Flying Whippet

My cousin Pauline was here visiting recently and she took this great photo of Riley, running on the beach. Had to share it!

Beautiful night

I was in Morro Bay the other night just at sunset. It sure was beautiful!

More tomatoes

Of the two varities we planted, this one did very well. It's an heirloom variety called Siberia, and as you can guess, it's well suited to a cooler, shorter growing season. Considering we got this in the ground very late, I think May or June, it't produced a lot of reasonably sized fruit. Certainly not a huge bounty, but they are tasty and it's nice to know that we can grow tomatoes if we want to :)

Sunset from the pier

I haven't posted anything in a while but thought I'd share this. Went for a walk on the pier the other night after dinner at Duckie's. This is the view looking north of town - a nice sunset indeed :)

Sunny Sunday

We had beautiful weather this weekend. Foggy in the morning but it burned off to sun both days. Sunday in particular was very nice. The wind never really picked up & it was in the low 70's at the beach. Very nice. We had a very large swell come through over the past few days. I attempted to paddle out on Saturday & got whomped a number of times, so didn't stay out long. Sunday was smaller but still head high & punchy at times, so I didn't paddle out. I was sore & a bit gun shy from Saturday. I did get Riley down to the beach twice for walks though, this was the morning walk where we headed South for a change.

Beautiful Morning

It was such a beautiful morning, I had to stop on the way to work & take this picture. The quality isn't great as I had to zoom in a bit, but it gives you the general idea. The fog was moving in around the rock and by the time I left, you could only see the very top!

Yes, this is Decker in a dog stroller

OK, some explanation. Most of you know that Decker is getting up there in years - he just turned 14. Overall, he's in really good health, but the arthritis in his front knees has gotten really bad. He still loves to go to the beach, but by the time he's done enjoying the sun & sand, he just can't make it home. So, somebody loaned us this dog stroller. Yes, it's a dog stroller. Yesterday was the first day we tried it. He did NOT want to get in it. Jeff had to shove him in. But, after we got rolling, he mostly sat still. We walked him down to the 24th street beach, then let him out & walked on the beach for a while, and when he was done, put him back in & took him home. Needless to say, having a dog with a stroller attracts a lot of attention on the beach.

It served it's purpose: Decker got a nice beach walk and we didn't have to carry him home. But when we were talking later, we started thinking that really, it's easier to throw the dogs in the back of the car, drive to 24th, let them run around, then put them back in the car. I think we'll try that next...

Our bountiful harvest

I know, I know. There are only three, and they are as big as large cherry tomatoes. But hey - they are actually turning red! We have another variety too, but so far, just small green ones on it...

Decker's First Swim Therapy

Sssssssnake

Jeff found this in the side yard the other day. We looked it up, it's a California King snake. Not dangerous :) Actually, they are apparently immune to rattlesnake bites and supposedly eat rattlesnakes, so really, I guess that it's not only not dangerous, it's friendly. Not sure where it came from or where it was off too but sorry I missed it in person.

Bobcat

I know this isn't a great picture but look at this baby bobcat. We went for a great hike yesterday at San Simeon state park. We saw a number if critters including this little guy. There were actually two of them but one scampered down the tree and hid. This one hung out for us to photograph. We also saw deer, including a four point buck, rabbits, mice, lizards...and some ticks. We found all of them before they did any damage :-)

Starlings

A follow up to the birds. Turns out they are starlings. Saturday they were so obnoxious I had to take action. They seemed to be growing in numbers and the patio was covered with crap. So...I started hacking at the honeysuckle and found the nest. There were teen agers in the nest that hopped away but no eggs...so I took it down. I felt a little bad but not too horrible. I mean, they are starlings and have scared off all the other birds. We are going to really prune back the honeysuckle this weekend and hopefully we can keep them at bay. Ill keep you posted...

Oh my

So Kasey, you could never dress up. Whatever you put on him he would take off immediately. Decker will humor you and let you do it, but you can tell he doesn't like it. But look at this. I don't think Riley minds it one bit :-)

Yard guard

We have a pair of blackbirds that have a nest in the backyard right now. They are quite protective. If you walk outside they will fly around and squack at you. They do the same thing to the dogs and they really don't like it. We think they took a nest from a pair of house finches and to be honest, we'd rather have the finches. They aren't as bossy :-)

Sunshine

Everybody loves a nice sunny spot to lay in.

Poor little guy

I spent part of my lunch watching this little scared possum today. I didn't know they could climb walls. I'm guessing he got scared and was looking for someplace to escape to. I watched him move around for about 15 minutes. When I left, somebody from pest control was on their way to get the little guy. Don't know if they are catch and release or not, and didn't want to stick around to find out...
Via BlackBerry

Busy bees

The rose garden on campus is starting to bloom. I would say about half of the roses are going at it. It likes like mostly the "old fashioned" ones right now. Lots of buds haven't opened yet, so we'll see how it unfolds over the next few weeks. This variety was covered with bees - I tried to take a few pictures and I think they show up OK in this shot (click to enlarge). It's fun to watch them dance around collecting pollen. I wonder if anybody sells Rose honey?

