Animal Wednesday - Dinosaur

I am of the "Steven Jay Gould" persuasion of evolution;  he postulated that Dinosaurs evolved to birds and I had a terrific encounter today with a Red Tailed Dino. 

I was on my morning walk and went into a neighborhood that I rarely venture into.  There's a house there for sale (way too expensive I think) and I wanted to peep into the windows to see if it was paved with gold inside (no one lives there and it wasn't).  Anyway, as I was nosily heading around back to peep into the walk out basement, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye...turned around and saw this awesome Red-Tailed hawk having it's breakfast.  I was 20 feet away, then 15, then 10...and I only had my iphone so I snapped away as quickly as I could.  

He or she was just magnificent looking - I've never been that close to a hawk before and it was wonderful to really see that red tail.

 And look at that beak - it's so effective looking.

I swear he actually posed for this picture.  I stopped walking closer at this point, as I realized that one good flap of those wings and it could be my nose for breakfast.   He appeared completely unconcerned with my approach but eventually flew off....

I managed to catch him in flight - look at that wingspan!!

He perched on the deck of the empty house and just sat there looking at me, a bit ruffly in the front, but no time for grooming after breakfast.

It was a fantastic way to start the day - I was late for work but didn't care at all.  It was worth it.  Makes me look forward to my morning walk - I wonder what I'll see tomorrow. 

Happy Animal Wednesday!!!

upcoming animal wednesday

Boy - wait until you see what I saw on my walk today.  An awesome raptor, practically close enough to touch....

wait till tomorrow!!! (or maybe even tonight)

Hi all,

My Brilliant cousin Joan is applying for a grant to support her website "Celebrate a Hero" .  She needs votes from Facebook people - so if you have a chance follow the instructions below and vote for Joan.    Her facebook text reads as follows;

I NEED YOUR IMMEDIATE HELP: I have just applied for a grant for my CelebrateAHero.com business. In order to qualify I need to have 250 votes by this Friday - June 30th. The voting requires that you have a Facebook account. PLEASE HELP and also ask others you know... Many Thanks......

First: log onto Facebook - then you don't have to log on again.
VOTING INSTRUCTIONS.
1. Go to https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/
2. Scroll down and click on "Log in with Facebook to support your community"
3. if not already logged on then Log into Facebook then type CelebrateAHero.com in the search box hit "enter"
4. CelebrateAHero.com should appear - click on the vote button and help make this grant possible for me.

Mission: Small Business℠

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Romance

No...not mine - just our Miss Em enjoying a good read.  I've shown this before but colored it last night for some oommph

The "Romance" is the title page - that's what you would see on page 1.  Page 2 is the drawing.  I'm still working on how to save documents etc.  Lot's of learning to do! 

Is it too subtle that when she is reading, she is "prettier" if you know what I mean? Someone else suggested a little bead of sweat coming off her brow, but I'm not sure about that.  I mean really - does Miss Em sweat???

My little grand niece wanted to know why Miss Em was bottom heavy - actually she put her knees together and tried to show me what she meant by walking funny.  It was hysterical to watch, but wonderful to see what kids notice.    My mom doesn't think that Miss Em should ever swear.  I'm going to have trouble with that one. 

California visit

I had such a good trip to central coast CA last week. It was filled with family, new and old friends, dogs, beach walks, yarn, drawing, sleeping well, fog, sunshine, fun.

I started out meeting mom and a niece and great niece in Phoenix airport, where we took the last leg flight together to San Luis Obispo. The last time I saw this great niece she was an awful spoiled brat at 3 years old who wouldn't play with me, told me " I don't like you" and was a pain in the you-know-what. She is now 5 and is absolutely adorable, loving and cuddly. It was wonderful to be with her and I enjoyed her tremendously.

 

I rented a car so that I could be independent and was glad I did, as there were tons of people at the house and not everyone had a car. It was complete chaos at my brothers house, with getting ready for a big party after graduation. We went to an awards ceremony that night which was awful and boring but my niece Jody got plenty of awards and scholarships. I helped a bit at the house but basically tried to stay out of the way, and only listened to what my sister in law told me to do. She was the general of this whole party thing and was rather wound up with details.

A cousin of mine came up on Wednesday night, I hadn't seen her since we were both 14 and didn't really know her very well. We had a good time together, she's a yoga instructor in Santa Barbara and a knitter, so we had plenty to talk about and catch up on.

Mom and Cousin.  Mom is wearing a poncho that my grandmother knit for her in the 60's.  I'm not so fond of the fringe on the collar, but the poncho has held up pretty well!   My grandmother knit it after ripping out a coat that my mom had knit which grandma said looked like a "long drink of water" on mom.

Thursdays graduation was fun, party was fun. Once that was complete I could enjoy myself with other things. I took a drive up the coast to Cambria and puttered around the town, then went back to the beach with mom and nieces.

Saturday was a very special day. I left early and drove to Santa Barbara to meet LORI!! We met - of course - at a lovely little knitting store and Lori was standing in the street and waved me into a parking space. big hugs and I felt like I'd known her forever. I was so excited that I dropped my wallet ( in my car) and didn't even realize it until we had walked to another store and I went to buy something. thank you Lori for the buttons you paid for! We had a lovely time, I don't think we stopped talking for the entire three hours that we were together. I bought some gorgeous yarn ( after I found my wallet thank goodness) for a wedding shawl for a friend. It was truly a delightful day.

