruddy pics. Lastech’s phone pics were better than the old camera. Of course, Lastech will still produce great pics as he has a great eye. The new camera works great in low light conditions, which is great for kitty and dog pics. For those curious, it’s a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300. A DSLR was simply not in the budget and I’m not sure I want to lug a heavy camera with a hyper dog on a leash. This camera isn’t small, but it weighs less than the bigger DSLRs.
Now for the pointy eared people and the floppy eared one. For the record, these pics are straight out of the camera with no adjustments made. I may have cropped one, but that’s all.
Tito looking a bit like a Vermeer paintingThe lovely Miss JennyGasp! Dare I say it? Titanescu is looking almost cute.Pepi taking a break from bird watching
Yes, it’s an anniversary. Last Labor Day weekend, Miss Pepita was found in a dumpster. We went back to the pier and picked her up that night. You can read her story here. Since then, she has made friends with Tito and Miss Jenny. Titanescu regards her as his personal punching bag and has her properly cowed. She and Tito play together. Miss Jenny merely sniffs noses with her. She also does it when Pepi is at the end of her leash so that she can dart away if she wants. We have since discovered that her biggest enemy is a plastic bag. Oddly enough, when I handle the bags indoors, she’s fine. If it’s outside, it’s a giant NOPE for her. She was laying at my feet earlier and heard a plastic grocery bag blow by outside. OMG! You would have thought it was a home invasion robbery. She never saw it. She just heard it and went all wonky and barky. Titanescu merely looked at her in disgust. Titanescu may not be celebrating this anniversary, but the rest of us are 🙂
Pepi’s dumpster
And here is our little dumpster doggie
Pepi, one year later
Now it’s time for the pointy-eared people to shine
The great and magnificently crabby Titanescu watching over his kingdomThe gallant and good-natured TitoThe lovely blue-eyed Miss Jenny
Just for something different, here’s an angry froggy
The cats are happy because the air conditioner has been off for a few days. The weather is cooler than average. From 109 a few weeks ago to 70s and low 80s now. Go figure. I don’t mind at all. Anyhow, the cats are glued to the windows and the floor by the screen door. We’re all happy with the change.
Speaking of the pointy-eared people…
Tito keeping me companyMiss Jenny doing a pin-up poseHappy Titan hogging the sunbeam
The goofy mutt? We were off at the arboretum when she suddenly went nuts snarling and growling.
Note the raised hackles
What was she snarling at? Why, the enemy of course.
Yeah, seriously. This is what she was growling and snarling at.
After that, we took her home because we wanted to go to the shoreline and pooches aren’t permitted. Once we got to the shoreline, we saw plenty of birds putting on a funny performance.
Night timeDaytimeTwinkle toes
There were three beautiful white pelicans that landed on the water to feed.
White pelicans
They provided plenty of entertainment. I’ve put the pelicans and other birds in a slideshow that includes a lovely white swan butt.
As a parting note, I’m sure you remember us describing how Titanescu bangs and scratches on the wood paneling or tv box. Well, here’s the raccoon version.
Rest assured, I love Titanescu, but he’s a jerk. When he’s not giving me the stinkeye or slapping the wall, he’s a bitey, grouchy jerk. Today he decided to start getting my attention to feed him…three hours before his dinnertime. It went like this:
Titanescu: I’m going to walk on your laptop
Me: No you are not going to walk my laptop
Titanescu: Yes, I’m going to walk your laptop
Me: No you are not going to walk my laptop
Repeat a dozen more times
Me: Puts arm in front of him to keep him off the laptop
Titanescu: I’m going to bite your arm
Me: Go ahead
Titanescu: CHOMP!
Me: That didn’t hurt. You only pushed with your teeth
Titanescu: Ok. I’m going to walk your laptop
Me: You’re a jerk
Titanescu: Yes, I’m a jerk and I’m going to walk on your laptop after I bite your arm again
Me: You’re still being a jerk and NO! I’m not going to feed you.
Titanescu: I’ll bite your arm, hiss my foul breath into your face and then I’ll walk on your laptop
Me: sigh
I had to deal with three hours of his highness being a jerk.
Here’s Tito. Tito wasn’t a jerk. He was a sweetie.Miss Jenny waking from a nap.Titanescu giving me the stinkeye from his sunbeamPepi decided that she didn’t like the air conditioner and covered herself with a blanket.
I saw this video and laughed, trying to imagine Titanescu being that patient.
Those who know me know I complain about phone zombies. Trust Ikea to come up with a wonderful commercial.
Pepi decided that today was pirate day. Every time Lastech would move, she would say aarrrrrr and leap at him. Then after he went to work and I grabbed up the evil monster known as the vacuum, she yelled “aarrrrrr” every few seconds and tried to attack it. The only thing missing from her pirate imitation was the eyepatch. Otherwise, she had it nailed. Miss Jenny and Tito said %$#& this noise and hid under the sofa. Titan watched with disdain. He does not fear the evil vacuum.
