Back from Spring Break

(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

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!

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!

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

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.