Apr 08 2012

Easter Dinner With Family

The entire San Diego portion of our family came over for an Easter Sunday dinner that my mom had put together, which included the requisite swirrel-sliced, honey-glazed ham, some salad, boiled asparagus, baked beans, corn and cooked potato chunks, and then finished with some home-made cheese cake that my mom had baked. My nephew, Stephen, and his girlfriend, Jeri, brought over their dog, Enzo, so he could run around our backyard, which he did with much fervor.

Our gathering also included a surprise Skype call with my younger brother who lives in New Mexico.

Apr 07 2012

Hummingbird Nest With Chicks

While visiting Sylvia and Rodrigo we discovered that the hummingbird nest in their back patio contained two chicks. We’re not sure the condition of both chicks but the mother was feeding at least one of them. This shot is basically looking straight down into the nest from me standing on a hummingbird-friendly ladder. We set it up quickly while the mom flew away for a bit.

Two heads and one body. Hoping that the other body is just hiding underneath.

Apr 07 2012

Final Mourning Dove Youngling Photo

This morning I found one of the two Mourning Doves sitting on the edge the hanging pot, their home for the last few weeks. Only moments after I took this shot both of the juveniles flew up to the roof and stayed there together until mom came to feed them, and then they all flew somewhere into the backyard to pursue a life of religious fulfillment.

Apr 06 2012

Mourning Dove and Chick

Today was the first time I witnessed both Morning Dove parents, kind of tag-teaming, feeding both chicks. Also, it was the first time I saw at least one of the chicks flapping its wings. I have a feeling they will be gone within the next week or two.

Apr 05 2012

San Diego Automotive Museum

After picking up my old high school buddy, Ron, from his downtown hotel, we drove over to Balboa Park to spend some time at the San Diego Automotive Museum. Not the biggest auto museum around, but an impressive collection nonetheless and one I really enjoy visiting from time to time. They have a temporary exhibit of beautiful, old classic Woodies from the 40s and 50s that runs through May. We also checked out their amazing collection of historic motorcycles that Ron, having been a rider since high school, was very interested in.

My favorite cars here at the museum have always been the Cadillacs from the 30s and the 1913 Pierce-Arrow Raceabout.

Museum entrance
Inside the museum
Exhibit of classic Woodies
1947 Chrysler Town and Country Convertible
1953 Buick Super Estate Wagon
1953 Buick Super Estate Wagon hood ornament
1937 Lincoln-Zephyr V-12 Coupe
1940 Ford Deluxe Station Wagon
Early Cadillacs
1931 Cadillac 452 V-16 Roadster
1913 Pierce-Arrow Raceabout Model 48ss
1913 Pierce-Arrow Raceabout Model 48ss
1914 Indian C-3 Big Twin
Ron’s reflection in Steve McQueen’s Husquvarna 400
Vespa mirrors
Louis Mattar’s 1947 Cadillac

Apr 05 2012

Old Town Dinner With A Saint

After our Automotive Museum visit, my visiting buddy Ron and I headed over to Old Town (second visit for me in one day) to have dinner at Casa de Reyes inside Fiesta de Reyes. Wanted to have my old favorite of a beef taco but also wanted to try something new, so I ordered a combo plate with a shredded beef taco (my favorite in Old Town, maybe anywhere) and a chicken enchilada with white sauce. So delicious. Over a couple of Negra Modelos we chatted about our usual topics: life, work, marriage, kids, women, music, cartoons, Monty Python and high school. After dinner I dropped him back off at his downtown hotel. It’s always such a great feeling to have old friends visit.

Apr 04 2012

Been Way Too Long

It’s been far too long since I last signed up for a new online social experience and recently my web prayers were answered. I finally received my requested invite to Pinwheel, a new service that’s still in beta testing. Unfortunately only members can see other people’s posts.

What is Pinwheel you ask? Jeez, what a silly question. From their FAQ: “With Pinwheel, you can find and leave notes around the world.” “Pinwheel is made of notes. A note can be a story, advice, jokes, diatribes, information, memories, facts, advertisements, love letters, grocery lists and manifestoes. The content of a note is only limited by your imagination. A note can be shared with the world, one to many people, one to one, or only with yourself.”

Here is my home screen and my first “note.” You can tell from the missing map of my location that it’s still having beta issues. Examples of a number of bugs I’ve already run into: quotations messing up tags, maps not showing and placement markers in wrong spots. I’m confident these will all be cleared up very soon, though.

Here’s to hopefully leaving, finding, and favoriting many notes from around the globe!

