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May 29, 2016

OMG! It’s been a whole year already

Yes, a whole year! On this day in 2015 We moved about 30 miles from San Francisco to Concord, CA and took up residence in our little trailer. What an interesting year it has been.

The pointy eared people not only adapted well, they have thrived. Of course, I suspect that they take great joy in carefully shredding our once lovely interior. Oh well, it’s what kitties do. They’re little furry little Klingons.

Miss Jenny followed this pose by turning to look out the window and snarling at the neighbor. She's weird that way. — Miss Jenny followed this pose by turning to look out the window and snarling at the neighbor. She’s weird that way.

Tito paused in his couch shredding long enough to pose for me

Then, on Labor day weekend, someone found a dog in a dumpster just before the arrival of the trash truck. The dog came home with Lastech and has been here ever since.

As the year progressed, we watched the hills turn from brown to green and back again.

We’ve managed to discover lizards, all manners of ducks, geese, hawks, strange flowers and plants.

We even came across a big rattler on one of our hikes.

To top it off, we’ve managed to look out from on top of the world, or at least our teeny little corner of it.

While we had to deal with a few emergencies, like ER visits for Lastech and Pepi, life has been good. Our lives are much better here than in San Francisco. All in all, it has been a very good year.

May 21, 2016

Caturday: Titanescu packs a punch

Yes, Titanescu packs a serious punch. His punch may not utilize the claws, but it’s a very loud WHAP! Poor Pepi gets punched often. Tito makes Titanescu angry? He runs over to punch Pepi. He wants food and we’re not fast enough? He runs over to punch Pepi. Sometimes he starts to walk past her, but stops to look at her. Then he runs to punch her. Poor dog. In the wee hours when we’re trying to sleep and Pepi is safely tucked away in her crate, Titanescu punches the wall instead. To be specific, it’s the wall panel right next to my head. If that doesn’t wake me up to feed him, he’ll go over and start punching the mini blinds. Punching is his version of knocking crap off of shelves.

Ah, but we love our little black curmudgeon from he!!

And now it’s time for all of our pointy-eared people and the floppy eared one.

Titanescu thinking about punching something

As for Lastech and I? We’re fine. It was in the 90s a couple of days ago. Today it’s only 65. The hills have gone from emerald green to their summer tan. Here are a couple of flower pics we caught before they vanished in the heat.

In spite of being Titanescu’s punching bag, Pepi is a happy dog. Here she is having a good run.

May 14, 2016

Caturday: Catgirl edition

It’s been two years already! Catgirl (Miyuki) and Carolyn got married two years ago. We were late with our anniversary wishes last year as we were in the middle of moving, but we didn’t miss it this year. Our favorite catgirl has a wonderful little blog called Neko Neko’s Movie Litterbox where she writes wonderful reviews on horror films from all over the world. We love her blog.

As for us, our one year anniversary of the move will be coming up. The last year has been interesting, with the last 4 months being the wrong kind of interesting. Lastech, Pepi, and my mom in the ER/Hospital and other pain-in-the-tuchus events. It was all capped off by someone backing into our car in the parking garage. Lucky for us, they were insured. We got our car back yesterday.

The pointy eared people are doing well, at any rate.

Tito: Does this couch make my butt look big?

Miss Jenny: Why yes, I've shredded the couch. That's what it's there for. — Miss Jenny: Why yes, I’ve shredded the couch. That’s what it’s there for.

Pepita perfecting her "noms?" look. — Pepita perfecting her “noms?” look.

NoooooOOOOOooooOOOOOOoooooo!

May 7, 2016

Caturday: contented cats and a hot dog

Happy Caturday everyone. The last week has gone from highs in the 80s to a high of 60. Of course, we decided to go hike when it was in the 80s. We went back to Briones and picked a trail that wasn’t strenuous. The dog wasn’t amused. Pepi was hot. She let us know she was hot. She flopped in the middle of the trail and looked at us with her tongue hanging out and with a look that said “Dammit! I’m HOT”. We were fine. Pepi wasn’t. We gave her plenty of water and headed back to the car after we were a mere half mile in. The hike wasn’t a total wash though, as you’ll see below.

The pointy eared people on the other hand, are contented. They’re happy to lay around in the trailer watching the birds, planes and neighbors go by.

As for that hike, we went to Briones. It’s a regional park that is located about 6 miles West of us. It was really warm, but not miserable. We chose a nice fairly level trail. It was beautiful. We did remember to watch for snakes as the weather was perfect for them and there has already been a rattlesnake bite at Lime Ridge where we like to walk Pepi. It pays to be careful. Here are a few pics that Lastech took.

A panoramic shot looking East. Mount Diablo is visible in the background.

Once we reached the area where Lastech took the panoramic shot, Pepi decided she was pooped. She flopped in the dirt with her tongue hanging out and didn’t want to get up. We gave her water.

We got her back up and headed back. We stopped in the shade a few times, to make sure she drank water.

She went from a hot dog to a wet dog. We poured some water over her and she liked it.

Big ole northern Pacific Rattlesnake wandering across the trail. It was about 5 feet long and healthy.

Poor Pepi was so pooped that she never saw the snake. Lastech kept her out of range while I took pictures. This is why she is never off leash and why I keep her out of tall grass. When we got back to the car, she flopped in my lap and went to sleep.

Trivia bit: Adult California ground squirrels are resistant to rattlesnake venom.

