Ventura Dreaming

November Brings Rain, Snow, and an Update

2011-11-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

Facebook makes it so easy to comment on things or share events and thoughts, I'm surprised to see how long it has been since I've "blogged". Today is my 5th anniversary of when I started working for Oxnard at the South Oxnard Branch Library - so nice it happens to be my "off-Saturday" so I have three days off this weekend and we're able to spend the time at Sam's house in Kings Beach. It's also nice Ann and Zane are always available to take care of Bob, the fish, and the house whenever we're away.
Life has been good for the most part - great most of the time with a few bumps along the way. Bryan married Jessica, Sam and Jenn broke up, Brooklyn is 1-year-old and Lindsay and April are expecting again. Tom and I celebrated our 40th anniversary in Italy!
I think I said the same thing a year ago, but I hope to post here again more oftn.

Beautiful Snowy Morning

2011-04-09T19:14:00.001-07:00

We've spent a very relaxing Spring Break with Sam & Jenn. Five days in this beautiful Tahoe North Shore area with our kids is a great way to vacation!

(Nov.4, 2011 note: I've never edited previous blog postings until now. Back on this day in April, I posted being overjoyed that Sam and Jenn were getting married in November, this Saturday, in fact. Sam broke it off in August and although I was very sad, we all agree it was the right decision. I've just removed the photo I took that week of the happy couple - no need to open old wounds by keeping it up.)

Wind: Another Trial for Mother Birds

2011-02-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

We are having another windy day and gusts of 25-30mph were blowing the avocado tree branches all over the place this morning. Poor Mama Hummer was spreading her wings and tail over the nest, but she still had to leave to find food. You can barely see one of the babies along the left side of her body if you click on this picture and see the enlarged photo.
This is the first time I've seen her with her back to the house, but I guess she was facing the wind to protect her nestlings.

Baby Hummingbirds!

2011-02-07T01:04:00.000-08:00

A week after noticing the nest in our avocado tree and seeing the mother bird was letting me take pictures while she was away, I went upstairs to get a closer look from the balcony. What a wonderful surprise to see eggs in the nest!This morning, I was a little worried when I didn't see the eggs (a nesting pair of scrub jays had been noisily announcing themselves the day before.)When Mama came back, she appeared to be feeding a little beak.I was delighted to see two baby birds in the nest! They are far from cute at this point - blind, featherless with bulging eyeballs and tiny beaks. Thankfully, it is warm this week so Mama can leave them long enough to find food for them:Don't forget to click on the pictures to see the bigger versions.(Sitting on the nest with squirmy babies underneath is not as stable as before!)
According to several websites, hummingbird eggs take an average of two weeks to incubate, so Mama camoflaged her nest well enough we didn't see it for at least a week! It will be fun to watch the babies grow feathers and learn to fly. Stay tuned!

Hummingbirds in the Backyard

2011-01-29T15:37:00.000-08:00

I've been watching a couple of hummingbirds in the yard this weekend and was happy to see that one of them let me take some closeup shots with my camera this morning.
I wondered why this one was sitting in one spot for such a long time - until I took a closer look and discovered it was nesting! I am also able to see the tiny bird and her nest from our balcony.

I caught this shot while the bird was out of the nest for a while. One of the little birds was on the telephone wire and chirped a warning for the other to come back. Now whenever I've gone out and found the nest empty, one of them comes back to the tree but doesn't immediately go back to the nest. It is pretty well hidden, so I guess they either know that, or have seen me enough times to know I won't hurt them.
(If you click on any of these photos, you'll see the bigger versions. If you click on the two photos of the tree, you'll see the bird in her nest. The last shot is a wide-angle shot from the balcony. I've drawn an arrow and labeled the location of the nest since it is really hard to find when you have the whole tree to look at.

Facebook

2011-01-22T07:27:00.001-08:00

I just added a Facebook badge to this blog since I obviously haven't been keeping up here. I DO have hope I'll come back and update this sooner than later!

Weeks Later, the Latest Pond Iteration is Done!

2010-09-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

Just a few more plants and rocks to relocate and it's done!

Dead Goldfish Aren't So Bad

2010-08-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Normally, I would have been very unhappy to discover two of my goldfish dead in the pond, but the good news is that these two moved into our first "raccoon-proof" pond more than two years ago, after living at least one year in a Portola classroom fish bowl. They survived many fishing attempts by marauding raccoons the past late summers-early falls and seem to have lived out their goldfish lifespans.
Fish 1 Fish 2 It is possible that the roots of the water irises and mint plants had crowded them out or taken up too much oxygen, but knowing what survivors goldfish can be, I rather doubt it. After taking the plants out yesterday afternoon, there was still at last 15 inches of water space at the bottom, as well as space at the top of the "squarepond". Before deciding to remove the pond
Pulling out the plants in order to drain and remove the container
So now I have an opportunity to "remodel" the pond area again. It's been three years since I built the current configuration; this coming weekend, I'm going to try connecting the two ponds and giving the two koi and the four other goldfish a bigger home. Tom has his doubts that it will work since I'll need to connect the smaller pond to the bigger one with two separate pond liners and a channel under the bridge for the fish to travel between water holes. There is definitely the possibility of creating a big leak or dirt collapse, so wish me luck!This week's configuration

Had a Great Time; What a Place We Live In!

2010-07-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

We got back from Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows last night - six wonderful days of "roughing it" in order to thoroughly experience the beautiful mountains, rivers, meadows, flowers, and wildlife in the High Sierra. It felt great to shower and wash my hair after we got home (running water is a wonderful luxury) but I would have easily traded another week of living in a tent with the only running water in the river, if I had more vacation time. It struck me that if ever I didn't have a house to live in, I could follow the warm weather and spend the maximum number of days camping in national and state parks. I'm sure lots of homeless people are forced into doing it, but as long as we had the vehicle and fuel to travel, that would be a reasonable alternative.

Coming home, in addition to running hot water and a real bed, also meant returning to electricity and an internet connection. Although I had a mobile phone that got great 3G connectivity, I had my old phone with the battery that wouldn't hold a charge, so although I could take pictures and email them, I couldn't check Facebook or weather updates. (That's why they call it "roughing it", ha ha!) So now I have over 1660 photos and about 50 minutes of video clips to edit - plus laundry and other things to deal with before my vacation ends tomorrow night. Yeah, my life is really rough ;-) We live awfully blessed lives, living so near the beach in Ventura and having the resources, health, and time available to drive 3-8 hours to places with 8,000-10,000 foot elevations for hiking, fishing, and skiing. Now that I have to go back to work on Monday, I'm already looking forward to another vacation in the fall . . . and looking way further ahead: to retiring and getting to travel even more in a few more years!

I'm Back - and on the Road to Zion

2010-06-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over four months since I last updated this blog. I've actually written more on Pond Ponderings, and of course the CROP Hunger Walk needed (and needs) updating. I think Facebook is the biggest culprit - it so much easier to write one sentence and upload a few pictures. So I'm back with loads of flowers, fish, trips to visit Sam & Jenn, special occasions, and Bob updates to catch up with. This is the day after a wonderful, fun, sunny Memorial Day Weekend. I had to work Saturday, but Friday, Sunday, and Monday were great. Sam & Jenn came down Sunday evening and yesterday was the annual UCLA Reggae Festival. I stayed up late last night putting videos on YouTube and here is my favorite:

(You will eventually see all my videos from yesterday's festival on YouTube - just search for UCLA Reggae Festival 2010 venturahundleys.)

