Yes, it’s Caturday and I’m surprised I even have some pictures to post. Given the fact that we are reducing the amount of “stuff” in the apartment and getting rid of furniture too, it’s hard to get nice pics of the kitties. The bookcases are mostly empty with the books either donated or packed away. I have boxes everywhere. I’m making great headway though. 🙂 I’m going to add some sunrise pics to the mix today as I’m still working on the Alcatraz post.
Soooooooo, since it’s Caturday, here are the pointy eared people. Hopefully none of the these are repeats.
The amazing Miss JennyTitanescu on the doll bedTito with his mousie toySleeping beauties
Now for a few sunrise pics. We went out to Aquatic Park and it turned out to be a rather nice morning. I used the Canon and got the vivid orange photos. Lastech used his phone and got the more delicate colors. As before, I really love both.
View of the Transamerica building from a hilltop by Rudha-anCloseup of Coit Tower by Rudha-anCoit Tower by Rudha-anCoit, bird and boat by Rudha-anPastels by LastechShip by LastechMore pastels by Lastech
We managed to sneak out twice this last week for sunrise. I took too many pics for one post, so I’ll break it down. I’ve got sunrise pics, birdie pics along with a bunch of duck butts. Today will just be the first sunrise morning. I took my Canon and Lastech used his phone. It’s fun to see the drastic differences in photos. The Canon grabbed the reds and oranges, while the phone accented the blues and more delicate hues. I love both.
For our Tuesday morning trek, we went down to China Basin to the pier right next to AT&T Park. We hadn’t gone there for photos before, so it was all new to us. We had driven past, but never had the opportunity to stop. Of course, we avoid that area during baseball season as it’s a traffic nightmare. It was beautiful that morning.
I’m going to mix the photos up, but I’ll mark mine and Lastech’s. You will see the difference though.
As for the rain, we have it. It’s very windy as well, so there are trees falling all over the place. There are power outages everywhere. I won’t complain. We need the rain too desperately.
China Basin, the home of AT&T Park by Rudha-anThe statue, by LastechMcCovey Cove by Rudha-anMcCovey Cove by LastechPelicans over the bay by Rudha-anThe bay by LastechPelicans by Rudha-anThe camera was NOT happy when I aimed it at the sun. It got even and gave me this. It’s a pigeon.Lastech’s photo of the pigeon came out much better.
A taciturn cypher like Lee Marvin or Jean Gabin, ‘Scu romps through the apartment like an early 70’s Pontiac with a big inch motor and skinny tires, with lots of noise and little traction. Skid-skid-skid-BAM!
And no brakes to speak of. Even the other two are just spectators, turning to us just to make sure we saw it too. Entertaining? You bet.
Yeah, but he’s dangerous all right. Tito’s found out more than once that trying to wrap a paw around Titanescu’s shoulders and trying to lick him forcefully results in a quick smack down, jiu-jitsu-like, with the old cat towering over him. There’s no viciousness though, just a quick throw down and they move on.
But even when he tries to snuggle up to the humans, the magnificent bastard is full of peril.
Partly because he likes to stretch and his claws come out as a result, Wolverine-like.
So I was getting texts at work last Sunday from Rhuda-an, lurid descriptions about severe pain on one side of her face. Talking about a possible trip to the Emergency Room, even. Something about a fat lip following a puncture.
One thing about Titanescu enjoying naps on his humans is that he sometimes will accidentally stick a claw in tender flesh. Another thing is that… Well, he’s a bit nasty. I guess that’s why Tito tries to bathe him occasionally, and he deserves mucho praise for his hygienic efforts.
Because frankly, there is no way I would ever try and bathe the Ancient One: I need my fingers and I only have one face. He could alter the course of my existence in one swipe. People just have no idea, none, about how strong he is.
But. he also is not the daintiest cat, very far from it. So when that claw went into her lip on what we guess must have been Saturday or possibly Friday, she made the oh-so-sorry mistake of waiting for it to hurt before deploying Peroxide and Neosporin.
What do I tell people at work when they ask how was my weekend? Oh, I watched a movie, pretty sure it was “Apocalypse Now”, but I think it had Edward Scissorhands in it.
Uh-huh… Yeah.
Rudha-an here. After seeing a doc and getting a scrip for an antiobiotic, my face and lip are slowly returning to normal.
I have been trying to sort some pics from our last walk in the rain and I finally got it done. Here they are. We played around with different settings on our phone (Samsung S3), which will explain why there are two pics of the bridge, etc.
Bay Bridge by Rudha-anHeavy Drizzle by LastechSan Francisco Belle by LastechThe Dock by Lastech
From the pier, we went over to Fort Point to see the Bridge. The sun was beginning to break through the clouds.
Skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-anAnother view of the skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-anGolden Gate Bridge by Rudha-an The Bridge in B & W with only the reds and yellows coming through by Rudha-anAnother view of the skyline in blues this time by Lastech The skyline in black & white by Lastech
From Fort Point we wandered over to Crissy Field.
Crissy Field by LastechAlcatraz (right) and Angel Island (left) by LastechCrissy Field by LastechCrissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge by Rudha-anHappy bird by Lastech
Hello world. We survived the earthquake just fine here in San Francisco. The epicenter was rather close though as it was only about 40 miles NNE of us. While we did fine, many in Napa are now picking up the pieces. There was a tremendous amount of damage.
On March 19th, we celebrated our tenth anniversary. Ok, we didn’t actually. Poor Lastech caught an evil cold, so we postponed it. I didn’t mind and it wouldn’t have been a celebration if he wasn’t feeling well. As a result, we went out last Thursday. We divided our celebration into two parts and this was the first day.
We weren’t planning much for that day, but we had an ice chest with food and went out to grill some of our favorites. We originally planned on going to a lovely spot on the Marin Headlands, but it was closed for renovation. Instead, we explored the headlands for a while, clouds and bird watching before returning to The City to do our grilling at Baker Beach. We grilled carne asada, zucchini, mushrooms and a few bratwurst. We made tacos and had a very pleasant time.
We then took a trip to the arboretum to see what wildflowers might be blooming as it’s that time of year. It was lovely and we found azaleas, ferns and wisteria blooming. We also came across an old friend. 🙂
Yes, it was our old friend the hawk. We also watched a young couple walking around the arboretum. Both were so intent on their phones that they never saw the hawk. I don’t mind technology, but I would never want to be so unaware of the beauty that surrounds me. To be so close to a hawk is not a moment to be wasted. I’m simply amazed that it has happened so many times now.
The next day we went hiking on Angel Island and that will be the next post.
Lastech managed to take a couple of pics from the pier and at the Embarcadero. They weren’t taken on the same day, but they all occurred after the storms that have been blowing through.
Morning glowBay Bridge
We have had lots of rain, small hail, thunder and lightning. The pointy eared people were not amused, but they only hid during the hailstorm. They didn’t hide for long at all. That’s evidence (to me) that the Feliway is working.
You might remember the Wave Organ, this acoustic sculpture at the end of a jetty near the San Francisco Yacht Club. We had visited before, but our timing always seemed to coincide with the tide going out. This time, we took advantage of the king tide and went back to listen for a bit.
The organ pipes are made of pvc and cement. In the 1940s, when San Francisco’s cemeteries were moved to the suburb of Colma, unclaimed headstones and monuments were reused in various places from Golden Gate Park to this location. This is how the organ sculpture was created, with some of that carved granite and marble.
The Wave Organ with Alcatraz in the background. Photo by Lastech
A visitor listening at one of the pipes
Two of the organ pipes
More pipes
The dark squares visible in the recess are more pipes
While the curving pipes reminded us of the “Yellow Submarine”, the waves lapping from below actually sound like a chorus of gurgles and squeaks, even occasionally like a wine bottle being uncorked.
It’s that time of year. Personally, I like tourists. Most are pleasant and I’m even guilty of deliberately looking like one on occasion. Tourism helps keep my fair city going.
Lastech is wonderful and patient. The poor guy is used to me yelling I NEED A PICTURE! The last time I yelled, we were near Lombard Street. He patiently dropped me off and waited.
Yes, that’s a trail of cars coming down Lombard Street, but was the blooming hydrangeas that caught my eye. What isn’t visible is about 50 tourists with cameras milling around me.
We have been busy preparing for an upcoming trip and neglected the blog for a few days, but I wanted to post something else about our city.
The one thing I really dislike about San Francisco is the traffic. It’s dense, aggressive and plenty rude. But then, since I chose to work nights, I get to enjoy it a lot more. I took these pictures at work with my phone, which explains the poor quality of some shots. But if you can get past that you might enjoy some of what I see every night.
A cruise ship docked at the next pier looks like a space shipThe Embarcadero in the fog
Now, the photo below shows Forbes Island with its mock-lighthouse (center left) and the silhouette of the WWII ship Jeremiah O’Brien in the distance on the right. Forbes Island is a restaurant, built by Forbes Kiddoo in Sausalito, which can only be accessed by boat.
Forbes and O’Brien
Looking towards the Bay bridge from the marina
Fisherman’s Wharf after dark
This next and last shot is disappointingly blurry but it has elements to it that I really liked, so there it is:
