Rudha-an here with a bit of a description of the weather and sea conditions. One large storm had ended the day before and another very large storm was due the next day. The sky was mostly clear but we were dealing with 15 foot swells the entire time we were out. This made photography difficult and downright impossible at times. While we did not manage any whale pics due to distance, we got plenty of other pics.
Holy moly! We’re supposed to have a very big and nasty storm hitting tonight. We should be ok as long as the ceiling doesn’t cave in. The landlords fixed the problem we had before, but I don’t know how it will hold up with heavy rain and high winds. This is supposed to be the biggest storm we’ve seen in years. The last one left up to three feet of water standing in some intersections and knocked a bunch of trees down.
After dealing with the prior problems some time outdoors became vital.
Clouds over San Francisco. Photo by Rudha-an
Follow along beyond the fold for the rest of the adventure. 🙂
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.
Given the construction, we avoid leaving the kitties alone when the workers are doing their thing. Instead, we left very early and went to the park at sunrise. The last time we were there, we got to watch ducks, geese and robins. This time, it was very quiet.
Not a cloud in the sky as Karl The Fog was on a short vacaion. Photo by LastechStow LakeOnly a couple of quiet ducks were outDuck and ripplesEven with no clouds, the colors were prettyThe spires of St. Ignatius
Since a couple of ducks were the only wildlife we found at Stow Lake, we wandered off to another lake for a walk.
Eucalyptus in bloomCloseup of the Eucalyptus blooms
It had been a very quiet morning, all things considered. While slighty disappointed that we didn’t see more wildlife, we were very happy with the sunrise and eucalyptus and lack of other humans. In other words, it was peaceful. It didn’t last. Our peace and quiet was abruptly shattered.
We headed off around the next curve in the trail and came face to face with the rare and elusive Golden Gate Bawk-Bawk.
Here you can see them investigating the noms that some human left for themThis Bawk-Bawk stopped long enough to pose for meAbandoning the noms left by humans, they can be seen scratching in the grass
Our very quiet morning turned into a rare event and will be much remembered. As we left, the Bawk-Bawks were safely roosting in the nearby shrubbery.
My last post was from Stow Lake at dawn. This time we went in the late afternoon, before the fog rolled back in. The geese posed nicely and the water was reflections were pretty.
Blue sky with wisps of fog over Stow LakeYoung Canada GooseAdult Canada GeeseAnother young Canada Goose
We paused to sit at a table and enjoy a cup of coffee. We had a visitor who sat at the other end of the table watching.
SeagullSeagull feets
After our coffee we went for a walk around the lake.
A pair of hawks hunting for nomsLady ducky showing off her feets and checking to see if we had noms.Another pretty female duck with a Brewer’s Blackbird lurking behind
And here is my ultimate goal. In my last post I had a pic of a young girl ducky who was molting. I had taken pics of her and her siblings, but that was the only one that came out clear. I got lucky and got a cute pic of all three together.
We went to Stow Lake at dawn to see what critters were lurking in the fog. It’s very peaceful, but not exactly quiet. The birds were noisy.
No boaters on the lake this earlyThe Chinese Pavillion and mist on the waterHummingbirdFlappity flappitySteller’s Jay and mateAmerican RobinRobin with noms Feed meh!This little ducky is almost a big girl now. She’s molting.
And now for the bonus pic from Lastech. This was also taken at dawn, so it fits the theme. 🙂
The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever ~Jacques Cousteau~
Once in a while I like to take a stroll in the cold sea water. Earlier today, the water at Baker beach was a nice warm 59 degrees and the air temperature, a balmy 67. Karl The Fog was draping the Golden Gate Bridge in a lovely shade of gray. To put it bluntly, it was a very beautiful time by the shore.
Only a wee bit of the Golden Gate Bridge is visible
I thought the weather was great and I wore a short sleeved t-shirt. However, it was cool enough that you could tell the tourists from the locals.
I watched a seagull wading in the surf and then flapping away.
Then my phone went off. I usually turn it off when I’m out, but I forgot. Then I realized it was Lastech who was watching from the parking lot up above. I answered to hear him giving me a “fins in the water” alert. The bottlenose dolphins were out romping.
It was amazing to watch them. I wish I had been faster with the camera, but I did better than the last time. 🙂
Now for some bonus pics. We were on our way home and we stopped at a red light. We were right next to the freeway. I saw movement to my right and saw a hawk land on the ground just on the other side of the chain link fence. It was less than ten feet away.
To be honest, I never know what I’m going to see when we go out. I’m always amazed. 🙂
Back in April, I made a post about the Immigration Station on Angel Island. Now it’s time for pics of the rest of the island. I didn’t plan on taking this long to get around to it, but it’s finally done. Photos from our anniversary trip to the West Garrison (Camp Reynolds) can be found here.
After exploring the Immigration Station, we continued on around the island on the perimeter road. We didn’t explore the East Garrison quite as much as we wanted. We stayed up near the road due to time constraints. We’ll go back one day and spend more time exploring. Since there’s not that much to say I’ll let the pics speak for themselves.