Time to Start Planning for April 25th

2010-01-23T02:42:00.000-08:00

Doing something to fight the causes and effects of hunger is important now more than ever - join us in the Ventura CROP Hunger Walk!

www.venturacropwalk.blogspot.com

Rain Is Predicted To Fall All Week!

2010-01-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

That's practically unheard of in drought-stricken SoCal, so I'm in rain-lover heaven!

Yesterday, Tom and I wandered around LA Live, trying not to get blown away with our umbrellas ;-) Today, we got this incredible straight-down-from-the-sky very loud downpour. There is more rain predicted for the next two days so I'm really excited!

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2010!

2010-01-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

As usual, we are late getting out our Christmas cards, but until they all arrive, here is our annual letter with this wish:

May the world’s Hope for

Peace, Love, and Joy

during the holiday season

last throughout the New Year!

(Our annual letter will open if you click on this posting's headline.)

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

2009-12-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

We drove up in a little bit of rain and slush, but the real snow began to fall yesterday afternoon and we woke up to a bit of blue sky with snow on the ground. And now it is definitely snowing! I'm happy to know that we will most definitely have a white Christmas while we're up here at Sam & Jenn's. It is the perfect place to rest, relax, enjoy our family, AND ski whenever we want!

Alternative Christmas Gift Giving

2009-12-09T18:19:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday's annual Alternative Christmas Faire was another successful time of raising money for others - while honoring friends and family with gift cards explaining what project had been supported. It is not too late to buy alternative gifts - just use the links to the instruction sheet and "shopping list", then email me to arrange exchange of a check for a gift card.

Snow Returns to Ventura!

2009-12-08T17:05:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again . . . winter is on its way! We got .7" of rain in our back yard and the local mountains got lots of snow. I love more than anything to see snow on topa Topa, with Ventura's Two Trees surrounded by snow-covered mountains!

So Much For Which To Be Thankful

2009-12-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

What a great Thanksgiving weekend we just had! It was full of good times, memorable images, and many firsts. Sam and Jenn came down to spend a few days with us and traveled to Costa Mesa for Thanksgiving dinner at April & Lindsay's - it was the biggest family gathering ever! Tom and I endured a wet and windy trip across the SB Channel to hike on Santa Cruz Island for the first time - what beautiful island views! I had to work on Saturday but it was nice that some of my Teen Council members could come and decorate the library in the afternoon. After a good First Sunday in Advent worship service, we had our first blocking session for Amahl and the Night Visitors and then went to the parsonage where we had a fun baby shower for Jacob and Heather and got to see how Mary has decorated her new home. I finished the four-day period with a nice long Sunday afternoon nap. (photos to follow)

RIP GeoCities and Hello hundleys.net

2009-11-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

This link to an October 26 L.A. Times article is a good summary of the GeoCities history.

My first web pages appeared at an old, hard-to-remember, address in one of GeoCities' Rainforest neighborhoods. (Don't bother looking for www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/8759/ - it no longer exists online). Back in the late 1990s, the only pictures on my site were pictures printed from film and then scanned into tiny files of less than 50k. Getting a digital camera of my own was great, but those first cameras were nothing like what we have today with all our big files and memory capabilities.

A few years later, the GeoCities neighborhoods were no longer necessary and our original address had changed from the rainforest/jungle URL to an easier "3hundleys" location.

After we switched our ISP to Pacific Bell/which became SBC/which became ATT, I created another site on the "new" GeoCities (www.geocities.com/venturahundleys@sbcglobal.net). I was already thinking about buying a domain in order to change the difficult web address when I got the closing notice from Yahoo, so wasn't totally heartbroken. I am sad about all the internet history that was not archived. In the meantime, I have a lot of work to do on our new Hundleys.net site.

Fall Colors, Version 2009

2009-10-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

The past few years I've had a yearning to see fall colors, so we've been to Tahoe, Big Bear, Chicago, and Sacramento during Tom's Fall Break from school. Since we're traveling at the end of the week, I didn't feel like going too far away last weekend - so we drove up behind Ojai and found a little bit of color around the Sespe. Still a little early, but very pretty.

First Rain, pt.2

2009-10-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

7:30 this morning: 1.5" in the rain gauge and the fishponds were at maximum fullness. The fish seemed to love it!

The New Rain Year Has Begun!

2009-10-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

About a week earlier than past years I can remember, our first rain of the season fell this morning as a light rain. Real rain, not "heavy mist" or even "drizzle" but actual drops that splashed and caused water to run down Channel Drive. I join everyone in the burn areas around SoCal in hoping it doesn't come down too hard and fast, but actual rain in the third year of an officially declared drought is great!
It is just beginning, but as of 8:30am, we already had .20 inch in the rain gauge.

Koi & Goldfish 6 - Raccoons 0

2009-09-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to have seen seven different raccoons in our backyard the past several weeks and none of them has caught a fish in our pond! Before I deepened and enlarged our fish ponds, I had gotten used to losing fish once they got to "good eating" size. As we begin to say goodbye to summer and look ahead to early fall (when raccoon raids have been the most destructive) it has been a pleasure to sit and watch the fish at their most active time. It has also been fun to have walked outside just as different raccoons have been crossing our pond bridge without trying to catch our fish! (By the time I had run inside for the camera, the raccoons were already in the tree or over the wall. I did get this lone 'coon as well as two of a group of four visiors.)

A Weekend of Celebrations

2009-09-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Friday was our wedding anniversary and today is Sam's birthday so I decided to scan our old photos in order to preserve them. Here is a slide show of our wedding back in 1971:

And here are some pictures of Sam:

This anniversary, we (the two of us with Richard & Nancy) had dinner at the Tam O'Shanter in Glendale and then saw Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal at the Greek Theater. It was nice to go home after the concert and wake up without having to pack up in the morning. Saturday was spent resting and recovering from all the great food and drink of the night before!

An Unexplained (Google) Phenomenon

2009-09-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a great fan of Google's holiday and special event logos but today's is creating lots of comment because no one knows why they put it up. If you click on it, it automatically searches for "unexplained phenomenon" - however, the top result is this article in the British online news site, the Telegraph. Best of all are the comments and conjectures - click on the title to read them or google it yourself!
(Google has no better explanation on their Google-Logos blog.)

Smuggler's Blues, Star Wars Style

2009-09-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my "wookie" friend, Annie, I'm being completely nerdy by posting this fabulous video here and on my MySpace blog. I've always liked the song and love the Han Solo character, so here's a very creative mashup:

I can't wait to see all six Star Wars movies when I play them at the library during a Star Wars Film Fest!

My Possum Friend . . .

2009-08-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

. . . is becoming less timid. I've been leaving out apple or banana slices for this little guy every night for months. He/she eats the fruit along with slugs and snails and the occasional avocado, unless the raccoons are around. The nice thing about this guy - besides keeping the snail and slug population down - is that I often find a nice-sized avocado left on the ground for us many mornings when our tree is in season!

The Prairie

2009-08-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, -
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few.

- emily dickinson
Until Carol and I explored the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (4-5 miles from the Bergland cabin on Blue Lake) I had no idea how beautiful prairies can be. Until our visit to Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, I'd always thought of them as dry, flat, grassy expanses. I was very pleased to discover acres of summer wildflowers between areas of oak savannahs (until recently all but chopped down out of existence, they, along with the prairie, have been replanted and restored at this refuge. It was easy to imagine why settlers moved here - so many trees just right for building cabins and so much land available to farm. So good for the pioneers; too bad for the land!)

