Visit the kelpforest....

After a lot of bad news about amphibians, a little good news! She's really pretty too!

Rainbow toad: Found after 87 years, first photo ever

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th (here in the States, that is). Pretty par for the course here. Parade, fireworks. We thought about going to Anime Expo on Sunday, but at least one fry decided they didn't want to go, runsamuck pouted about possibly staying home from his friend Jerry's (they have a standing Sunday video game playdate), and most importantly, I neglected to buy tickets ahead of time, not to mention Angus is no longer in the child ticket range, and definitely won't pass for twelve anymore (I think he's as tall as me now, and starting to get acne and a peach fuzz mustache. Pretty sure he's outgrown the Sesshomaru costume I made for him few years ago). It would have been $170 at the door just to get in for one day, which I really can't justify right now. Maybe a smaller convention later, if we can find one nearby. Angus likes to remind me, "I kept telling you!" Yes, dear...

Also, on Saturday up there, there was a bomb scare, but people seem to be less freaked out by hordes of costumed fans descending on downtown Los Angeles. Although I find it a little odd that these articles were all in the OC Register, and I didn't come across any from the LA Times. Oh well.

( Aquarium... )



( 7/4/2011 )

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Another walk (since it was Spring Break and the kids were home all week), this time to Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, where we walked from the parking up to the lagoon north of the flood control channel, on a trail at the base of the mesa. We hadn't been along that path before. While trying to get close to some flowers, I looked down and saw this male side-blotched lizard catching some late-afternoon rays at the front of his burrow in the earth.

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
7 April 2010

( moar... )

23. earth ☺
2. pace ☺
5. flower ☺
20. fruit ☺
1. stair ☺
3. bird ☺
22. camera ☺

We actually went to the human cemetery today, but were surprised to find the gate locked; I would've thought it would been open at least until sunset. Then we checked out the pet cemetery, where in a corner we found what I took below. However, in the end I decided the above meant a little more to me. These rocks mark the spot in our side yard where my good buddy Bob is interred; the best cat who thought he was a dog who ever consented to live with me. He's kept company by Termite, not the smartest, but the sweetest. We miss them both immensely. The back rock is actually light green and sparkly, but I could not get the phone's white balance to record it properly. The front one is obsidian with red veins.

( To serve and protect... )

24. Gravestone ♥

Six tigers; Angus (1998), me (1962), and my dad, Robert (1926) were all born in the year of the Tiger, plus two toys and our newest little tiger, Scooter. 

( And the last of my Feb. scavenger hunt... )

And I'll be back for the next scavenger hunt, because this one is done!

3. Tiger ☺
13. A kiss ☺
28. Something you want to spend your tax return on ☺
8. A sign of jealousy ☺
18. Self portrait at work ☺
22. The cover of a book with the word "home" in the title ☺
9. Laughter ☺
7. An object you always have with you ☺

Petting a California rosy boa at Community Science Night. Orange Coast College puts on this event every year - kids also get to climb on some old planes in the Aviation Technology dept., turn cranks and watch tops being turned in a programmable lathe in the machine shop, drive remote control robots, look at a smoker's lung, look behind the scenes in the aquariums, and smell scented plants in the horticulture department. They have a blast and get interested in science at the same time.

Science Night
Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa CA
Canon EOS 1000D
16 October 2009

Stopped by the Pt. Fermin Lighthouse because I never tire of lighthouses.

Pt. Fermin
San Pedro CA
Canon EOS 1000D
15 October 2009

( One of these things is not like the other... )

Sitting here sort of spacing out - about to go home as I did docks this morning - and then I heard panting and someone saying "hey, hey, settle down. Want your ball?" Peaked aroung my cube wall and there's a female warden in the hallway with a German shepard. He just barked and startled me; getting a little antsy from being indoors and behaving himself, I suppose. Seems like he's an official dog; I believe I just heard her call him "Reno," although I'm not sure why a dog working for the State of California is named after a city in Nevada... ;)

Yikes, it's 100°F here, and smoky. Thought it would cool down as it gets later and it's just getting hotter. I seldom see three digits on that little widget on my desktop...

This place is less than mile from my home, and I actually worked for about three years at the fast-food place visible in the background more than two decades ago. But in all the time I've lived in the neighborhood, I've never ventured inside, despite my father making use of the services there for my grandmother. Specifically, for my grandmother's beloved Boo-Boo.

Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
14 August 2009

( +4 )