More signs of Spring

One of the rose gardens on campus is starting to bloom. I would say it's only about 25% there yet, so I'll have to make a point to swing by on my daily walks to check the progress. 

After warming up a bit this week, there is now a 60% chance of rain this weekend. The instability of Spring!

Friday - I've got five dozen Snow Creek oysters coming from Washington. Getting together with some friends to have a bit of a feast :) Sort of a decadent treat, but way cheaper than doing it in a restaurant, that's for sure. Plus...I get to learn how to shuck oysters!

Ok you Bulldog fans....

Here's how you get ready for summer!

Sad ladybugs

Every spring, there is a period of time when there are lady bugs all over the beach. This year, I don't know why, there were way more than normal. Over the weekend, they were all just walking around...I think maybe they are mating?

Last night, well, the party seemed over. There were still some that were alive, but most of them were dead at the waterline. I don't know the reproductive cycle of the lad bug (I'll look it up, don't worry) but I thought they laid eggs somewhere. If that's the case, then this doesn't seem normal. I would have thought they would go someplace else to lay eggs, but maybe not. Anyway, it was an interesting site. The close up photo gives you an idea of what the piles of bugs looked like, and the wider shot tries to give you an idea of how many there were. These swaths went on for probably a 250 foot section of the beach. What do you think 100's of thousands, or millions?

Ok - I did some quick research. You can read a bit about it here Lady Bug lifecyle. Maybe they had all laid their eggs and just wanted a nice place to die? Or, maybe there is something else on the beach this time of year they eat? If you find out...let me know.

Getting back to normal

This was taken at home, Monday afternoon. You don't see that too often in Cayucos! Sunday was scorching, Monday was hotter, and Tuesday was still hot - but a bit cooler. When I got home at 5:00 yesterday, I think it was only 80...

This morning it's foggy & cool, only supposed to get up to the mid 60's, I think. Back to normal, spring weather for a while. It was quite the little heat wave, and I have to say, I enjoyed it, probably because I knew it was only temporary and not anything to be dealt with on a day to day basis.

The surf has been good to - I went out four days in a row which was really a treat. Maybe this is the year I'll get good :) If not, well, I still have fun!

Under the boardwalk

OK, its a pier, but you get the idea. Took Riley all the way down past the pier today. It's 75 and beautiful out, gotta enjoy it while it lasts! Supposed to be warmer tomorrow. Too bad I have to work!
Via BlackBerry

Palm Springs...in pictures

Truth be told, most of these pictures are just of the house & us enjoying the pool, but hey -that's what the vacation was all about! Click here to view.

Wish I was still there....

Here's a picture Jeff took just before sunset one night. I think I need to be there again...right now! We had a great time. It was very relaxing, the weather was nice and the house couldn't have been in a more beautiful spot. They guy we rented the house from was a newbie when it came to renting a vacation property, so there were a couple of oddities, but overall, the experience was great.

I hadn't spent an substantial time in Palm Springs in quite a while, and after being there for what was essentially a long weekend, I'm ready to go back and stay a week. There is a lot to do - especially if you golf - and the scenery is beautiful. I took quite a few pictures, most of them around the house, but I'm going to try and get some on line later tonight. I'll let you know when I do.

Should I be golfing?

Well, this is a private course so really, I can't. If you walk onto the course about ten feet from the back yard, this is the view. Nice, huh? I enjoyed myself plenty drinking beer by the pool, thank you very much :-)
Via BlackBerry

La Quinta

Driving out of La Quinta on the way to the Cabazon Outlets for a bit of shopping. Love how the mountains just shoot up out of the ground.
Via BlackBerry

Not bad!

Just got to La Quinta. This is the backyard looking over the pool and what I think is PGA West. Time to find my swimsuit and a beer :-)
Via BlackBerry

One small change

FYI - The Twitter feed on the right has changed to be my Facebook status update. Essentially - it's the same thing. I was using Twitter to pull over my Facebook updates, now I'm doing it directly. I was publishing some stuff directly to Twitter, but decided to just use Facebook updates instead. Anybody who was following me on Twitter is already a "friend" on Facebook, so it was redundant for the majority of people, so I think this makes more sense. At least for now  :-)

More spring flowers

This is some type of Lavender, growing up by Poly Canyon Village - the new on campus housing. It seems to be really happy in this spot. After I took this picture, I continued my walk around campus and of course, started seeing this stuff everywhere. I'm thinking that when it's not blooming, it must be fairly non-descript because I don't recall seeing that much of it before. It sure looks nice when it's blooming though.

Off to Palm Springs tomorrow for some R&R!

Next try: cactus

We have this pot in the entry way that we like to put plants in. We also have this pot in the entry way that the Whippet thinks is a chew-toy storage container. Unfortunately, these two pots are one and the same. Last week, we removed the Mother In Laws tongue he had reduced to 4" stumps. The spot looked empty, and we had company coming, so we put a Bird of Paradise there. It lasted three days, I think. The sad thing is, this particular Bird of Paradise had just spent about 8 months recovering from the last Whippet attack. There is something about thick stemmed/leaved plants that he loves, don't know why. We are seriously considering a cactus for the spot, but honestly, we don't even know if that will deter him! In other dog news, Decker gets his stitches out today and the two weeks of cone-head are over. Time to celebrate!

Hmmm, this sounds familiar...

Perhaps a cousin of Riley?  http://snurl.com/f5ewc  

When life gives you lemons...

Make a marinade :) I had a few lemons to use up, the Rosemary is doing well, and I had some garlic, so this is what I whipped up. I decided to use the whole lemon & slice it thinly, versus juicing it. I figured I'd get some extra zing from the skin, and the lemons just macerated on their own & gave up their juice. I threw in some salt, pepper & red chili flakes for good measure. It turned out great; probably could have let the chicken sit in it a bit longer, but still, I liked it :)