Looking Back at our Vacation: Blue Lake, MN

2009-07-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

It's going to take a while to sort through all the photos but we will have happy memories of the Minnesota leg of our summer vacation for years to come. Paul and Carol were such gracious hosts, the Bergland "Blue Lake B&B (and Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks In-between)" was the perfect place to complete our city & country vacation (the guest house, our home during the visit, is pictured above)! Even though the weather was unseasonably cool (in the high 60s/low 70s in mid-July!) they kept us entertained, extremely well-fed, and pleasantly relaxed for a wonderful time that ended too quickly. The weather cooperated on our last day there - mid-80s and perfect for kayaking, jet skiing, and cruising the lake!

Home, Sweet Home

2009-07-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

As wonderful as our vacation was, it was great to fly into LAX last night and be back in SoCal again! We rode the Roadrunner Shuttle up the coast and through Malibu Canyon as the sun was setting and it clarified just how beautiful our part of the world is. As the driver said when he picked us up, he was taking us back to paradise!
We got home right around 10 pm and Bob Cat was there to welcome us. It was so warm while we were gone that the moss and algae (that I had thinned out the day before we left town) had grown so much that you could barely hear the waterfall! This morning, I thinned it all out again and enjoyed seeing that along with the algae, the cannas, peacock orchids, and begonias had also taken off!

The Real Vacation Has Begun!

2009-07-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

The ALA conference was great but the schedule and travel between our hotel, the convention center, and the outlying hotel events was exhausting. The real vacation began yesterday afternoon. Tom took me around to all the outdoor places he explored while I was at the conference - music, sun, sculptures, etc. We finished the night with a marvelous meal at Morton's - genuine prime Midwest filet mignon with all the trimmings! Today we took the bus down to Hyde Park and saw the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Thursday afternoon we check out and fly up to Minnesota for a long weekend with Paul and Carol at their cabin outside of Minneapolis. (photos to follow)

Cheers to Chicago

2009-07-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

This town is so much fun! We got here Thursday evening and have been thoroughly enjoying our visit.We took the CTA train to Wrigley Field and went to a Cubs/Cardinals game Friday afternoon. After a brief rain, the sky turned blue and beautiful. We left in the 8th inning (Cardinals 8, Cubs 3) in order to make the YALSA Happy Hour and Fashion Show at the Westin, the first event before ALA really got started on Saturday. Our first dinner was just a few blocks from our hotel, the Elephant and Castle, a place we discovered on our first trip to Chicago.ALA was hectic but full of informative sessions and interesting and inspirational author talks. Lots of rushing back and forth between events in hotels on the Loop and events in the convention center but well worth the time. Tom spent most days exploring on his own but also attended some of the author talks and readings and Exhibit Hall events with his guest pass. With restaurants open late and mild summer nights past midnight, we found plenty of time to enjoy the city after ALA was over each night. Will post photo links after we get back.

Summer is Official!

2009-06-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Summer Solstice occured at 12:46 a.m. CDT. This is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and marks the Sun's northernmost point in the sky.

To Redlands and Back Again

2009-06-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

We're home from another wonderful time at the University of Redlands for the Annual Conference of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. (That's right, the organization is an "Annual Conference" and it meets as this entity annually.) As happens every year, more than 1,700 laity and clergy from across Southern California, Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan gathered. According to the Cal-Pac News, "this was the 25th Annual Conference Session of the California-Pacific Annual Conference, which was created out of the Pacific and Southwest Annual Conference. This session marks the 158th session since the organization of The Pacific Conference in 1851, the oldest of the merging Annual Conferences." This year, the organizers shortened the time period (Wednesday - Saturday) and made off-campus accomodations available. So instead of staying in one of the University of Redlands' dorms, Tom and I stayed at the Redlands Comfort Suites.This allowed Tom to relax and hang out at the hotel while I was at the plenaries or volunteering in the Video Room, and join me for meals, conference choir rehearsal, or worship services whenever he wanted. Linda French and I took pictures of everything in order to display them during our Annual Conference Report during worship services on June 28th. I videoed what I could to add to the visual report. Besides Linda and me, Jeff Brackett was the third lay representative from FUMC, and Dick French and Tom rounded out our Ventura First lay group.

Summer is almost here . . . and raccoons have arrived!

2009-06-13T18:36:00.001-07:00

The unofficial beginning of summer came and went (Sam, Jenn, and Meg came down for the Memorial Day holiday and we all went to UCLA for the Reggae Festival). A couple of days ago, we celebrated Hannah's, Dillon's, and several others' graduations from high school. That same day was Tom's last day of teaching for the year and yesterday I cleaned and re-did the pond while Tom cleaned his classroom and put it away for the summer. It's still not June 21st but summer is here!

For the past two weeks, we have suspected a raccoon has been in the yard. Thankfully, it appears to have given up trying to catch anything in the ponds (too deep and steep - yay!) but the water bowls have been muddy every morning and I've seen tracks here and there. This morning, as I was about to get dressed for work, I saw this Mom and Cub coming out from under our backporch. I quickly turned on my FlipVideo and followed them as they climbed over the fence. The cub saw me and climbed the tree but Mom climbed up after it (after I had gone inside for a while) and pretty soon they both came down again. Don't know why they came out in daylight.

Iris Time

2009-05-11T00:30:00.001-07:00

The past two weeks have been wonderful for watching our irises bloom. Each day has brought new colors in different parts of the yard! This seems to be the year for color. Our tulips didn't bloom in large bunches like they have other years, but their colors were gorgeous. Looks like the irises are fabulously colorful but taking turns to bloom a few plants at a time.
(Click on the posting title to see more photos.)

Tree Frog by the Pond

2009-04-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

We heard it loudly proclaiming its presence (looking for a mate?) several weeks ago but we never saw it until recently. I ran into this little guy while I was transplanting some pots over the weekend. (A few more pictures.)

Compassion and Enlightenment

2009-04-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

I didn't get tickets to hear His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, speak at UCSB on Friday, but I was able to listen to his talk on Ethics for Our Time, via the internet broadcast on KCSB. (The talk on Nature of Mind is also available via KCSB.org.) Then on Saturday, I was blessed with the experience of watching the group of Tibetan monks who had been working on a sand mandala all week, take the intricate design apart during a beautiful dissolution ritual. Photography wasn't allowed inside the museum so I only have photos and this video of what happened after the monks left the building:

Here is one photo but there are a lot more on our photo page.(My video is very shaky because I was so excited and wasn't using a tripod. There are some great photos of the sand mandala and a really good video on Nooshawk.com.)

A Visit from the Easter Possum

2009-04-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

No sign of the Easter Bunny before church this morning, but I was very happy get an up-close-and-personal visit with one of our local possums. When I looked out the back door this morning, Bob was doing his slow-stalk move so I went out to see what was in the yard. This possum was on the back wall - pretty unusual to see this nocturnal critter in daylight! This just might be the same little guy who fell into our fishpond last fall, now grown a bit bigger. He's very likely the critter who comes and eats the apple cores and fruit slices I leave out most nights.

Back from Spring Break

2009-04-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

(The birthday boy!)
It was such a nice little vacation - Sequoia, Tahoe, and Ventura; great places to live and visit! We had a nice visit with Sam and Jenn, skied a little, saw snow and spring flowers, and enjoyed time at home. Here's a video of our day skiing:
And some shots of us before, on the way to, and after skiing at Squaw and Sugar Bowl . . .