More oysters

My first ever bbqd oysters. As you can see from the size of the shells, they were big, but I have to say, they were tasty. Very rich, I think I had three and that was plenty. They had just a touch of butter and garlic on them. We were picking up our wine from Stillwaters; this was their Spring pickup party. They had the oysters to pair with white as well as sausage to go with the red wine. A nice way to spend a few hours on Saturday, for sure.
Via BlackBerry

New friends

Jeff petting a horse and her foal at Cal Poly. Both were so friendly and cute. Too bad we didn't have any carrots for them. We were not about to feed them the new Kangaroo Paw we just bought at the Poly. Plant Shop :)
Via BlackBerry

Orange pin cushion

Our new plant is blooming. Nice, huh! I can't wait until it's grown some more, should ne spectacular!
Via BlackBerry

April showers

We had some really heavy rain this afternoon. This video gives you a bit of an idea how heavy - and also why we have the berm outside the garage :

Oyster Fest II

We ordered another five dozen oysters from Washington for last weekend. This time, we got a sampler, which ended up being two dozen Gold Creek, one dozen Kumamoto, one dozen Kushi, and one dozen Penn Cove Select. They were all delicious and distinct, but the winner was the Kushi's. They were so good! I looked them up on the web, and apparently, they are just a pacific oyster, but there is one particular farmer that raises them and it's the way they are raised that makes them unique. They are grown in trays in the open ocean and allowed to "tumble," so the flaky layers of outer shell get worn off and the remaining shell develops a deep, cup shape. The meat inside is firm and sweet, really tasty. Jeff was actually home for this round, and he was a good sport about it. We were good sports too, and nobody asked him if he wanted one ;-) We ate them in rounds - one of each per round, so we could compare & contrast. I'll say one thing - compared to the Snow Creek we had last time, these were all harder to shuck....

Baaaa

This picture in no way conveys how cute these baby sheep are. I've driven by them the past few mornings on campus and I had to stop and take a picture today. They literally gambol around, and exude so much cuteness it's almost too much! I could just stand by the fence and watch them all morning....sounds better than working, doesn't it?

New patio furniture

We got our new patio furniture and I love it. It's made from recycled milk jugs & assembled with stainless steel fasteners, so theoretically, it should last forever. The color goes all the way through the plastic, so they won't need to be painted or finished ever, which is great.

The chairs have nice wide arms on them - perfect for holding a tasty beverage :) We *think* the material is too hard for a dog to chew on, but lets just say, if you see a future post showing a chewed up chair...neither of us will be surprised ;-) Notice Decker in the background enjoying the sun ?

If you are interested, the chairs came from Loll Designs and are made in Minneapolis.

Alas poor streetlight, I knew you well...

We should have a better view of the stars tonight :) The streetlight is coming down! All the neighbors (except one) let the county know we didn't want it, and CalTrans determined it wasn't needed for road safety, so down it comes. A plan is brewing to appease the one neighbor who wanted it....we'll see what happens the next time she's in town.

Getting some yard work done

Well, Jeff started a big project on Friday and we finished it today. Remember the giant Flax that was right in front of the house? It's been "conquered and divided." It was getting too imposing, so with the help of some neighbors (and a truck & chain) they pulled it out and split it up. The Hopseed bushes on the side of the house are starting to die off, so we needed some replacements for them anyway. The Flax was split up and the two biggest chunks have already been planted, and there are six more in pots waiting in the wings.

To take the place of the Flax, we planted two new Australian plants that are related to Proteas. One is an Leucospermum Patersonii (Orange Pincushion), and the other - I don't remember the name (something like red cone bush?) The Orange Pincushion will have very showy flowers - the other plant will have beautiful foliage. While they can grow big, both are slow growing & will be easy to maintain. I really like how the front of the house has been opened up now!

A shameless plug

I think most of you who read this know Jeff's dad now has a website to promote his art. We are now working on the "Search engine optimization" portion of the work. Simply put: we want to make sure that his web page shows up in web searches where appropriate. One of the ways to do that is to have other websites link back to his website. I don't if this count's as a website or not, but you can find his site here www.rdkeyes.com.

So, if you didn't know about his website, now you do. And if you did know about it, well, sorry :) Like I said, I don't know if this will actually help, but hey - it can't hurt.

Lupine

I took a bike ride out Cayucos Creek Road this morning. The Lupine is already starting to pop up. I've seen some on campus too. I just love the stuff - the purple is so vivid against the bright winter green.

While I was riding my bike, I was reminded of a couple of things I forget about Cayucos. One - there is a public swimming pool. And two, we have two tennis courts that are actually in very good shape. Maybe I have to dust off my racket...

Winter Beach

We had really strong surf last week. One of the things that happens during those storms is that sand washes away from the beaches. It always comes back, but there are times in the winter when our beach does not look the same. Here's a good example. You can see the stairs to the left (19th street) that we always use. Normally, the are you would be looking at would be flat, smooth sand. The exception is the biggest rock to the right. Usually, there is about 1-2 feet of it above the surface of the sand. We are guessing about four feet of sand have washed away right now. It changes daily, and who knows what it will look like tomorrow, but by Summer, don't worry - the sand will be back!

Afternoon snack in the city

Right around the corner from The Palace Hotel, where we are staying, is a nice little Italian deli. A little salami,  cheese and wine before an afternoon nap. Then,  taking a bus (already ridden Muni and Bart) to Nob Hill for dinner.  After that,  the plan is to take a cable car to the Orpheus theater to see Wicked. I think that covers all the modes of transportation,  except for taxis!

The after shot

As promised, here's what it looks like with the asphalt in place. We think it turned out well and will see how things fair when it rains tomorrow. Hopefully, all the water will still flow properly...and now without washing rocks down the street :) It will certainly make parking in front of the neighbor's much easier, that's for sure!

An acutal post about the house

We are finally getting some paving done out front. Starting at our house, and going three house down, everybody is getting the "curb" paved. In the past, whenever it rains, the rocks wash away from this area and in front of our neighbor's house, it gets all muddy. This will be a welcome addition. We are also having the "hump" in front of the garage reinforced, in hopes we'll get lots of rain this winter! I'll post an after shot when they are done...