A Cat is a Cat, and That is That

Baby bird season is in full swing, which brings out the inner tiger in Yummy Delicious and Penelope.  They are currently on house arrest, but we do take them out everyday in their palace, or on leashes.

We hope this is not too much mental torture, being in the midst of a yard full of birds!

Up under the eve of the patio roof a pair of house finches have been diligently building and tending their nest.

Today, we took a peek with a mirror and were delighted to see the babies.

 

Yummy!  Did you see that one over there?  Oooooooh!

More Rattlers

Our nearby hiking park sure has its share of rattlesnakes!  I saw one again yesterday, and another today.  That makes four in the last 5 weeks. 

The last three have been Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes.

There he goes!  I'm amazed that most of the dog walkers have their pets off leash, despite rules to the contrary.

Desert Getaway to Pinyon Wash

We did an overnighter to the Anza Borrego Desert Sunday and Monday.
 First stop was Julian to buy an apple pie:

Then it was down the mountain to the desert.

This is the 4 wheel drive "road" we took for about 2 miles from the highway.

We set up camp in the bit of shade from this tree.  It was HOT until late in the afternoon.

This is near the center of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  You can pretty much camp wherever you like.  We may have been about the only campers for miles around!

 

We started noticing some astonishing bird nests.  Notice the entry hole in the side.

 

 

 

 

 



This cholla cactus had a dried out limb that would be great in a terrarium.



This was an extra large and symetrical Ocotillo plant.  A couple weeks ago it was probably covered in red flowers.

Can you spot the grasshopper?

There were these huge wasps or bees getting nectar from these flowers.

As the sun set, the temperature became perfect - just right for sitting on a rock and watching the stars come out.

The next morning, we started hiking around 7:00, following some washes for about a mile  to the beginning of Bighorn Canyon.  As the canyon narrowed and steepened, we came to these towering formations full of little caves.  With the binoculars, we spotted a large nest in the big hole on the lower left.  Hawk, raven, eagle? Hmmm.

Doin' my thang.

Sage Brush lizard.

An Ash-throated Flycatcher, I believe.

Further up, the canyon became narrow.  We read later that we were getting close to a spring that had a water system for the Bighorn Sheep that live in the area.  We turned back a little too soon, to avoid the scorching heat that was a few hours away, so we didn't get to see the spring.

This large Desert Spiny Lizard looked dead, until we saw it move its head ever so slightly - then it shot off like a rocket.

An even prettier Sage Bruah Lizard!

This Whiptail Lizard had unusual dark spotting and colors going on.  A longish lizard.

Although we didn't see any Bighorn Sheep, we did find this horn.

As we drove out later in the day, we spotted this out of focus Zebra Tailed Lizard.  It ran with its tail curled up over its back, displaying black and white stripes, and looking very much like a scorpion.

The trip was a great retreat from traffic and human generated noise.  The only noise we heard was  the hum of insects, the wind, and the birds - not really noise, but song.  Also, we didn't see another person the entire time after leaving the paved road.  Ahhhh, so good to get away!

This Morning's Hike

Gail and I took a morning hike at our neighborhood open space park, Calavera Hills.  We came upon this Southern Pacific Rattlesnake warming up on the trail.

We also saw a Northern Harrier skimming low over the scrub, and a Roadrunner who politely perched on a post for us. 

Dr. Steampunk's Art Extravaganza

Last Friday night was our first monthly Art After Dark event at the Oceanside Museum of Art.  The event, Dr. Steampunk's Art Extravaganza, was totally cool and full of good vibes.

 

Steppin' out!  Gail is steamunk ready, but I still need to get my persona together.  You either do it right or not at all.

 

 

Our first stop was Fezziwigs Brewery a couple miles down the road for a glass of brew and free pizza. 

 

Then it was off to the Oceanside Museum of Art, just in time to see Amelia bellydancing for the crowd.

 

The Mad Marionettes did an awesome job of providing Eastern European style (Hebrew or Russian?) music.

 

One of the activities was creation of art with recycled materials. 

 

Gail made a rockin' pair of lucky glasses.

 

I made the little steampunk man.  His head was a rotor out of a car distributor.

 

Of course there was art in the art museum - steampunk art!

 

 

 

 

Some of the steampunk attired! 

 

 

We loved this woman's backpack!

 

A fun night was had by all!





Steampunk Convention

San Diego had its annual Steampunk Convention May 3rd through May 5, at the Town and Country Hotel.  Gail had been looking forward to attending for many months, so took advantage of all three days.  I joined her for the Friday evening concert.  Steampunk has been around as an art and literary form for about 30 years.  It is part science fiction, Victorian era, and Wild West, rolled into one.  Gears, flying machines, time travel machines, meticulous costumes, and of course steam power are all a part of it.  Jules Verne's works provide much of the inspiration for the movement.

Friday morning, and Gail is ready to hop on her steam powered dragonfly and head on down.  Many of her clothing items were from her grandmother in Rhode Island.

We met up before the concert for a little tailgate Chinese food.

The first band was Steam Powered Giraffe - a local band with a pleasing sound.  They were robotic, with silly banter between songs.  We enjoyed them more than the headliner Lee Presson and the Nails.

 

Saturday, Gail is ready to head back.  That star is a genuine Cheyenne police badge!

 



Gail took some photos to bring home and share.  Note this woman's wings!

This elaborate machine was built to shrink parts of the world into miniature replicas.  The steampunk folks at the convention take everything seriously.  It is no haphazard costume party!

There  were many workshops on making accessories, metalwork, clothing, and literature.

Gail is riding on a time machine.  Money from having your picture taken went to Hero Dogs, an organization that trains dogs to be service dogs for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.  The dogs can tell when their owner is about to become very anxious, and will lead that person to a quiet place and calm him/her down.

Tribal Baroque, according to Gail, is a VERY unique duo.  They sing in a very high pitch in a made-up language, do percussion with their legs and feet, and play violins.  Check them out on YouTube if you want to be blown away!

A few more convention goers.  Many of the people who were there work in Hollywood or for Disney. 

There were a number of folks demonstrating their ability to ride a pennyfarthing.  This man, Poplock Holmes, is a musician who sings rap and hip hop from the Victorian era, specifically about Sherlock Holmes.

There were even pennyfarthings with training wheels!

Coinciding with the Steampunk Convention was the San Diego arrival of  Andria, Dave, and the kids.  On Monday, we worked on making a puppet theater out of a water heater box.  At some point in the near future, we will have the kids paint it, and then Gail will add some curtains.

On Thursday, Gail and I took Nora and Soren to Balboa Park so that Dave and Andria could tear into unpacking and start setting up their home.

One of the highlights was seeing two short movies in 3D.  One was about coral reefs, and the other about insects of the rainforest.  It is so cool being able drop in and do things with Andria's and Dave's family! 
Warning, more steampunk to come!