Another Bob

2009-03-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since the second story was built and we moved back in, the balcony (via the ficus tree and roof) has been Bob's private door in and out of the house. Who woulda thunk another cat might try out Bob's private territory entrance? Last night, around 2:30, I had finished my book and heard a noise upstairs (Bob was downstairs with me). As soon as we came to the top of the landing, Bob's fur poofed out and he started sniffing around. What a surprise to find a cat - who was very reminiscent of Kate and Evenstar - on our balcony. It must have felt cornered because it spit and tried to scratch me, but it wasn't terribly afraid of Bob!
Thank goodness for digital cameras; I took it's picture and was able to blow up it's tag . . . surprise, it's name is Bob! He refused to leave with me trying to shoo it away, but he was gone this morning, making him the first interloper to figure out the diagonal leap it takes to get off the roof and onto the balcony (and the harder part - leaping down diagonally to get back to the tree and the ground!) Hopefully, Bob will defend his territory a little better next time . . . smelling the roses and thinking it's all good is only good to a point.

After the Rain . . . More and More Spring Flowers!

2009-03-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

We don't get as much rain as we would like (and when it does come, it sometimes causes mudslides and flooding) but I love the rain because it causes the flowers to bloom. Just walking around the yard as the sun came out and looking at the water droplets left on the plants was such a beautiful experience this morning!

Winter Has Returned to SoCal!

2009-02-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

The calendar tells us that Winter begins around December 21 but most years it is not until February that Ventura gets its coldest and wettest weather. (This year, we seem to be bouncing back and forth between rain and snow and periods of mild and really hot weather.)We got nearly 3 inches of rain in the past five days and more is predicted for this weekend. Coming out of the Angeles Crest Forest late Friday night, I encountered rain, lightening, and snow (I was the only one on the road at the time so it was too dark to get any good photos - besides, it was cold and wet!) Yesterday the snow that had fallen at 4,000 feet elevations and higher was clearly visible from our house - yay! I've taken so many pictures of our local snow that I thought I'd add this mirror view from the side of the road on Victoria Avenue. That view is one of my favorites!

And now that we've had some good soakings, the spring flowers are really beginning to bloom!

Ventura CROP Hunger Fight Begins

2009-01-24T01:18:00.000-08:00

We will have our 2009 Kickoff on January 31st at 2:30 (if you would like to attend, please see the Ventura CROP Hunger Walk blog) but I have just setup my online fundraising page. Just click on the posting title or go to my page to learn more and make a donation. We would love to have more walkers this year so if you'd like to join us, sign-up and join us on March 15th.

Ten Consecutive Days of 80 Degree Weather

2009-01-20T22:21:00.000-08:00

"My" unseasonably warm winter birthday weather is finally coming to an end, but this year it lasted much longer than usual. Hope this isn't another indication of global warming!

Loved My Birthday Weekend But the Inauguration Trumps It All!

2009-01-20T21:42:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time at the Los Angeles Arboretum, the Arcadia Residence Inn, and the Huntington Library & Gardens. I loved the tea at the Huntington's Rose Garden Cafe and the weather and clear skies couldn't have been more beautiful, but watching Barack Obama's inauguration before going to work and seeing all the associated events after work and over the weekend was absolutely The Best!

Another Beautiful January 14th

2009-01-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

With the exception of one year in recent memory, my birthday day has been blessed with "unseasonably" warm weather. Maybe "unseasonal" means "un-winterlike" but as long as I can remember, we have had Santa Ana winds or after-rain clear skies year after year on the 14th of January.(KEYT and The Weather Channel can't seem to agree on the actual temperature but the 80s only happen during Santa Ana wind gusts.) It's very SoCal seasonal!

Since I worked late today, Tom got sushi takeout and we had a mild weather, late-afternoon, birthday dinner at Hueneme Beach.

Catching Up Professionally

2009-01-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

After vacation and the holidays and year-end work activities, I finally have time to catch-up on my reading of librarian journals. One thing that passed me by completely was the Google/Time Inc. collaboration of digitizing the Life Magazine photo archives. Just search Google Images or go directly to

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Snow, Beautiful Snow!

2009-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

The sun rose into a blue sky this morning, but within hours, the temperature fell and wind began to blow snowflakes down from the sky. What a beautiful sight! It was slushy down at lake level but the flakes quietly built up and left everything beautifully dusted with a white coat. Tom and Sam braved the weather and went skiing while Jenn and I visited Kathy at Mountain Critters and then had a nice lunch at the Blue Agave.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

The first day of 2009 dawned cold, crisp, and clear on the Tahoe North Shore. Sam, Jenn, Tom, and I had a fairly restful and relaxing day after the roommates and their guests left today. I watched the Rose Parade before getting out of bed and going downstairs, then we all had pizza and great meatball sandwiches while we watched the Rose Bowl game.

I kept up another of my traditions - here is a picture of the first sunset of the year:

We Had a Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T22:21:00.001-08:00

Looking back on the whole Advent season, it's nice to realize how calm and happy it was. Sure, we didn't get our Christmas cards and letter started by the 25th, and didn't do our Christmas shopping until the 23rd, but that may just be why we didn't feel stressed. We had a great season of concerts (singing and in the audience), special events at church, fun parties, and good times with friends. On Christmas Day, we had a great time with almost our entire family, small as it is. With Tim and Mary Ann arriving from San Antonio on Christmas Eve, everyone was at our house except for Sam & Jenn who were up north.Here's a picture of the three siblings (Jane, Tim, and Tom) together for the first time in a few years. Other photos of the Christmas season can be found by clicking on the posting title or just looking at the December 2008 albums on our Kodakgallery site.

Winter Has Arrived

2008-12-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

The Winter Solstice arrived well before sunrise yesterday morning but "winter weather" actually arrived last week when a cold storm blew snow onto lower elevations in the Southwest that had not seen that much in nearly thirty years. On December 18th, Las Vegas got 3.8 inches of snow and the I-5, I-15, and CA Highways 14 and 38 were closed when the Cajon and Tejon Passes were covered in snow. Even the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu got a little bit of the white stuff. It was amazingly spectacular but according to the record keepers (of whom I am one) almost twice as much fell in December of 1979. I woke up to a soft rain this morning and am thankful it was clear and dry over the weekend. I got about a third of my spring bulbs planted between recovering from my cold and preparing for our Choir Christmas Concert. These are a few shots of our local mountains after last week's storm cleared.Click on this photo and look closely; you'll see some of the strawberries that survived the rain and cold and are ready to be harvested.

If This Season Is Getting You Down

2008-12-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

Not all of us derive extra joy and inspiration from the Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza season. Understandably, those of us who miss our loved ones find this a tough time. People who have lost their jobs, are ill, or are finding themselves with much less than last year are also feeling less than happy. For all those people as well as those of us who feel constantly blessed, here's a video my friend Janet G. sent this week:

Nick Vujicic on YouTube

Venus, Jupiter, and the Crescent Moon

2008-12-02T08:56:00.001-08:00

I shot these photos from our balcony on Sunday. There was too much light around to really show the crescent of the moon, but it helped when I shot from behind the curtain. Too bad the double-paned windows created some "echos" because as NPR and The Manila Times stated, depending on where you were on the globe, some people could see a "smiley face" and other people saw a "frowny face".:
This article by AP Science Writer, Seth Borenstein - published Tue Nov 25, 4:21 pm ET - put me on notice to look in the sky yesterday. I was so busy and tired after the Alternative Christmas Faire, it took a phone call from Tom (who almost always works in his classroom on Sunday evenings) to tell me to look at the sky Sunday around 6pm.