My home page
My first note

Apr 03 2012

Cats – Day Four And Last Full Day

My last full day of taking care of the neighbors’ eight cats. It basically was the same as the other three days of taking care of the neighbors’ eight cats. Spend the night on their couch, feed the felines three times, fresh water twice a day, and clean out the three litter boxes three times a day, with the occasional kitty treats thrown in to keep things interesting for all of us.

As many times as I’ve already watched these cats, I still can’t tell all of them apart, them being all jet-black.

Apr 03 2012

Mourning Doves Close To Flying

Noticed that the Mourning Dove mother had temporarily flown away from her nest so I took the opportunity to run and get my camera to get a couple of shots of the quickly-growing chicks. I have no doubt that they will be flying very soon.

Apr 02 2012

Pick Me!

One of our Mourning Doves was sunning/drying itself on the grass after a nice, refreshing rinse in one of our bird baths.

Apr 02 2012

Cats – Day Three

Normally the neighbors’ cats enjoy watching a good bird show outside one of the bedroom windows. Keeps ’em busy for hours. Today though they had a special treat in store. A gopher (quite possibly the same one that’s been burrowing in our backyard until recently) scored a jackpot by digging up underneath a bird feeder and into a treasure trove of discarded bird seed. He, constantly popping his head out and collecting seeds, kept the cats at the window fascinated for most of the day. One of the cats was even doing this weird, vibrating thing with his mouth and cheeks as he was intensely focused on the gopher.

 

Apr 01 2012

Dinner at Denny’s

After finishing up our afternoon adventure at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, my mom, nephew Stephen, his girlfriend Jeri and I were hungry enough to stop at a Denny’s for dinner before making it home. I wanted to try something new (for Foodspotting) and decided on their new Bacon Lover’s BLT. The sandwich boasts eight pieces of crispy bacon. Maybe there were eight smaller pieces because it didn’t seem all that bacony to me. But the sandwich was overall not bad. I added really good seasoned fries which I ended up hardly touching.

Popular watering hole for seniors
We tired and hungry four
Bacon Lovers BLT
Claw game prizes

Apr 01 2012

Butterfly Jungle Tweet-Up At The Safari Park

Drove up to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park with my mom, my nephew Stephen, and his girlfriend Jeri, to attend the evening’s Butterfly Jungle Tweet-Up gathering. We arrived early enough to walk around a little before the meetup. We checked out some exotic birds around the lagoon adjacent to Nairobi Walk and then stopped to get a few photos of the recently born Red River Hog piglets. From there we walked down to the viewing patio in Elephant Valley where we watched a calf strike some hilarious butt-in-the-air poses on the grassy area. We continued watching and shooting photos until it was time to head back over to Hidden Jungle for the Zoo meetup. There was already a line waiting when we got there fifteen minutes before the meetup time of 5:00. Ran into Matt, the Zoo’s Social Media Director who coordinates these gatherings. For the next hour we enjoyed being buzzed and swarmed by fourteen different species of butterflies. Just like last year I wore my bright yellow SpongeBob t-shirt in hopes that the butterflies would land on me. Last year I had up to six on me at once. This year, while they seemed more active than last time, unfortunately only one small Orange Julia landed on my shirt, and some other one briefly landed on my hair. I chatted with Matt for a while towards the end of our visit. On our way towards the exit we passed by Gorilla Forest but none of the gorillas were out to see. We left shortly before the park closed at 7:00.

It was nice hanging out with family at this kind of venue.

( s a f a r i   p i c s )

Apr 01 2012

First Time At Stephen And Jeri’s

Today our family was invited over to my nephew, Stephen, and his girlfriend, Jeri’s, apartment for a quick tour and snack social. The inside reminded me a lot of my first solo studio apartment in La Mesa. There was one large room that was both living room and dining area, a nice, open kitchen area, a good sized sleeping area and a small bathroom just inside the front door.

Almost immediately they told us they had something very important to announce. We thought they would tell us that they were engaged, but instead they surprised us all by telling us that Jeri was pregnant. Luckily, I knew right away that it was an April Fool’s joke, but some of my family thought it was genuine. I was actually a bit disappointed when I realized it wasn’t true.

For snacks we had crackers, cheeses, fruit slices and wine, and for entertainment we played one round of Scattergories.

Even though we only stayed for about half an hour (because of another engagement), it was a really nice visit and I look forward to the next time I go over.

Down a path…
Front patio
Front door
Den/Dining
Kitchen
Bedroom

Apr 01 2012

Cats – Day Two

Day two of my cat/house-sitting. Other than a nasty bodily organ-looking hairball, there weren’t any major surprises.

I have no idea which one this is

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