Just Couldn't Stay In . . .

. . . on a day like this.

Mike got an unexpected day off so we loaded up the bikes in the back of the truck and went to the Benicia State Recreation Area. Just look at that sky.

This guy was browsing for lunch in the marshy grass. We're never sure if these are herons or egrets. Either way we enjoy watching them walk ever so slowly, or standing completely still, eyes sharp and on the lookout for the tiniest movement of a tiny fish or frog.

Blossoms are everywhere this time of the year and I decided to practice my skills with a macro shot. This is the best one I got. Mike is better at flower photography than I am. This next one is his shot:

Awww, he found a different pretty flower to photograph, ha ha!

This photo is for my friend, Linda, who always tells me to be sure to wear a helmet when I ride my bike, and she's right because I am notorious for falling off it at least twice every summer. It's also for my son, Michael, because that's Michael's helmet that he left in our garage for "safe-keeping." Sorry, Michael, but I'm getting very attached to your helmet. I love that it's pre-scratched and dented and I think it makes me look cool!

This shot is from 9th street, looking toward Glen Cove. There's a boat launch here and also a nice little park here with play equipment for kids and a huge lawn that attracts migrating Canada geese like this pair:

Benicia is probably their favorite stop on their route.

By the time we got back to the truck the clouds were beginning to get darker and the temperature was dropping. We were lucky to get out during the nicest part of the afternoon. It may be Winter again tomorrow . . .

. . . but today it was Spring.

Rainy Days in Northern California

We need it but, due to being solar-powered, I'm suffering a bit personally. It pretty much started last Tuesday when Rodrigo and I were in Palo Alto, at Stanford University. That's him, all dressed up for his interview for Stanford's Physician Assistant program. I went with him so that I could drop him at SFO on my way back home (after he bought me a late lunch at the Chipotle Mexican Grill - YUM).

Once I'd dropped him off I began the trek home, through San Francisco and unfortunately right in the middle of the commuter traffic. I was stuck in bumper-to-bumber all the way through the city so, to amuse myself, I took some photos out my window. Neighboring motorists probably thought I was a nut-case but who cares, I'll never see any of them again. :-)
Here's a view of the "lovely" traffic across all the many interchanges and overpasses.

A view of the crowded financial district. You can see what a gray, rainy day it was.

Here's a familiar sight to anyone who drives I-80/I-101 pass through San Francisco. Not sure what this old building is called, or what businesses are in there, but I love the look of it, and the clock in the tower, too. The brief clearing of the sky looked very pretty.

I hate driving on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge! It's creepy, especially after part of it collapsed during the 1989 earthquake (we were living in nearby San Jose at that time). So much heavy concrete and steel over my head terrorizes me still.

Here's a bridge I like a lot better; the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge; it carries only northbound traffic (plus a bike lane). Beyond it is the aging Carquinez Bridge for southbound traffic - not as pretty, and to be replaced someday as it's not quite up to par to withstand a major earthquake. (How did I get on this earthquake theme?)

So today the weather is the same, maybe worse because there's more rain and it's heavier. It's good for easing our drought conditions but it won't be enough. It seems we are always in a drought, every year, no matter how much or how little rain we get. Plus, when there's day after day of gray and gloomy I get gray and gloomy! My productivity and my creativity really suffer. I just want to curl up on the couch with a blanket, a book or movie, and two cats. Still, I AM trying to get a few things done.

I am totally up-to-date with all the blogs I read (as long as I don't hit the refresh button)! I hope to post to both my blogs today. Then I need to make some progress on the digital scrapbooking kit I have been designing; that is going very slowly. Kinda tough to work on a kit with Spring as its theme when it's cold and wet outside. I could really use just a tad of sunshine today, please.

On other subjects, the Oscars are nearly upon us. I don't always watch but I do like to know which movies won which awards. It's also fun to see which movie reviewer's predictions for the awards are closest. My favorite movie reviewer (Michael!) has just posted his picks and you can read the article here. It includes a contest so you can see how well YOU rate this year's movies.