(Quoting from Yahoo! News):
It's not just families that are getting together this Thanksgiving week. The three brightest objects in the night sky — Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon — will crowd around each other for an unusual group shot.

Starting Thanksgiving evening, Jupiter and Venus will begin moving closer so that by Sunday and Monday, they will appear 2 degrees apart, which is about a finger width held out at arm's length, said Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine. Then on Monday night, they will be joined by a crescent moon right next to them, he said.

Look in the southwestern sky around twilight — no telescope or binoculars needed. The show will even be visible in cities if it's a clear night.

"It'll be a head-turner," MacRobert said. "This certainly is an unusual coincidence for the crescent moon to be right there in the days when they are going to be closest together."

The moon is the brightest, closest and smallest of the three and is 252,000 miles away. Venus, the second brightest, closest and smallest, is 94 million miles away. And big Jupiter is 540 million miles away.

The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they aren't so visible. The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov. 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

I took the rest of these yesterday after work - before the moon and planets set into the fogbank that has been hanging out in the area for over a week:

(If you click on the photos, you'll see bigger versions)I took this last one from Oxnard Shores. It was pretty dark but you can see the moonlight on the water and that light on the horizon is an oil platform.

Home & World Improvement Rather Than Christmas Shopping

2008-12-02T08:55:00.001-08:00

Carpet shampooing, wood floor cleaning and oiling, and ivy trimming took up our weekend after Thanksgiving. The annual Alternative Christmas Faire that I've organized for many years took place the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and in only two hours plus a few more purchases over the next two weeks, we raised $7,000.00 for local and global organizations - literacy programs, California wildfire and 2008 hurricane relief, flocks of chickens, building supplies, elderly care, food and services for homeless families and people needing mental health services all benefitted from the generousity of our church's and community's people who made donations at the Faire. It's good to know that even in tough economic times, there are still a lot of people willing to share their resources for the good of others!

Thanksgiving in Costa Mesa

2008-12-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Since Renata had to work the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we stayed in the area and got to celebrate with the SoCal part of our family. (There are just a few more photos to see if you click on the posting title.)

Catching Up: CLA in San Jose

2008-12-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy the annual California Library Association conference learning opportunities, special events, and seeing old friends. This was my second CLA in San Jose (the last one was spent finishing and turning in another set of culminating papers so I could finally get my MLIS!) This time, besides the workshops and speakers, I got to tour the Adobe Systems corporate library shortly after arriving from Tahoe and checking-in Friday afternoon. At the end of the afternoon Saturday, I was treated to wine and hors d'oeuvres and a tour of the Almaden Community Center and Library. What a fabulous place! (These are photos of their TeenSpace.)There were other special events: Brodart invited me to the Friday night Awards Dinner and I attended the State Librarian's Breakfast Saturday morning. After returning from the Almaden Branch Library, I barely had time to enjoy the final hour of the San Jose State School of Library & Information Science Fundraiser at the San Jose Art Museum - a quick bidding time at the silent auction where I got two autographed books, a few more hors d'oeuvres and wine, and a brief look at photos of Frieda Kahlo and some fabulous cardboard and glass art. On Sunday morning, I took part in a poster session about the How I See It: My Place program.
Of course I took lots of pictures; you can see the album by clicking on this posting's title.

Catching Up: Tahoe Trip

2008-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

With the Veterans Day holiday and two vacation days off before CLA's annual conference, I drove up to visit Sam and Jenn. I got to finally see their new apartment, visit Ingrid and see her new home, AND finally totally satisfy my Fall Colors desire (the Big Bear trip helped a lot but I wanted to see MORE!)
Photos of Sam, Jenn, Diesel, and Tahoe

Pictures of my visit and walk with Ingrid outside Grass Valley

Return of the Red-shouldered Hawk

2008-11-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

Just as I was locking up and checking on the pond before leaving for work this morning, this guy flew up from around the avocado tree. I think he might have been drinking out of the water bowl I keep filled for the cats and possums, but I'm not sure he wasn't sitting in the crook of the tree trunk waiting to catch a gopher or something.
At any rate, too little time went between my awareness of the bird and the time it took him to fly up to the neighboring roof. What I was most aware of was the hawk's wingspan - I don't think it was my imagination that made it look like 40".
I looked up information about red-shouldered hawks (University of Michigan and Cornell) and they are described with 37-44" wingspans. I'm glad I had enough time to take his picture before he flew away. Since these hawks are solitary and territorial, I'm assuming this is the same bird we were so surprised to see this summer.
Thank goodness Bob is as huge as he is. He didn't need to be hiding in the tree, but I'm glad he was!

How I See It: South Oxnard

2008-11-21T09:02:00.001-08:00

After months of anticipation and weeks of preparation, we finally held the Opening Reception for How I See It: South Oxnard. Some of you know I applied for this grant from the California Council for the Humanities almost a year ago - my first grant application, so I feel quite lucky to have been chosen to take part in the program. I attended a weekend orientation in L.A. for the 21 librarian Project Directors back in May. After completing our Summer Reading Program and recruiting teens for the project, we had our first session on September 16th. We met once or twice every week for the first six or seven weeks, increasing to three - and finally, four - times a week as our exhibit opening got closer. This is a video created by our City of Oxnard Public Affairs folks, Luis and Christina. Watching it on Vimeo.com causes a bit of distortion to the images and sometimes stops to reload periodically, but it does an excellent job of introducing you to some of the teens and their work. Click on the Play button image and you'll see why I'll miss working with this group now that our project is over:

How I See It...South Oxnard Library Photo Project from City of Oxnard on Vimeo.

I'm Ready for Winter Now!

2008-11-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

Like the ads say, "it isn't winter until the new Warren Miller movie comes out." I know that Fall has barely begun, but now that I've seen this trailer I'm ready for the snow! The new movie is called Children of Winter. Turn up the volume and enjoy this clip!

(Sure wish they would add some venues. There is only one showing on the Central Coast and I have to work that night!)

YES, we can!

2008-11-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, I have to admit I had my doubts this would ever happen, so thanks to all the people who, unlike me, knocked on doors and made phone calls to assure Barack Obama would be elected tonight! We have a lot of hard work ahead, but I am so full of hope tonight - there is so much change that can be accomplished if we can just keep up the momentum and if we can truly work together over the next few years.
Election Results Map

Obama sweeps to victory

As happy as I am with the way the election went, I'm very sorry that Proposition 8 (the anti-same-sex marriage amendment) passed. The country demonstrated that race is not as big an issue as it used to be, but there are still too many people willing to discriminate against people who happen to love and want to spend their lives with men and women who are the same gender as they are.

One More Day to Go

2008-11-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween is over and so is Dia de los Muertes and All Saints Day. Daylight Saving Time is also over. We had our first rain of the season and it came down in over an inch. Change is on the way!Obama is ahead in the polls but what about the "Bradley Effect" and any other last-minute poll booth decisions? Now that's scarey!

Tom's Autumn Recess

2008-11-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

One of the advantages of Tom's semi-year-round school schedule is that he gets a week off in October. This year, he split the week between San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Ventura, and Big Bear; he covered a lot of area in a week! He started right after school was out on Friday night by flying up to San Francisco where he rendezvoused with his friends-since-freshman-year-at-UCSB, Chris and John. While there, the guys were joined by two of their sons - Jesse lives in San Fran and Sam came down for the weekend. Sunday, they drove down to Santa Cruz and spent the night at John & Judy's, and Monday, Tom drove Chris's rental car down through Big Sur so Chris could spend a couple of days in Ventura before flying home to Boston. I really wanted to see fall colors, so the following Friday, the two of us drove up to Big Bear. It was a quick trip since we needed to be back Saturday night, but we got to see autumn leaves, check on the cabin, relax, and enjoy some time alone together.

