Half Dome

My annual trip to Yosemite with my students last week was an enormous success! I'll never cease to feel awe over the treasures of this valley, both the enormous ones and the hidden ones. And yes, I have quite a horde of apples again this year!

Princess Bellerina

The queen perches on her royal chaise. A servant hovers nearby should she desire anything.

Little Apples?

I'm not sure if this is a manzanita or wild pyracanthus.

Manzanita means "little apple" in Spanish, and a close look at the bright red berries confirms that they do, in a way, resemble a highly idealized version of an apple.

I think they look more like tomatoes, myself.

This bush was spotted on another Pulgas Ridge excursion, a place that is rapidly climbing to the head of our list of favorite places to roam.

Edit: I've since confirmed that this is pyracanthus.

Thankful for...

pleasures both simple and extravagant...

Can you believe this bottle of champagne? It was a raffle prize at Mr. Hands' company holiday party some years ago. We did not know then what a treasure we had. Tucked away since then, awaiting a special occasion--that occasion was today, our Thanksiving feast with family and friends.

Mr. Hands' verdict--"I'd rather have a Coke." My verdict--"Can I have yours then?"

Shady characters

Is it just me... or do these two look like they're up to something?

Pulgas Ridge

Katie takes Mr Hands and I for a walk
in the Pugas Ridge Open Space.

This dog-friendly preserve has great trails and an off-leash area where Katie can crash through piles of leaves and go bounding around bushes. Funny how such a resource can be in our very backyards without our knowing about it until now.

Last Harvest

I toppled the tomato plants and pulled the peppers today and here's the final bounty from the garden. I hauled all this inside using my robe as a sling, prancing in my slippers and pajamas between the first raindrops of what turned out to be quite a drizzly day. I'm tickled that I pulled all this from my garden on November 10! But I absolutely do not know what to do with green tomatoes.

Camellia

"Flowers are beautiful hieroglyphics of nature,

with which she indicates how much she loves us."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I'm the leader here, and I say... it's a little cricket bug."

Fascinated by the cricket-crab bugs she found on the shore, Katie wore herself out on the trail.

Blaze of Autumn

 

Glowing Red Fountain Grass along the Bay Trail in Burlingame.

Fort Funston

In With the New

 

Shane with an iPhone on her hands

Eau de Bell Pepper & Ode to iPhone

 

There are two significant things about this picture. The first is that it is my first grown-from-my-garden bell pepper, and not just of this season, but ever! I think it's lovely. My goodness, did it smell great! The red bells had yet to appear at pepper plucking time, so I purchased one and laid it side-by-side next to my green bell on the counter. Their looks complemented each other, but while the green bell had terrifically fresh and produce-y fragrances, the red store-bought smelled of nothing at all. What a treat, to savor the perfume of my pepper--but my sister-in-law started to look at me funny, so that was enough of that.

The second significant thing about this picture is that it was taken with my just-from-the-shrink-wrap iPhone! It was a treat to savor the sight and feel of my iPhone last night, too, but the funny looks I got were similar.

Welcome, Cort!

Let me introduce to you my new second cousin!

Cort Robert
July 11, 2007

Isn't he gorgeous?!

Sailing

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

There is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do.
--Bill Watterson

Bon Voyage to Me...

...Back in Two Weeks!

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.

--John Masefield

 

This is my garden as it stands today.

Veggie Counts:
Tomatoes: 1
Crookneck squash: 4
Zucchini: 0
Green peppers: 0
Red peppers:0
Eggplant: 0

Did you hear that? It was me sighing. It was the sigh heard 'round the world.

No more papers, no more (text)books,
No more children's dirty looks.
No more meetings, no more assignments,
No more notes home to your parents.
No more red pens, no more grade scales,
No more silly homework tales.
No more boring strategic planning,
No more bus stops that need manning.
No more recess, no more lunch,
No more detention, no more test crunch.
No more electives, no more study hall,
Darn it, I may miss it after all.