Here are the pointy eared people.
This pic is a rerun as Tito just didn’t cooperate this week.Miss Jenny waking up from a napTitanescu owning his sunbeam
I haven’t forgotten Pepita the pirate
Aaarrrrrr!
I finally gathered a few nature photos from recent journeys. Lastech managed to get two lovely pics of Karl the Fog over the bay.
Late afternoon fogFog and birds
He also got a cool pic of a rock.
Just a cool rock
When the heatwave broke and the weather improved, we went to Martinez, which is a few miles North of us on the Carquinez Strait. The strait is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the bay. We wandered around the trails where Alhambra Creek runs to the strait. The tide was up and it was beautiful out.
The world has gone mad and the tragedies continue. I’m getting to the point I don’t even want to turn on the computer. We have no cable, so the computer is how I get the news. Nice is where Lastech was born. He grew up in Antibes, which is only 15 miles away. He spent a lot of time where the truck driver ended the lives of so many. I’m trying to maintain my sense of humor as it’s a survival skill, but it’s getting tough. The world gets more mad by the day.
Thankfully, we have the furkids.
Tito loves his towelMiss Jenny looking like a pinup girlTitanescu basking in the windowPepi: I can haz cookie?
Happy Pepi running. Zoom zoom. The world has gone mad, but she still loves to run.
And because we really really really need to watch these hungry kittens.
Yes, a diversion is needed. The news has gone from bad to worse and we’re bombarded on all sides. Through all of this, we need momentary diversion and time to recharge the brain. I know that’s true for me, at any rate. This is our wee bit of diversion before doing whatever we can to affect change in our world.
Friday, Lastech made it to work even though traffic was snarled a bit. A semi truck caught fire and closed a freeway connector in an area he had to traverse to get to the bridge. It wasn’t too awful, but it was a tad messy. A few years ago, a truck fire weakened the steel and concrete structure enough that it collapsed. This past Friday the connector was closed from 1:30 pm until 11:30 pm. Fate smiled upon him. Yesterday, he left for work just in time. If he had left just a few minutes later, he would have hit a protest that shut down his off-ramp. This is the Bay Area, after all and stuff happens. Fate smiled upon him again. Not sure if three times will be a go or not. 🙂
No mattress yet. I knew there would be a delay as I ordered it on the Fourth of July weekend, so I’ll be patient. I do look forward to the email notifying me that it shipped though. I won’t worry until at least Tuesday. This company is not a fly-by-night type and came recommended by a friend, so I’m not worried on that score.
Lastech worked on the Fourth of July as the crowds were expected to be huge. There were no problems, thought Karl the Fog made every attempt to eat the fireworks. This year, the company providing the display arranged for it to be much closer to the ground. It was good. In previous years, people turned out to watch pretty colored clouds instead of the fireworks. It’s the season of fog, after all.
Even with Karl the Fog present, the display was still nice
And then there was a bee
The bee
Now it’s time for the pointy-eared and droopy-eared ones to shine.
Tito lounging in the corner of the dinetteTitanescu napping next to meMiss Jenny gets cold when the A/C is on. She burrows under the blanketsMiss Jenny’s pawHappy Pepi having a bit of a run
It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to a man who gave voice to the Holocaust. I’ve read his books and “Night” was required reading in many schools. He will be greatly missed.
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented ~ from Night by Elie Weisel (1928 – 2016)
Things are moving along over here in sunny Concord. It feels like summer, though the temps aren’t too bad this week. I’m able to turn off the A/C at night, which is nice. Our lovely stereo suddenly quit working. I don’t think it will be hard to fix, but I have to go pick up a tool in order to do the job. I’ll do that on Tuesday, when we have time. We’re also waiting on our latest, much needed item. We ordered a new mattress. The ones that come with most RVs are really crappy. We’re replacing it with a much better gel foam mattress. Hooray for comfort.
As for the beasties, they are snoozing all over the trailer today. It’s warm inside as I didn’t feel like turning on the A/C. It’s not too warm though, so they’re enjoying it.
Tito looking sweet and innocent. He had just finished his daily dinette shredding.Miss Jenny lounging in the cornerTitanescu, master of the stinkeyePepi napping near a sunbeam
It’s certainly fire season and it’s probably going to be a really bad one. The drought and bark beetles have killed millions of trees and the rains promoted a lot of grass growth. The grasses are now dry and highly flammable. There have been multiple fires in CA and the rest of the Southwest, but the fire at Lake Isabella has already taken lives and burned an area bigger than the city of San Francisco. Some of the photos at that link are as beautiful as they are horrifying. As I type, I’m listening to Con Fire battling a grass fire over by Hwy 4. While the pointy eared people and the floppy eared one are in no danger, the fires are worrisome.
Speaking of the furry ones…
TitoTitanescu says WTF wazzat?Miss Jenny, the beautifulPepita, the orange barky one
Theo Jansen and his travelling exhibition is at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. I hope we can go see it before it goes away.