More Pond Visitors

2008-10-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to catch these birds for several weeks but wasn't able to capture them on camera until yesterday.
Last night, I surprised a couple of our neighborhood opossums as they were crossing the bridge over our pond. I'm one of the weird people who think opossums are cute and often put out old fruit for them by one of the outside water bowls. I was up late doing laundry and so surprised the little one, it jumped into the water! Luckily, it was small enough that it didn't knock anything into the water as it climbed out. What a cute little thing. I got this shot of the mother(?) when it came out from under the porch.
I've often wondered whether to call these "possums" or "opossums" but have learned that only oppossums live in North America - where they are commonly called "possums". While searching for more info about these critters, I ran across a great blog: Camera Trap Codger. Take a look and you'll see some great photos!

Yippee! Another Unsuccessful Racoon Attack

2008-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

After several years of coming to our backyard ponds and cleaning them out of all fish in September and October, we hope that last night's second unsuccessful fishing expedition will reinforce the message not to go fishing in the Hundley ponds. Last time, the intruder(s?) knocked some rocks, plants, and knick knacks from the waterfall in the big pond and knocked the fountain tubing out of the square pond so that it lost about 30 inches of water. All fish survived that night. Last night, it/they messed up the water lilies but seem to have left the square pond alone. (The two goldfish living in that pond have learned to stay down deep and hardly ever come all the way to the top anymore.) They knocked over the big pottery urn and disconnected the hose from the pump in the big pond, but all fish are accounted for. Knock-on-wood that the masked critters give up and go somewhere else. (Actually, they are soooooo cute, that I wouldn't mind them just visiting and maybe just drinking from our outdoor water bowls - but that is probably too much to ask!)

Changing to Fall Colors - Leaves AND Fish!

2008-09-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

With the first day of Fall this week, we expect - even in SoCal - to see some of the trees turning orange and red. Seems the old goldfish (the ones born in the pond last year) have also decided to change colors this season. All three of the surviving goldfish (they survived last fall's infamous racoon attacks!) kept their black color until this spring when one of them turned orange . . . then orange and white . . . and now that one is totally white in color. The other two are just beginning to turn from totally black . . . to black and gray . . . and now are beginning to show some orange!

Autumn Has Arrived . . . .

2008-09-23T09:53:00.001-07:00

. . . You can tell because the "wildlife" in our backyard has changed. The little yellow birds have reappeared (I'm still trying to have my camera with me when they come to the pond.) The monarch butterflies are starting to be seen on plants and floating through the air. The hummingbirds are also back, and it looks like the racoons are beginning to revisit the pond. All are welcome in our backyard - as long as they don't tear anything up (and in the case of the coons, they don't try to eat our fish!)

Sam Spent His Birthday in Ventura

2008-09-14T21:29:00.001-07:00

It was fun to have Sam and Jenn here for Sam's 27th birthday. Brian, Davey, and Mike were on hand and it was just like the old high school days - except the boys have grown up and are much more fun to be around ;-)

Happy Anniversary T&R and R&N!

2008-09-13T14:59:00.001-07:00

A great reason to celebrate: 37 years of wedded bliss; 74 when you add our two couples' years together. While we will always have the shadow of the 2001 Twin Towers bombing attack connected to our September 11 special day, the longevity of our lives as couples and our friendship since we met shortly after our honeymoons will always make this a day of celebration!
This year, we enjoyed champagne and cheese in Richard & Nancy's new outdoor living room, followed by a wonderful dinner at Ventura's newest Downtown restaurant, the Watermark.

Jack Johnson at Harder Stadium

2008-09-02T07:48:00.001-07:00

I took this picture when Jack was in the All At Once tent area before the show began. It sure was fun to come back to UCSB for a concert, especially one in the old football - now soccer - stadium!
As much as we enjoyed Jack's show the last time we saw him, as you can see from this video, this show had more energy, amplification, and electricity. Also on the stage were Paula Fuga and the Culver City Dub Collective.

Obama for President!

2008-08-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was so very excellent - it was hard to believe Barack spoke for over forty minutes!
This photo is one of my favorites from our Alaska vacation last month. The poster was in the window of a little shop we walked past after watching the salmon swim upstream from the Turnagain Arm up the Resurrection River. There is a bit of irony in the photo after McCain's announcement of his vice presidential running mate. May Obama and Biden be as focused and successful as all those salmon!

The Queen of Disco

2008-08-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jack and Carolyn, we got to have a really fun time last weekend when they treated us to a night in their very cool Hollywood Bowl box seat to see Donna Summer. (Without my camera, I only have video clips to show you how it's done - will put them together hopefully, soon!)She hasn't lost her style or energy, and I'm pretty sure I enjoyed her show more in 2008 than I would have in 1978! Here's a link to a review from the Orange County Register and here are some excerpts:

While her peers from the '70s have retired or died or settled for peddling nostalgia, Summer remains not only popular enough to play two nights at the Bowl, but also has the confidence to spend half her night on songs from her new album instead of simply packing her set with hits from 30 years ago.

The show balanced old hits – "I Feel Love," which practically invented electronic dance music way back in 1977, followed the opener, and then came another classic, "Dim All the Lights" – with new songs from her first album of new material since 1991.

"It is 17 years since I've had a studio album out," Summer announced before introducing "I'm a Fire," a new tune that nonetheless had a strong '70s dance vibe.

"I was raising kids," she joked. "There's only so much a woman can do."

The first half of the show focused more on the new material, from the romantic ballad "Sand on My Feet" to the reggae-tinged "Crayons," the title track from her new CD.

Her voice might not have all the purity it did three decades ago, but it remains a powerful and passionate instrument, swooping and soaring – and "MacArthur Park," with its different movements, gave her plenty of room to shine.

It also led to a sweet diva moment. As the biggest applause and cheers of the night caused Summer to dab at her eyes, she told the crowd, "Don't make me cry, c'mon!" which only brought louder cheers for the singer to bask in.

After a few more new songs – the dance-rock "Stamp Your Feet," the bluesy "Slide Over Backwards," both showing off different colors in her musical palette – the show built to the finale for which everyone had been waiting.

"She Works Hard for the Money" got the dancing into high gear again. Then "Bad Girls," with its catchy chorus, flowed straight into "Hot Stuff," performed here in a faster, harder-rocking style.

Just as "The Queen Is Back" served as the perfect opener, there was never any doubt what would wrap up the night, and from the opening chords of "Last Dance," a huge cheer went up and nearly everyone in this audience of more than 14,000 rose to their feet.

As Summer sang it, you could see the joy in her face.

Looking at fans filtering out of the amphitheater once that last dance was over, it was clear the feeling was shared.

It sure was fun to eat, drink, and "dance the night away", but boy - were my legs tired! Here are a couple of video clips from that night:

Dad's 85th Birthday

2008-08-18T01:18:00.000-07:00

It was actually on the 15th but we celebrated Saturday night because Sam was able to join us and I had a teen event at the library in the afternoon. The three of us got meat at Just Barbeque and headed to Costa Mesa where April, Lindsay, and Jane met us at Dad's house. We are so blessed to have our only living parent in such great shape! It was fun to get together, even though for just a couple of hours; our family is so tiny that any time together is good. Sam had to be back up north on Sunday so it was extra quick - and extra special!

