Howdy folks. We managed to get some pics of the kitties but it’s getting harder. Caturday may possibly become a bit more sporadic as a result of the construction going on next door. When I say next door, I don’t mean 25 or 50 feet away. I mean inches away from our building. This is what it’s like here.
Our building is on the far right. You can see how close all the buildings are
The above pic is from a previous post about some builders who tried to burn down the block due to some sad stupidity. I still suffer from paranoia as a result and the current construction makes me nervous. This is the view out my kitchen window. The window is on the side of our building and it will be going away soon.
This mess will become five 4-story buildings.
I really shouldn’t complain. I’m coping. The poor kitties are NOT having a good time. Miss Jenny goes into hiding during the day and won’t come out until the loud noises stop. Tito alternates between hiding in my closet and hiding in the blanket tent under my knees. Titanescu doesn’t hide, but he doesn’t like it either. The Feliway is really helping the recovery time in the evenings and the pointy eared people also get a good dose of nip as a reward.
And now, here they are:
Tito soaking up a rare sunbeam (it’s the foggy season)Miss Jenny rolling in her nipHere’s Titanescu going out of his way to be adorable. Don’t be fooled. World domination is his goal…one hiss and paw slap at a time.
And now, for a very funny vid. It’s Elvis doing Blue Suede Shoes…with no music. 🙂
And yes, here’s the full vid with music. I’ll never look at it the same way again.
It’s the weekend and so far, the noise in the lot next door is at a minimum today. They aren’t stopping for the weekend, but they aren’t as noisy. Back in the day, the lot was a gas station and the owners lived in our building. Since then, the lot was cleaned up, rezoned and sold along with our building. The new owners are going to fill the empty space with offices and shops on the bottom two floors and apartments above. There’s a plan to add two more floors to our building to do the same. That will mean eviction when the time comes, so we’re trying to get ready now.
We’re furiously thinning out everything IN the apartment and the builders are noisily building outside. The pointy eared people are NOT amused. We’ve tried to help by creating bolt-holes and other places to hide. The Feliway helps a lot. In addition, Lastech is changing from graveyard shift to swing (3 to 11 pm). That way, we can work in the apartment during the day when the furry ones are already hiding from the racket next door. With any luck, it will be a bit less traumatic for them. I know what stress does to humans. I can’t imagine what it does to them. The change will also help Lastech as it’s impossible to sleep well with construction going on a few feet away.
In spite of all that, they still managed to pose nicely for us.
Beautiful TitoHappy Miss JennyTitanescu awash in the glow of the television as he contemplates world domination
Here is a good video from The Mean Kitty at Youtube. Cory’s explanation at the beginning of the video is why we’re trying so hard to make it easy for the pointy eared people. Dogs go through the same thing when there are changes in the home, but as most of them spend time outdoors, their world is just a wee bit bigger.
As a bonus, here’s the song that made The Mean Kitty (Sparta) famous. 🙂
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. 🙂
Good afternoon world. This week we managed to sneak out for some fish sandwiches and a walk at the park and then yesterday we got to watch the dolphins at Baker Beach. In addition, a couple of blocks away the SFPD was dealing with the great goat caper. The pointy eared people just kicked back and relaxed. Their only concern was that we return to provide them scritches, nip, and noms.
Tito in the tub…again.Miss Jenny pretending to be a statueTitanescu decided to check out Tito’s playground (the tub)
Addiction: It’s real. Miss Jenny is a nip head. Here’s a great vid from ShoKo.
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.
I’m a tad late today, but I didn’t forget. As you all know, cats are goofy critters. Ours our no different. Tito likes to stash his toys in the bathtub and will spend time in there playing with them. Titanescu has taken to following Lastech to the bathroom as well. When he sits on the edge of the tub, Titanescu hops on his lap and actually gets a bit lovey. It’s like he becomes momentarily possessed by the Glinda, the good witch. Miss Jenny is obsessed with grooming Lastech’s bald head. If she can get to it, she’s gonna groom it. When she’s not grooming his head, she’s stealing pens.
Tito in the tubTitanescu getting some scritchiesMiss Jenny about to start grooming Lastech’s head
Here’s a bonus vid worth a chuckle. One of my FB friends shared it the other day and it gave me a giggle.
As I type this, two hundred searchers are looking for little nine-year-old Ida Rothschild who vanished yesterday while camping with her parents in Samuel P. Taylor Park. This is a heavily wooded area up in Marin County where searching is difficult. My heart goes out to her family and I hope they find her soon.
Update! When I started working on this post, little Ida had not been found. The news just came through that some cyclists found her about 2 and a half miles from the command post. Hooray! I’m thrilled with the happy ending. 🙂
The following is in no way a criticism of Ida’s parents. It was just a sobering reminder of what can happen when you travel with children. My father was a founding member of a desert search and rescue team. Lastech works in security at a site that’s always jammed packed with tourists. My advice comes from the experiences of both.
One of the most important pieces of advice is this: If you get lost STOP! Trying to find your way once you are lost may only make it worse. This applies to grownups AND children. If you’re on an ATV (or any vehicle) and run out of gas, stay with it. If in the forest, the youngsters to hug a tree and stay there, no matter how scared they are.
Camera or cellphone: Keep a current photo of their shoes, including the soles. Take one showing them in their clothes. You can delete and replace that one as necessary each day. Under extreme stress, it may be difficult to remember those details and it will certainly help the searchers. This should apply to the adults as well.
Get a whistle. Only permit them to carry it when it you are going someplace where they might get lost or wander off. The whistle can be heard much more easily than a voice. You can make it a big and special deal that they be careful to NOT blow it unnecessarily.
Important: When it comes to blowing the whistle, have them make two are three long toots. Then they should sing a favorite ditty and then blow it again. That way, if the searchers can hear it, they can respond and be heard. If the blowing is constant, it’s harder to locate or respond. The pauses give searchers time to zero in on where the sound is coming from. Since children tend to be impatient, singing a little song between whistle-blowing can help keep them calm and patient.
Clothing: Be sure to have them wear bright colors that can be seen from a distance. It just makes it easier for them to be seen.
Their fears: This is very important. Make sure they know that if they get lost, you will NOT be angry. Some children have hidden (and died) out of the fear of being in trouble with their parents or searchers. The harder part is dealing with “stranger danger”. They have to know when it’s ok to approach a stranger for help.
Time is of the essence: If you should suddenly find your child missing, don’t waste a lot of time searching. Get immediate help as every minute counts. If you know where they were last seen, protect that area to preserve any footprints that can be used by searchers. It’s far better to mobilize searchers only to find them in another section of the campground or park.
The city or large crowds: If you go to a ballgame, or any other place where you find crowds, get a pic of them AND the shoes. When a child is lost in a crowd, it’s easiest to start watching feet.
Getting help: Tell them if they get lost, to find someone in uniform. There will be security or park rangers in most places. The whistle should only be used in the case of a stranger trying to take them away. If they have a pocket, put a slip of paper with the name(s) , physical ,and clothing description of the parent(s). It will help.
Again, Time is of the essence: In this case, do NOT waste time hunting for them. Report it to security or rangers immediately so that many more people are looking.
Last, but not least: If you and your family are going out on a day trip to hike or drive, make sure someone knows where you are going and a check-in time so that they know when to report you missing. If you break down, stay with the vehicle. If you are on a road, an airplane will see the vehicle before they see you. Always carry plenty of water and if you’re in a place where it gets cold, keep extra blankets in the car.