Now for a hummingbird rescue

April 30, 2016April 30, 2016

Caturday: Attack of the chirping poopy bird

Happy Caturday to all. It has been a quiet week in the park, but a mess for Lastech who is working tons of overtime. He’s not getting much time to relax these days.

It was quiet until Thursday when suddenly there was a loud flapping in the skylight. The ceiling in our trailer is only 6 and a half feet high, which makes the skylight very close. A sparrow had decided to land on the screen. It chirped like mad, dropped a poopy on the screen, then went back to chirping madly. The pointy eared people and a droopy-eared dog went berserk. The cats swarmed the dining room table trying to get to the bird and Pepi started barking. The bird was unperturbed and never cast a glance in our direction. It spent several minutes on the screen before moving on.:)

Speaking of the pointy eared people, here they are.

Miss Jenny looking annoyed because I interrupted her bird watching for a picture.

Tito watching the birdies on the strip of grass outside

Titanescu basking in the sun. It was warm, but I didn't have the heart to deploy the awning and deprive him of his bliss. — Titanescu basking in the sun. It was warm, but I didn’t have the heart to deploy the awning and deprive him of his bliss.

The rainy season is mostly over and the hills are turning to their summer brown. There are still nice batches of wild mustard out there though.

And now for something rather unusual. I’ve heard of rescuing a cat from a tree, but not this.

April 23, 2016April 30, 2016

Caturday: Move-out-move-back-in mess

Yes, we had to move out and then move back in. RVs are not, by law, considered to be permanent dwellings. To remain on the right side of this law, we have to move out for a day once every six months. It’s actually two nights and one full day. We moved Tuesday evening and moved back on Thursday morning. This is all fine except that it requires a fair amount of preparation such as making sure the fresh water tank is clean and filled along with disconnecting everything. Then the slide has to be brought in and heavy items pulled out of cupboards,etc. It’s a lot of work. On top of that, we had to manage without deploying the slide while we were out, so it was more than a bit cramped. We survived.

On the day we moved back in, Lastech had to go to a meeting in the morning and work in the afternoon as he’s now on swing shift. He didn’t have time to come home in between. He felt bad about not helping me to set the trailer up again, but it’s ok. I did fine, though the neighbors probably still haven’t recovered from their exposure to plumber’s crack.

Tito and Miss Jenny the day after we moved back in.

Pepi having some snuggle time with Lastech

And last, but certainly not least…

This is what it’s like for me every day.

April 9, 2016

Caturday: April showers bring…

It’s Caturday in April and the hills are green and the wildflowers are blooming. It’s warming a bit and rattlesnakes have been spotted on the trails. We’re being extra careful and Pepi isn’t permitted off leash. There were a couple of really warm days that required the use of the air conditioner, but now it’s cooler and we’ve collected almost an inch of rain since last night,a very welcome surprise. April hasn’t been boring so far. 🙂

And now, for the stars of our show…

Titanescu beat the heck out of the curtain and stands on it in victory. Yes, he won. I removed it permanently.

Tito gets two pics. Three if you count Pepi’s pic.

Sunbeams make Tito want to... — Sunbeams make Tito want to…

Just to show that our world is still a fascinating and beautiful place…

April 2, 2016

Caturday: Spring?

Spring? It was nice while it lasted. Oh, it’s not over yet and but the temps are going for a roller coaster ride this week. The highs are supposed to go from 75 to 87 and back down to 69. Joy. At least we have A/C. I don’t mind the temps, but the trailer gets a bit warm and that’s hard on the pointy eared people and floppy eared one. Fur coats are no fun when it’s hot.

Our hills will start going from an unreal, but vivid Spring green to the summer tans and it will start this week. I’ll miss it. On the other hand, the mulberry trees are branching out, so we’ll have afternoon shade soon.

And now, the stars of our show

Tito looks like he's debating an escape — Tito looks like he’s debating an escape

Miss Jenny? She gets her own vid this week. 🙂

Earlier in the week we ran off to the Martinez Regional Shoreline. We like to visit the marsh and check to see what birds are there. They were tall birds, sort of.

Tall? No wait, it's the elusive, and rarely seen, Marsh onion. — Tall? No wait, it’s the elusive, and rarely seen, Marsh onion.

March 27, 2016

The Markham arboretum in glorious Spring colors

What a difference a few storms made at the Markham arboretum, now wearing its vibrant Spring blues, greens and reds from blade of grass to treetop. The Galindo Creek meandering through the gardens remains a few feet at its deepest, hummingbirds have begun their courtships, but the countdown to summer has already begun.

The following photos were all taken yesterday during the course of a single walk through, taking advantage of the blooms we waited months to see. There were over twenty of them, so we decided to arrange them in a slide show for convenience. Below, that, you’ll find a short video of Anna’s hummingbirds courting.

The female hummingbird perched at the very top of a tree, is being buzzed by a male. The chirping sound you hear as he passes by is made by fanning out his tail feathers.

March 26, 2016

Caturday: Spring has sprung

Caturday finds us enjoying Spring, but missing the rains already. I really wasn’t ready for this much sunshine. I don’t know if we’ll get any more rain this season or not. Sadly, we didn’t get enough. California is in better shape than it was, but it’s still parched in places.

With the Spring come the birdies and the pointy eared people are thrilled. They spend hours on the back of the couch and dinette watching them. There’s an oleander shrub right outside one of the windows and it fills up with birds every morning and evening. It’s better than television.

Miss Jenny also watching those Spring birdies

As for Titanescu… He wasn’t watching birdies. He was dreaming of water and a diving competition.

Speaking of water, Lastech took some nice pics at the canal the other day.