fig-elicious

(added July 25) Two more figs ripened and were eaten by me this morning - these were juicier and figgier, mmmmmm...

Amazingly a fig ripened on my little fig tree on my patio. Naturally I had to eat it this morning. It looks like another might be ripening as well - this is very exciting!!!

DINOSAURS RULE!!!

Digging up dinosaur bones in Montana - who could ask for anything more?

The setting.

Triceratops rib bones.

Triceratops skull frill and brain case.


Preparing plaster and burlap strips for jacketing.


Jacketing a Torasaur skull frill.


Lying next to Crichtonsaurus - a small Ankylosaur that we would be working on repairing and putting on display in the museum.


After gluing, sanding, priming and painting, drilling the Crichtonsaurus cast.


The bulk of the vertebrae and head strung on rebar, nearly ready to assemble!

Famous site of the first T-Rex EVER discovered and excavated - back in 1902.

It deserved a jump!

airport blogging is the best kind of blogging

Here I am in Reno, ready to board en route to Montana. This stage of the trip came from the plan of spending July 4 and a few days after at my colleague's cabin north of Reno. He built it himself 40 years ago - which is fantastic. Unfortunately, this has been a very dry season, and on July 5 we spotted this "cloud" over the ridge.


We went to investigate, and decided that it was far enough away not to worry for the time being.

Waking up on July 6, we were presented with a smoke-filled meadow and an eerie glow in the sky. The sun was a glowing orange ball and ash fell like a blizzard. Among the ash were charred fragments of tree, and below, this complete oak leaf, blistered and blackened and crisp.

We were evacuated that night, and in a panic closed up the cabin, grabbed my colleague's near&dear possessions, zipped down to Reno and had a restless night until I was delivered to the airport about an hour ago.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed for the fire to get under control and the cabins to be saved. Keep your eyes out for news on the fires at Antelope Lake in N. California.

Woohoooooo!

Obviously I did a bit of editing (not sure what shouldn't be available publicly) - and a fair bit of cropping... below is what's printed on the back - which is really the best part when you think about it!

And now I'm off to Montana for some digging up of dinosaur bones. You are certainly going to be subjected to photos upon my return!

My Calendar Says...

My knitting calendar recognizes this National holiday!

Note the decor...

I force-fed some friends homemade maple-sausage poutine in order to have the full Canadian effect!

We even tracked down some genuine Canadian beer, and drank if out of Canadian beer glasses!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!

Oh, I forgot the P.S. - In order to complete the evening, Blue Hawaii was in order. This was because a) all good Canada Days from my past have involved some sort of beach, and b) most of them in Barrie preceded the Collingwood Elvis Festival. Here I killed 2 birds with one terribly amusing film!

Kitty Porn

"I'm naked and mighty fine looking"

"Did I mention that I hate you?"

say WHAT now?

I received the following e-mail regarding my place of work:

Subject: Mosquito Tests Positive for West Nile Virus

Recently, the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District has been conducting tests as part of their yearly West Nile Virus investigative process. The first positive tests have come back, and include Bakersfield College as a location with a positive mosquito collection. Over the last three years, West Nile Virus has been pervasive throughout Bakersfield, in areas from I-5 to Fairfax.

Bakersfield College has been in contact with the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District (KMVCD) about these positive tests, and the KMVCD has the following recommendations, which are standard for all Kern County residents in light of the prevalence of West Nile Virus in Kern County.

• In the daytime, there is no risk due to the heat.
• In the early morning and at dusk, the KMVCD recommends the use of long sleeved shirts and pants.
• In the early morning and at dusk, the KMVCD recommends the use of mosquito repellents such as Deet, Picaridin or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus

Bakersfield College is one of nine locations with positive tests:

• Coles Levee Road and Taft Highway
• Cottonwood Road and Panama Lane
• Highway 99 and Belle Terrace
• White Lane and Gosford Road
• 3rd and H streets
• Kern County Fairgrounds
• Virginia and Mt. Vernon avenues
• Niles Street and Mt. Vernon Avenue
• Bakersfield College

Areas with a prevalence of standing water are most at-risk of mosquito breeding grounds. More information on West Nile Virus can be found online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm.

Super fabulous.

YARRRR!

I went to Bird Nerd's pirate party on Tuesday for some fun times, met his new summer crew, and disappointed Kiki (who wasn't invited).

Kiki did, however, do his best to convince me he should be allowed to tag along:

hat was a little on the big side...

...can't quite get this thing on...

...can I go now? please?

voodoo

wanna learn more? look here.

what the heck is THIS???

yes, THIS.

it is my new routine.

it is a "neti" pot. this is essentially a "nose bidet" if you will.


THIS is my allergy routine. it gives me nosebleeds. the neti pot fixes this issue.

that is all.

big trees and butterflies

To escape the heat (even though it's not "hot" yet, AND it just so happens to have cooled down somewhat), Bird Nerd and I went up in elevation to check out the big trees yesterday.

Inside a big tree, looking up.

Roots.

Tiny tree. Well, technically... fern.

Outside a big tree, looking up.

After deciding (pathetically, like the wimps that we are) that it was too cold at that elevation, we headed back down the Sierras into the Kern Canyon to look for butterflies.

The bluest of skies.


Melissa Blue (male - we thought perhaps he should be called Melvin?)


Why it's called that.


Horny Toad. Or was that... Horned Toad?

All in all it was a great day!

Meatfest: wine tasting goes deliciously awry

For a VERY belated birthday (Emarathoner) we scooted over to the coast to try out a few wineries and eat dinner at a restaurant her parents had given her a gift certificate for.

making a purchase at Robert Hall

Hot Hands makes his "I want a nap" face at Garretson

This awesome (and cute) goat licks his leg at Lone Madrone

The 5 of us after we had stuffed ourselves silly on dinner at Villa Creek (main courses featured below, for appetizers, deserts and cappucino you'll have to ask!)

Emarathoner de-vegetarianized herself for the evening in order to eat ANTELOPE with rosemary pesto.

Texas Gal experienced buffalo for the first time, and finally realized what she had been missing.

Extreme Chef had natural veal, which tasted like cow, because natural veal is baby cow that is allowed to live like a cow rather than like a veal in a box with a milk spout to drink from.

Hot Hands had salmon, which was a difficult thing for me to pass up - especially when it is topped with avocado and resting upon more deliciousness.

And I had pan-seared Ahi tuna, which was as good as expected - and I happily tasted everyone else's meals too. Actually, we all tasted everyone else's meals.

And of course the best part! The bill! Ack! Can you believe it???

Nature at work

Thank you "you tube" for providing a video that shows two distinct examples of teamwork - and in this case, the bigger the team working together, the better!!!
It makes me want to go to Africa.