 And look what I got gifted with - so sweet and kind and just wonderful

On Sunday, two friends drove down from San Francisco. One friend I have known since second grade, and we went thru school together and even attended the same college for a few semesters. We've stayed in touch over the years, she's good people and I love her. The second friend I haven't seen since we were 18 years old. We lost touch after high school, as she stayed in Brooklyn to get married and I couldn't wait to leave the city. I never knew what happened to her, but she found us both on Facebook and we reconnected. turns out that her marriage didn't last, she moved to San Francisco in'77 and got remarried. Two kids, happy as a clam and looks great. It was SUCH a treat to be with these two friends! They stayed overnight, we had a lovely dinner, and morning coffee. They chatted up mom who hasn't seen them in years and years. We talked and talked and talked....the same way we did when we were 15. They left on Monday afternoon, but I know that I'll see them both again soon.

Both friends looked at copies of all the Miss Em comics and gave me great feedback on flow, what worked, what doesn't - it was so helpful.

After they left we took mom for a long walk, tired ourselves out and relaxed with the family for the evening. 

I flew home on Tuesday, but in all honesty I could have happily stayed for a few more days. I was staying in my brothers rustic guest house which is at the bottom of these stairs.  It was delightful and convenient.

I have more pics but on another camera which I don't have the connection to the computer for.  

It was a good trip, relaxing and fun, no stress.  I could easily live there for a winter retreat. Easily! 

Animal Wednesday - unexpected animals

A few weeks ago we were bike riding. DH was ahead of me (for once) and I was leisurely riding along the bike path. As I was riding along I was thinking about Animal Wednesday and hoping that I saw some new animals, because I felt boring and it felt like all of my animal sightings were hackneyed and old.

I looked up ahead and saw what looked like a dog pack coming out of the of woods, and it appeared that they might be circling DH's bike.  I raced forward to rescue him and saw.....

GOATS!!!!

They had escaped from their enclosure and were furiously munching the plants along the side of the bike trail - happy as could be.  They weren't even paying attention to DH on his bike, so no rescue was needed.

They were pretty darn cute, and were also gone and back in their enclosure by the time we rode back.

Later on I saw this goose protecting his/her babies - who you can just see by the side of the path.  I got Hissed at and the wings went out as I rode by.  Thankfully they weren't on the path either by the time we rode back.

Happy Animal Wednesday !

Animal Wednesday - on the river

This was a sunday filled with animals

 We went kayaking and saw our favorite osprey feeding her young - you could see her bobbing up and down giving them their fishy dinner.  When she was done, she screeched to the male - and you could almost hear her say "get some more, they're still hungry".  He flew off, came back about 1/2 hour later, then the pair huddled in a tree for awhile - apparently eating - then she went back and fed the chicks and then HE went in a fed them also.  Amazing and the communication was so apparent.

The river was filled with dragonflies today - this was one of many that perched on my leg, or arm or hair.

 I came upon this heron around a corner and surprised us both - so much so that I actually had time to get out my camera for a quick shot....

 ...before he flew away.

 And my all time favorite gals on this river - the bovine community.  There is a dairy farm right on the river and these youngsters are so funny and so curious.    They watched me drift in near the shore and got as close as they could without falling in.

This one was initially frightened of my kayak - but curiosity got the better of her. 

 and she came closer and closer

This one ignored me completely, she was too interested in having a scratch.  

Lovely Animal Wednesday to you all

The past few days - the next few days

The Setting:

Me getting ready to go to see my niece graduate in California.  Been looking forward to this trip for months.  Very happy excited.

The Problem:

Three weeks ago I got a cold and it has lingered and lingered and then sort of disappeared and then BOOM - came back with a vengeance on Friday night.   I felt as tho I had taken a sleeping pill, I was so exhausted that I couldn't lift my head.  I coughed till I was blue in the face

The First Solution:

On Saturday - I gave in and went to the walk in clinic - where they gave me three kinds of wonderful drugs to combat this whatever-it-is...and by Sunday morning I felt like a million dollars.   My BFF came over and we had a little sewing bee thing going, then I went Kayaking with the Mr.  Those wonderful drugs - "CALIFORNIA here I come!!!" I sang

The Backsliding:

I think you all know what happens when you take antibiotics and other drugs.  Yup, they mess up your insides...to the point where I was convinced that I had food poisoning.  Called the Doctor again, and was told to eat Yogurt.

The Result?:

I have my tickets in hand, my bags are packed, I meet mom, another niece, and a grand-niece at the airport in Phoenix for the final leg to the Central Coast of CA, I have prepared dried foods to take with me, art supplies, knitting and WAY to many clothes.

Have a lovely week! and stay away from colds - they mess you up!

Animal Wednesday - does the last pic count???

 This turkey was wandering around in the road, as I was on my way to my morning walk.  Of course, as soon as I got close, he gobbled away up someone's driveway.  Such odd birds they are!  Can you imagine if they had been our national bird instead of the eagle?  Benjamin Franklin voted for the turkey as the national bird - makes sense, but oh boy would we be taking grief for that now.

An early morning shot of the field beyond my walking area - they are ploughing and getting ready for summer planting, but there are a lot of tall weeds still growing, beautifully hazy in the early morning.

The track that I walk on surrounds a small recreational field in my town.  They have baseball diamonds, and two tennis courts.  Kids are constantly leaving things behind, and I like the way someone mounted this little hat waiting for it's owner to come back.   Isn't it cute?

Happy Animal Wednesday to you all!  Wednesday's are coming up so quickly these days - I keep missing them.  I'm taking a comic class on Monday nights and a digital art class on Wednesdays, so Tuesdays go by in a blur.