Alaska Fishing

2008-08-01T02:44:00.000-07:00

Much more about our Alaska trip will follow, but I took so many pictures I still want to edit, it will take me a while to get organized. I did finish this video though; nothing we read before the trip prepared us for the sight of all those people fishing! To add another dimension, I'll add a video of pinks swimming up the Resurrection River in Hope - as soon as I can.

Summer Soiree 2008 - A Great Time Had By All!

2008-07-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

The Pattons and Richard & Nancy outdid themselves again - they organized a better weekend than any of us could have asked for! It was great to see everyone again, especially so many of our kids, who are about the age most of us were back when these Summer Soirees first began back in 1976! Thankfully, I got my cast off last week, so after a nice visit with Julie and Gabe in SLO, we arrived at Wildwood and I got to enjoy the pool as well as old and new friends, great food and drink, and beautiful views of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As we would often say while floating in the pool with our drinks, "They sure run a great place here!"

A New Pond Visitor

2008-06-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to see this guy before he saw us!
We hope there isn't enough flying room between the bridge and the avocado tree for him to try catching fish in his talons because he is gorgeous and we'd love to see him up close again!

Watching the Fish

2008-06-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

One day before I broke my leg, I finally finished my pond "remodel". (I'll link to photos of the process when I get a chance.) There are still plants and rocks that need to be put back and more plants to add, but until my leg is healed, I'll just have to wait. Tom moved a few things for me (especially the fish!) and feeds them every night. During the recent heat wave, we've really enjoyed sitting on the back porch with our evening drinks, watching the fish eat. Here's a video I put together as the fish learned it was safe to come out and eat while we are still in the area.

Amazing How One Second Can Change Your Life

2008-06-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

That's what I heard several times this past weekend after stepping off the deck without planning to! I had finally finished my pond remodeling project the night before and was spacing out and admiring the results before I was truly awake . . .
Thank goodness Tom hadn't left yet, so we were able to spend time in the ER, get x-rays, and surgery before the sun set. Two nights and a morning at Community Memorial later, Tom was helping me back into the house.

I have a metal plate with six pins and two screws holding together the break and the fracture of my tibia and fibula (right ones) and I'm able to slowly move on crutches. My main responsibility (and goal) is to sit with my foot elevated for as long as possible until Tuesday morning when I will see the surgeon again. Now that I've stopped taking the pain pills, I feel better but it will be more work to sit still!I will have to concentrate on sitting still!

A Wedding and Three Concerts

2008-06-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

Last week came and went but left me with lots of great memories, images, and melodies in my head. We spent the first half of the Memorial Day weekend in San Luis Obispo and celebrated love, marriage, family, and friends at Holly & Chris's wedding. Sam and Jenn came down from Tahoe and the four of us stayed in a suite together.

We all (Doug included) drove back to Ventura for a night at home. Tom helped me finish the pond by doing the more detailed digging and we put the liner down the next morning. (More about that in another posting.) We spent Monday at the UCLA Reggae Festival and had a great time with the all the sounds and sights of the day.

Two dress rehearsals later, we joined the Cal State University Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra (CHICO) and the CSUCI choir for two performances of Ralph Vaughn Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem. We performed at the Camarillo Community Church on Friday night and at our First United Methodist Church in Ventura on Sunday afternoon. We got to enjoy Mariam and CHICO perform Rhapsody in Blue twice!

More photos are coming!

A Dolphin Day

2008-05-16T11:14:00.001-07:00

You know the expression, bluebird, to describe one of those totally gorgeous, blue-sky, sunny days - especially after a snow storm that leaves the slopes oh-so gorgeous? I had the day off on Wednesday and had what can only be described as a dolphin day. I left home early and drove down the coast for my appointment with Kathy and as is my habit after a great haircut and visit with her, I drove to Torrance Beach (which is actually in Redondo) to enjoy the sight, sound, and aroma of the beach where I grew up. (As beautiful and calming as the ocean in Ventura and Santa Barbara is, we have a natural seepage that leaves tar and the smell of tar at the beach - the smell in Redondo and the rest of the South Bay has a sweet ocean scent and the sand is wide and lighter in color.) So the day was just starting to warm up to the first day of a mild heat wave - a high of 76 degrees was predicted - and the surfers, joggers, and strollers were out as usual. There were even a couple of guys out in a kayak and a row boat. I sat and ate breakfast and read my morning devotions on a bench above the beach - what a gorgeous South Bay morning!
Then I noticed the dolphins. It's not unusual to see dolphins in the water, but there were more than usual that day.Actually, the reason I went back to the car to get my camera was the fact some of the dolphins were doing those cool out-of-the-water leaps they do so well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture any of those leaps on camera so I'll just have to rely on memory to replay those images.So back to what makes dolphin days. All the years I commuted up the coast to work at UCSB, I knew my day was extra good whenever I saw dolphins along the drive. Last Wednesday, I had the day free to do whatever I wanted, so I made a point to pull over and walk on the beach or along the road and saw dolphins in Redondo, Malibu, and just south of Mugu Rock. The weather was perfect, I had the time, and dolphins were fishing and playing where I could see them clearly. A truly dolphin day!

Looking Back: April 1st Flowers

2008-04-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

This has been a great year for spring bulbs. Even though I didn't buy as many new bulbs this year, the ones I did buy were hardy and bloomed a long time. We also had a few returnees from past years. Had it not been for our heat wave and Santa Ana winds last week, these may have still been blooming today.

April Irises

2008-04-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time. Between getting the CROP Hunger Walk off and running (oops, making that walking ;-) and trying to figure out a one-week Alaskan itinerary, I haven't had time to blog. Oh, yeah, we also spent a wonderful long weekend in Yosemite at the end of March - I'll have to back-track a bit and post some pictures and/or videos. Anyway, with the exception of the naturalized burgandy lace tulips that have begun to bloom, we pretty much left the tulip season at the beginning of the month and entered the time of the irises. These are the ones I bought several years ago that are "reblooming" irises. They bloom several times a year rather than only once a year. The first year, nothing happened, but last year we had them yearround. This month, however, was the first time they all bloomed at once! Enjoy the pictures . . .

The Eagles are Coming

2008-03-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted anything to this blog for a few days but here's a link to the Channel Islands Live Eagle Cam. You can watch the eagles incubate the eggs in the nest. The eggs are due to begin hatching any time now! Just now, I've been watching the male, K10, get settled on the nest on Santa Cruz Island - watch the cam, it's really cool!

New Hunger-Fighting Blog

2008-03-21T10:14:00.001-07:00

I started a new blog last week to make learning about the Ventura CROP Hunger Walk a little easier: venturacropwalk.blogspot.com
This is a picture of me before last year's walk taken by Gary Lundquist. I'm wearing a shirt with a picture I created from the 2002 walk.

First Day of Spring

2008-03-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

The Vernal Equinox happened at 10:48 this morning
According to StarDate Online, this happened when the sun moved across the equator into the Northern Hemisphere. This also means every day will grow longer until the Summer Solstice on June 20. Mmmmm, wonderful! The bulbs continue to bloom while new ones are opening. Although tomorrow is the actual full moon (in the afternoon), I got a nice shot of the almost-full moon this evening.

