Not long ago, we got up very early. We headed out to Twin Peaks for the sunrise. With an elevation over 900 feet, it’s a beautiful place to watch the sun come up. Usually, at this time of year, the peaks are shrouded in fog. We were lucky this time.
It’s Caturday!
It’s time for the boys to shine
Fred Astaire, eat your heart out.
The Birds of San Francisco
San Francisco has many things. We have lots of beautiful tourist attractions. We also have lots of parks, trails, and shoreline. As a result, we have a fair selection of birds. Here are a few of them.
Tuesday humor: Star Wars Critters
I felt that a bit of humor was needed and I’m a fan of Star Wars, so here you go.
“The illusionist”: Tati nostalgia
“The illusionist” – (2010, UK/France, 80 minutes – rated PG)
Note: this review contains spoilers.
Adapted from an original script written by Jacques Tati in 1956, “the illusionist” retains all the charms from Sylvain Chomet’s previous animated film “the triplettes of Belleville”.
Watch the trailer here:
“The illusionist” is a very different kind of film though, partly because it is semi-autobiographical, but mainly perhaps because of the controversy as to which of Tati’s daughters the script was dedicated. Tati had a daughter out of wedlock during WWII with an Austrian dancer named Herta Schiel. Pressured by his sister, Tati abandoned mother and child, and went on to start a family with Micheline Winter, with whom he had a second daughter, Sophie, and a son named Pierre.
Each side lays claim to Tati’s original intent. Did he write out of sorrow and guilt for abandoning Helga Marie, or regret at having missed much of Sophie’s childhood while on the road?
Friday night cat blogging: happy hour edition
Time for the boys to shine again, starting out soberly enough, until…
And last but not least, at 5 a.m…
A San Francisco Flower Adventure
Last Week I posted about a poisonous plant exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers. Of course, we made a point of visiting the rest of the Conservatory. I hope you enjoy these photos as well.
Clouds over San Francisco
I’m sorry we haven’t been posting more. Lastech and I are getting used to a new work schedule so the posting times are a tad off these days. We’ll get adjusted soon.
It is almost the first of June and it’s still raining here. We should be well into the dry season already. Sadly, the cold and rain that we’re getting here is turning into horrible swarms of tornadoes to the East. I love the rain, but I hope this ends soon.
The other day, we took advantage of the sunshine and went to McLaren Park to visit the duck pond (reservoir). It wasn’t raining, but the clouds were beautiful. First, we walked up the hill to the water tower where we had a wonderful view of Bernal Hill and downtown San Francisco.
After that, we headed on down to the pond. The pond is where a lot of people take their dogs for a swim and water games. There were quite a few dogs, so the ducks were hanging out under the shrubbery. The clouds were beautiful and so was the pond.
Wicked Plants: Botanical Rogues & Assassins
A couple of weeks ago, we went back to the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park to see a special exhibit running through October 30, 2011 called Wicked Plants: Botanical Rogues & Assassins.
According to the Conservatory of Flowers website:
Paralysis, strangulation, derangement – these are just a few of the misdeeds of the plant kingdom as chronicled by award-winning author Amy Stewart in her 2009 New York Times Bestseller, Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. And now, something wicked this way comes. It’s mayhem under glass, as the Conservatory of Flowers transforms its Special Exhibits Gallery into an eerie Victorian garden full of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. Building on the fascinating plant portraits in Stewart’s book, the Conservatory introduces visitors to living examples of dozens of infamous plants that have left their mark on history and claimed many an unfortunate victim, like the castor bean, implicated in the 1978 “umbrella murder” of communist defector BBC journalist Georgi Markov, and the strychnine tree, nineteenth-century serial killer Dr. Thomas Neill Cream’s poison of choice for troublesome spouses and lovers. It’s a who’s who of botanical rogues and assassins. Meet them if you dare
It was a good exhibit and we hope to go back before it ends. Here are some of the photos we took. I have labeled the plants I’m familiar with. There were some that I didn’t catch. I hope you enjoy them.
Continue reading “Wicked Plants: Botanical Rogues & Assassins”
The Rainbow Bridge: Sweet Thordoggie
Thor, aka Thordoggie, was born on June 13, 1994. As you can see from his photo, he was a beautiful chocolate Lab. According to his human LABWITCH:
My Thor — he was the largest in his litter and a puppy bully. he was smart, he learned fast and well, but refused to get in the swimming pool. drank out of it a lot, but wouldn’t put a toe into it. definitely not a water dog.
He was a loving and loyal companion. Whenever LABWITCH was alone, he was her guardian and protector. In her words:
When I was alone for a weekend or a week when the boys and hubby were out camping, etc., Thor was my protector (he got behind me whenever possible). He hated thunderstorms, loved cuddles.
His favorite treats were bananas and carrots. Thor was energetic and loved his walks and continued to enjoy them until his hip dysplasia became too much for him to handle. When that happened, he got a cart so he could continue his walks.
Thordoggie spent his last days in bed, but he was very much loved, cuddled, and cared for. After spending almost 16 years as her companion, Thordoggie crossed the Rainbow Bridge on April 2, 2010
LABWITCH:
He was loved in so many ways and, he sent us the great labradors we have now.
