Rainy day

I found myself on my commute home today admiring how beautiful everything gets in the rain. So sad that my phone doesn't have better resolution, I moaned about how overexposed everything was. Meanwhile, on my left hip was sitting my fancy Nikon SLR just being ignored. I had brought it to work for a quick portrait session and promptly forgot that I was hauling it along with all of my other possessions when it hit me; I am an idiot. I am carrying the perfect camera to capture these dewy leaves, I'm just so used to having the convenience of a phone that I forgot about the awesome power of a tool designed to do one thing very well.

Point Lobos 2012

I just opened a show in Carmel... I'm still busy... but before I left I went walking at Point Lobos Nature Preserve... It is one of my favorite places on the planet. The first time I went here it was because on my day off I couldn't afford the $35 ticket to go to the Monterey Aquarium... but this is so much better! Yes Better than walking under sharks and through glowing jellyfish.

Everywhere you look there is just more beauty...

I mean just look at this and BAM there's a freakin' sea lion right in the middle of it!

Hello!

Got to keep this short due to the need to wake up sooner than I care to admit, but there you go some pretty pictures, hopefully they will tide you over for a bit. Ta!

Sunday trek.

 Sunday Sunday skip the gym, find a new path to get lost in...

 Odd random castles in the park...

 Apparently this is a monument to Moses... Moses was the one who saved the Israelites from the Pharoah.  Why would you build Moses a pyramid?  What would be a better shape for Moses?  Perhaps a tablet... perhaps a giant bread/manna basket...?  hmm??

 Overlooking Oakland...

Half Moon Bay

 I went to Half Moon Bay for the first time ever... we found a hiking trail by Highway 1 that took us over the shore, through groves of trees and up a rather steep grade.

 Curls of grass, splashes of color, succulents and evergreens all graced the path.

Eric flew and Shaggy posed for his 80's band album cover.

By the time we descended it was only 3pm, but the marine layer had set in.

Recovery and Slacking...

I've spent most of this month, and this past week in particular working long hours without days off. I don't really notice until finally there is a point where productivity drops off or when I have a half day. This was my half day. I had about two hours of work to get done that didn't happen until this evening. This morning was spent catching up with The Daily Show in my pajamas... this afternoon was spent at the Berkeley Marina reading my Alastair Reynold's novel... I love this place.


Hopefully a half day will get me through another week... life in the arts is so glamorous.

Catalina

I spent a day on Catalina with my best friend this weekend. Getting to SoCal I had two flat tires on the way down the state followed by one of the replacements being flat by morning... so my car's doughnut had its maiden voyage on the way to the ferry. There was minor panic about actually getting there but we got there with enough time to grab good seats.

The water was warm (nearly 70F!) the ocean was calm.


We didn't see any unusual wildlife for the area; mostly kelp bass, sardines and garabaldi... but the water was perfect and clear.
At one point I was floating there marveling at the giant kelp that is as beautiful as any land based forest on Earth, when a swell came and swept a great mass of kelp over me. I love kelp. I love swimming through kelp, it was so fantastic I started to giggle. Giggling in a snorkel mask leads to breaking the seal of the mask and consequently swallowing a good deal of salt water. It was still fantastic.


--all photos and video on this post were taken by my friend Shaggy (underwater cameras are cool)

Summer in June!

One year I froze my butt off at Stensin Beach, another year I froze in Santa Cruz, there was one time I tried to plan a picnic by the lake and it was grey and cold all day.

I am a summer baby. All of my childhood birthdays were in the sunshine, with watermelon, rhubarb pie in the front yard, or by the pool, running around in short sleeves!

It makes me perpetually miffed that June 28th is usually bloody cold and grey in the bay area. Last year I ran away to Idyllwild for some guaranteed summer. This year it was summer. This year it was warm walking through the redwoods. I was quite happy that the weather colluded with the date this year.

Up with Natives!

Pollen.
Itchy eyeballs.

Lethargy.


Fills me with arsonist rage against the horrid Australian trees that line my street.


Last week I went to two national parks that were filled with nothing but California native flora... look how pretty...

... the whole time I could smell dirt and flowers and everything...


Sigh. There is little to be done. I may just join the Native Plant society out of selfish purposes though...

How to make a rough tech week better...

1. Go find the ocean

2. Commune with nature

3. Take your best friend with you

aah much better.

Ah the beautiful rain....

The rain distracts me from my work...

This is a lull... but all day it's been raining so hard that sometimes it's raining sideways...

... ooh tree crash!

So lovely....

Arachnid!

Well, I think they're from the araneidae family (orb weaving spiders), but I can't nail down the genus or species. Basically there are a whole lot of these Huge brown spiders near downtown Berkeley...




cool huh?