jg took that picture of me when we were hanging around in china camp sunday. i wore yellow to commemorate having finally found...
a real banana slug!
please note the euros (pronounced oy-gohs) in action. i hiked over six miles in these cool socks and i'm glad to report no complaint.
anyway, jg and i found the slugs saturday while hiking in purisima open space preserve. jg was skeptical we would find any because the weather has been so dry. i nearly believed him until about half mile into the canyon, when we saw one right on the side of the trail, the first of five.
the hike was terrific. we started low from higgins canyon, up whittemore gulch, over to north ridge, and down harkins. we gained just enough elevation (1,100 feet) to see the ocean and half moon bay.
half moon bay seen from north ridge
that's the view from our picnic spot. we couldn't have asked for a better day for this hike.
common sight
it was amazing how so many trees are covered with mosses and lichens. purisima must be a very damp place. we hiked on such a dry day that it was hard to imagine that the preserve is ever foggy.
a bit of fall colors
look what we found under a thick stand of redwoods.
ginormous mushroom
isn't it crazy? we saw lots of mushrooms on the hike and they were always in clusters. this one was all by itself. very curious.
i forgot to stuck my foot next to it for scale
this next picture was taken at 3:35 in the afternoon, not at night time as it might appear.
a very big and yellow maple (?) leaf
no weapons
i always get a kick out of these warning signs. i love the figures in the yellow sign. doesn't it look like that one person is offering the kid to the mountain lion? and, of course, if attacked, fight back. er, okay.
more red than yellow
i took that picture of jg after he finished his bike ride in china camp sunday. the hill beyond the car is where we had lunch and where that one (meaty calves) picture of me was taken. it's also where i saw a sign that reminded me of
a certain yellow dog:
i wish the park would stop crossing out the profile of a golden retriever. it's discrimination. plus, look at all those bibi gun pockmarks. the sign should say no republicans instead of no dogs.
i had a great weekend. the weather was surprisingly pleasant for once. not that it mattered. it was just nice to be away from san francisco, sunny or otherwise.
jg and i had to go to sb this past weekend. of course, i had to squeeze some time in to see my most favorite dog in the universe.
we had one free hour saturday and it happened to occur during waffles' daily trip to the beach. karen graciously allowed us to hang with her until well after sunset.
seal rookery beach below carpinteria bluffs
complete with dirty lens at 4:56 pm
that's a book i borrowed from the library the day after i saw this great show on pbs. i did not know that the entire book has been made available for all.
that's one of my favorite shots from a roll of film which i collaborated with andrea. my pictures are not very unique to sb. fortunately, andrea's are more indicative of houston and, well, more interesting.
the name of this neat game is a tale of two cities. i took up the challenge back in september, when i was still a happy resident of sb. now that i'm wasting away in sf, i have no motivation to execute my half of the deal.
i shan't be a slacker. i must load up the roll andrea sent and get clickin'. i just wish i knew where i packed all my 35mm cameras.
i have done nothing but frown this year so i suspect you'll be bringing me a load of coals again for christmas. no amount of coals will stop me from asking begging for stuff though. let's start with these two before november is over.
i'm not quite sure what i'd do with a sewing machine but i'd like a singer 7462. it has that plain blocky look which suits me. as for the sigma 17-70 macro lens, i think it would help make me look like i have picture skills. it's important to look good these days.
thanks for now, santa. if you don't like these two, don't worry. i'll be adding more stuff to the list as the date gets closer. the christmas spirit never fails to make a beggar out of me.
schmee
(getting quite tired of getting coals all these years)
