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.
A San Francisco Flower Adventure
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.
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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.
The Rainbow Bridge: Terra
We would like to extend our sincerest condolences to our friend Abra Crabcakeya. He has lost a friend and companion.
On May 10, 2011, a wonderful Cardigan Welsh Corgi named Terra crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Born on November 30, 1997, Terra was 9 weeks old when she went to live with him. She was truly loved and gave her love in return. She will be sorely missed.
Her human, Abra Crabcakeya said this about her:
She has always had a knack of doing everything in a unique way that made her doggish doings uniquely hilarious. Terra will be missed more than I can ever express.
She is hardheaded , eccentric , and seldom obeys anyone but me – “Daddy’s Little Girl” , always.
Along with being daddy’s girl, she was also a loving companion to two other fur faces. One is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi named Justice and the other is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Tsula. They miss her too.
Terra is now romping with Durango, The Boober, and others while she waits for her human and furry companions at the Rainbow Bridge.
Baker Beach to the Golden Gate Bridge: From morning to sunset
We love to wander the trails above the San Francisco Bay between Baker Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s the time of year for flowers and wildlife and lovely sunsets. Here are a few of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them.
Open Space Preserves: A Small Diversion
The other day, we had to take a trip down the peninsula to San Jose. Once we had our business taken care of, we headed back home. The timing put us on the freeway at the start of the rush hour. Yucky!
Since freeways are boring at the best of times, we took a detour and wound up taking the scenic route home. We drove West on Page Mill Road until it connected with Hwy 35 aka Skyline Boulevard. Before we got to Skyline, we pulled off at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. The Midpeninsula Open Space Preserves are wonderful places to visit, hike, bike, or ride horses. We didn’t stay long or hike far as it was getting late in the day. I did manage to take a few pictures though.
The hills were green and the grasses were tall. Wildflowers grew in abundance along the trail.
The Rainbow Bridge: Sundance
Today we got the sad news that our friend SallyCat and her husband (Mr. Cat) have lost one of their beloved fur kids. Sundance crossed the bridge on May 15, 2011. It’s very hard to lose our furry family members. The Cats have our sincere condolences. Sundance will be sorely missed. I’m sure The Boober was at the bridge to greet Sundance when he arrived.
The Japanese Tea Garden Revisited
The other day we went back to the Japanese Tea Garden. Since it was a weekday, it wasn’t too busy. I managed snap a few pics. Being springtime, the garden was lovely and green. The trees that were still bare on our last trip have leafed out.
Here are a few of our pictures. I hope you enjoy them.
Tito and Kitsune Reflect on Mother’s Day
Today is Mother’s Day, and we think that mothers should certainly be honored. However, there are a LOT of mums out there who haven’t given birth or adopted, or raised human children. These women who nurture animals or the children of others deserve just as much honor on this day. With that in mind, we would like to honor a friend of this blog.
Her username is flumptytail and she’s mum to a human and LOTS of kitties. She rescues ferals, and has them spayed and neutered. She also takes them for regular checkups, teeth cleaning and various things. Once healthy, they have the run of her home, indoors and out. They are free to come and go as they wish. She has made many of our brothers and sisters very happy kitties.
How many kitties call her mum? Well, according to flumpty:
I have 32, 34 if you count the 2 that belong to someone else. I had said 28 before , but that was just a quickie list and I had left off some that I hardly ever see. They just come in once a day for a few minutes to eat and disappear again. Although by now there’s only one who never stays in all night.
Here are some of her kitties.
This first picture, according to flumpty:
I keep a big cage in the dining room for when I have to keep a cat in it overnight if they’re getting neutered or spayed or their teeth cleaned, etc. in the morning. I leave the door open other times and the cats like to sleep in in. Here is a picture of a pile of kittehs.
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Not to worry. We love our mum too. We gave her head bonks and left our toys in her shoes for her to find.