In my blog reading I came across a very interesting article here. Seems those little conversation hearts we buy every Valentine's Day for the kids? Each year the sayings on the hearts CHANGE! I was astounded. Who'da thought? I can't remember the last time I even bothered to look at the sayings printed on the candy. Apparently, every year they are different, an entirely different theme each year even so, guess what? You can tell if someone has slipped you a bag of last year's hearts, ha ha! Check out the different year's themes and sayings, they're great. I'm really sad I missed 2007's pet theme, in particular, and 1998 was way cool with high-tech sentiments.

And now, the bright side to all the rain?

The flowers in my garden are sure enjoying it!

An American Kestrel in Benicia

A couple days ago, taking advantage of the gorgeous summer-like weather, Mike and I hiked up into the hills above Benicia. It was quite a climb to the top but worth it for the view:

Looking out over Lake Herman to the Suisun Bay and the reserve fleet, you can just see a few of the retired military ships in the upper right part of the photo. Beyond them, across the Suisun Bay, is Pittsburgh, just east of Concord.

In another direction:

Looking southwest, past Vallejo to the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge over the Carquinez Strait. C&H is the long low building to the left of the bridge, and above C&H you can see Highway I-80 snaking up into the hills, heading toward San Francisco.

But the best view we saw on that hike was this guy:

We first saw him hovering over the grassy field hunting for his dinner. Amazingly, he landed on this fence post, within zoom range of my little camera. Even more amazingly, I managed to hold my breath, and hold the camera still enough, to get this clear shot.

Mike thought he was a peregrine falcon; I was voting for red-tailed hawk.

We were both wrong.

Back home I found our predator in The Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Birds of North America. He's an American Kestrel. The two black sideburns on each side of his face made the identification easy. Here's another photo:
Isn't he amazing? He's the smallest north american falcon. To think, just a short hike from our home, we can see wildlife like this thriving in suburbia.

I hope no one ever develops that open land.

Chihuly Glass in Tacoma, WA.

We spent all last week in Washington state visiting Mike's family. They live in Lacey, near Olympia, but we stayed at a hotel in Tacoma (about 28 miles away) because I had Marriott Rewards points to use up. It was kind of a pain to drive back and forth every day but worth it to get a hotel room for only the $10/day parking charge!

The photo above is of a bridge in downtown Tacoma. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of it (anyone know?). I'm fond of bridges and thought this was pretty enough to rival our new Carquinez Bridge between Vallejo and Crockett, CA. (or, as it is officially called, the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge).

While we were in Tacoma we got a chance to see some of the sights there. We were in the City Center area and within walking distance are quite a few museums as well as the waterfront. The Tacoma Museum of Art had, among other things, Chihuly glass on display plus an exhibit of Renoir etchings both of which I found fascinating. (I hadn't even known Renoir did etchings and lithographs.)

The museum prohibited photography of any kind which was disappointing since I'd wanted photos of Chihuly glass. However, the nearby Union Station, which is now a Federal Court Building, had some that we photographed to our heart's content (after we showed photo ID just to get into the lobby)!

We found out that Dale Chihuly grew up in Tacoma so that is why there is so much of his work around the city. I believe he may still live and work there.

This impressive sculpture hangs from the domed ceiling of the Union Station. It's huge! I can't fathom having an imagintaion that dreams up this type of art and then the talent to execute it.

If you look back at the picture of the Union Station and make note of the domed window, you'll have a better idea where these poppies are situated. They are giant flowers that catch the sun at certain times of the day. A challenge to photograph and I didn't do too well, but they were gorgeous to see in person.

This is a pedestrian bridge crossing over the freeway from behind the Union Station to the Museum of Glass. We didn't end up going into that museum because we had chosen to go to the Art Museum, but we wanted to walk over the bridge. Aren't the blue glass creations interesting? The woman at the tourist bureau said they look like giant blue trash bags. I think they look like rock candy or giant blue sugar crystals.

One part of the bridge had a kind of tunnel with a glass ceiling. Inside the ceiling were hundreds of glass creations of all shapes and sizes. Looks like tropical sea creatures at rush hour!

Something we did a lot of: played cards. Mike's dad and step-mom taught us their latest favorite card game. They call it "Golf" but I think it's more like Baseball because you play 9 innings, or hands per game. It was a simple enough game that I caught on pretty fast and even won a couple of times. Of course, other times I got trounced royally and both Mike and his Dad are the type that totally smirk and gloat when they win!

Told ya! Smirky little brat!