Daylight Saving Time Began Today

2008-03-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

It started with a beautiful pink and orange-colored sky (sunrise was at 6:15!) and ended with an equally colorful sunset - at 7pm! In between we had a gorgeous sunny and mild day with temps getting up to the mid-seventies this afternoon. I dug out a little more of the pond but there is still too much water at the bottom to get a good foothold for digging. I spent most of the day after church relaxing in the sun or doing light weeding and watering while taking pictures of the newest tulips and daffodils.

Digging Deeper

2008-03-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

I started a project this afternoon that will hopefully keep future fish out of reach of any raccoons. I drained and took the original 12"/30" shell out of the ground and started digging the area deeper. I hope to keep the footprint the same but dig down to five feet. Then I'll line the hole with liner and put the shell at the bottom of the hole before replacing the rocks and plants.

Leap Day

2008-03-01T03:58:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I didn't take a picture on a day that only comes every four years, but I was busy gardening and cleaning out email on my day off. So to commemorate this special day, I've created a small collection of pictures of the bulbs that are blooming in the front yard. I used this cool widget I learned about in my MCLS Web 2.0 class - just click on the picture to shuffle through the stack:

Ventura CROP Hunger Walk 2008

2008-02-22T21:10:00.000-08:00

It's time to start recruiting walkers - we're holding this year's CROP Kickoff this coming Sunday at 2pm. Although the walk will begin and end at the usual place, Ventura First United Methodist Church, the Walk to Emmaus is using the church this weekend so we're holding the kickoff at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Ralston. Join us on April 13th!

These videos don't mention that 25% of what we raise in Ventura stays in Ventura. The money will go to Project Understanding, Catholic Charities, Family to Family, and FoodShare.

A Total Lunar Eclipse on a Clear Night!

2008-02-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 happened tonight and I actually got to see some of it! I was at work but went outside a few times and saw these phases. (After having used the GoodWidgets photo stack on March 1st, I liked it so much I'm re-doing this set of photos so they don't take up so much scrolling time.)

The disadvantage to these stacks is you can't click on the photos to see them in their original larger size. So I've left the later stages in their own individual shots.
Here are some diagrams from the StarDate Online site that illustrate what happened:
By the time work was over, the moon was coming back:
By the time I got home, the moon was full, and pretty soon, it was in the clouds and back to normal!

Presidents Day Ski Holiday

2008-02-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a great four-day holiday to visit and ski with Sam and Jenn. Dick connected with us and we all had a fun time - great spring conditions after the massive snow dumps of a couple of weeks ago! Snow is expected back much of this week, so there will be more when we come back. Click on the title of this posting to see some of our pictures.
I had good and bad things happen camera-wise. I fell on the last run of the day in an ungroomed area of Kirkwood and didn't realize my Pentax Optio had fallen out of my vest pocket (it was so warm I didn't wear my parka with all the good pockets). Hence, all the pictures we posed for were lost. I bought a Flip Video camera in time for the trip and used it for the first time this weekend. The videoclips are really sharp and the sound is pretty good. I'm learning to put clips together using Windows Movie Maker and created this little movie. Now if I could just learn to ski as smoothly as Sam . . .

Microclimates

2008-02-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

I like to look at temperatures and weather conditions where I live, play, and visit and I appreciate all the people and organizations who maintain weather stations around the world. It's interesting to see how places just a few miles apart can vary in weather data because of their particular location. That is really apparent whenever Santa Ana or Sundowner winds are in the picture. I noticed this yesterday when it was a very mild 69 degrees at work in South Oxnard and the weather.com magnet told me it was 78 degrees in Ventura. This morning at 6:10, the Weather Underground station in the Ventura Keys shows a temperature of 45.9 degrees with 66% humidity and no breeze, while the station just east of our house between the 101 and the 126 shows 57.3 degrees with 40% humidity and a north-northeast wind that just increased from one to two miles per hour as the sun will be rising soon.

See You Next Time

2008-02-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Alan is flying home tonight and I almost feel like we had a little vacation ourselves! It's been nice to spend time with our old friend and to look at where we live through a visitor's eye. (Never mind all the cold rain - the snow that still hasn't melted is fantastic!)We had a nice dinner at Cholada with Mitch and Julie last night and Alan and I walked around Bubbling Springs Park and Hueneme Beach on my lunch hour. I'm so glad he finally got some sunny days at the end of his vacation!

Super Tuesday - New Snow on the Mountains!

2008-02-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm sure most people are no longer interested, but I'm still amazed by all the snow - new snow - that appeared after this latest storm blew through!I went to the Channel Islands Harbor to take some pictures at lunch and was pleasantly surprised to see this Great Blue heron along with the beautiful snow panoramas! I uploaded them into a small format, but click on each photo to get a better look.

Alan came back in time to watch the election results but he also got a big monitor to make looking at the photos stored on his laptop more entertaining.

A Rainy, Blustery, and Mellow Super Bowl Sunday

2008-02-03T23:45:00.000-08:00

The latest storm arrived from the north around 3 this morning and dropped .6 inch rain before blowing out this afternoon. Dick arrived at noon and it was nice spending the day catching up, sharing photos, and making music together. Mark and Kathy dropped by during the game and added more music, (delicious cookies!), and mellowness to the blustery afternoon. The posting title will link you to some pictures.

The Snow is Still on Our Mountains

2008-02-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

Rain, warm rain, is predicted for tonight and tomorrow so this may be the last time we'll get to see all this snow as we travel around the county. It was cool but sunny again today - a really beautiful winter day! (And a beautiful "pink moment" as the sun was setting!)

Addendum: I just realized today's significance (besides it being Jane's birthday!) and end with this quote my friend, Judy V, emailed me:

This year Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address fell on the same day.

It's an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of limited intelligence for meaningless prognostication on subjects he doesn't understand.
The other involved a groundhog.
(Click on the photo of Punxsutawney Phil to read about this year's prognostication.)

February 1st - Flowers and Snow

2008-02-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

The last of the big rain left Monday morning and we've had sunny skies ever since. We always have narcissus (the smaller, paperwhite-type daffodils) blooming since November, but now the real bulbs are starting to poke their leaves out of the ground and just a few are beginning to bloom! (Click on this posting's title to see a few more new flowers.)Although it has been sunny, it has continued to be cool and I've been taking pictures of the snow every day - it is so awesome to see it not disappearing like usual! (It's not unusual to see snow on Topa Topa - just look at last January's postings or even April 2006. What is unusual is that it hasn't melted away yet.) I took this shot as the clouds were beginning to return today. Highway 33 is still closed at Wheeler Campground, so there still must be tons of snow up in Rose Valley and on Mt. Pinos.Click here for more snow views.

Clear But Cold and the Snow Hasn't Melted

2008-01-31T02:46:00.000-08:00

The snow is still there - yippee! Click on the posting link to see today's view from Oxnard's Mandalay Bay.

Wheeler Gorge

2008-01-30T09:28:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Alan and I tried to drive up to Rose Valley to see the snow, but Highway 33 was closed all the way down at Wheeler Campground. So instead of seeing a bunch of snow (even the Grapevine was closed for a day and a half) we got to see the North Fork of Matilija Creek looking more like a raging (SoCal) river!

Here's one of the pictures I took near the creek. Click on this posting's title to see more. In the meantime,here are a couple of videos from that morning:

More Snowy Panoramas

2008-01-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

Monday dawned with new weather - the rain was moving out and the sky was clearing. We were even treated to a few little rainbows. (Alan headed north . . . might he have been taking the wet weather with him?) Today will be a second day of clear skies after the rain and it is still cold enough that all that snow is still there!
I'm so stoked the snow isn't melting I've taken pictures every day. Click on these links to see more:

January 29 January 30