Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Sometimes I come around the corner and I see this...Tallulah Mae, just sitting in a chair like a little person.

I half expect her to ring for tea and crumpets...

Cow on a Hot Tin Roof

Let's hear it for oversized fiberglass animals...hip, hip, hooray!

(And yes, I do realize that this is a faux bull, not a faux cow, but "Bull on a Hot Tin Roof" just didn't sound as good! Poetic license, of a sort...)

Um...Wow?

Daffy

Don't you just HEART daffodils? So sweet and springy!

Scone Love

How delicious does this look? And it tasted even better than it looks! It's a raisin scone from a coffeehouse called Rebecca's; they're actually famous for their scones, which they make in different flavors every day. Miss Robin and I took ourselves there last week and had a lovely, relaxing afternoon working on our stitchery and enjoying this yumminess. Life is sweet--good food, good friends, a comfy chair...ahhhh.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Hmm...why am I thinking about Bazooka bubble gum...

Feed Me

For some reason, this succulent just looks as if it's asking to be fed...what would it like to eat, do you think?

Bird Geek Paraphernalia

Here are my supplies for last weekend's Great Backyard Bird Count...binoculars, my Audubon field guide, and a checklist of birds in my zip code.
And my trusted assistant, of course...

Actually, it was a bit of a bust; I only saw about 10 birds during my counting sessions. It was quite grey and cold (for SoCal, that is), so the birds must have been in their nests having hot chocolate and wearing Ugg boots, I guess.

Whimsy

I love this whimsical hand-painted storefront...it's full of circus imagery. I believe it must have been something else in a previous life: it's now a taco shop whose name has nothing to do with the circus.

Technical Difficulties, Part 459

I feel a bit like this Japanese character...my hair is standing on end. Technical difficulties (otherwise known as *&%$'ing computer) of the worst sort...stand by, and please cross all of your fingers.

Special Edition: Tallulah-Palooza Saturday

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone...I hope you're all feeling the love today. I certainly am!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Chien en repose. Mon bebe! J'adore.

Tasty, Pretty: Pretty Tasty (Actually, VERY Tasty)

How pretty are these, y'all?
They are lovely little works of chocolate art... they remind me a bit of billiard balls...
They are from Kohler Chocolates (yes, THAT Kohler, the folks responsible for your faucets) in Wisconsin, and they taste even better than they look. This assortment is called Garden Ganache. Yum. Yum. And oh yes, yum!

(I actually won these in another blog giveaway...I'm telling you, December and January must have used up all my luck for the entire year!)

Calling All Bird Geeks!

OMG, check this out! (I'm so excited...) This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count: all across the country, everyone who participates will be counting birds and sending their data in to the project, co-sponsored by the Audubon Society and Cornell University's Ornithology Lab.

I am SOOOOO doing it...gotta go now and study my bird guide so that I can ID something other than a crow... Come on, get out your binoculars and join me! Bird Geeks Unite!

(Again, I feel compelled to point out that I mean "bird geek" in the very best way--I'm not actually knowledgeable enough to be a true bird geek; I'm more of a journeyman bird geek...)

Graphique

Rust...

...it never sleeps, you know?

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae really COULD run away and join the circus...here she is demonstrating her contortionist maneuvers. Next up: a tiny car full of clowns?

Welcome to Chez Yum-Yum

...that would be MY house, mais oui! Look at this fabulous Sunday night dinner: a tart filled with tomatoes and peppers, topped with nicoise olives, accompanied by a little salad of lettuces from our own garden. I made the tart crust, and B. made the filling...a delicious collaboration! The recipe is from our favoritest cookbook, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Yum. And yum. Yum-yum!

I Spy a Butterfly Eye

If you make this photo bigger, you can actually see its eye...way cool! I do love butterflies--guess I'm a butterfly geek as well as a bird geek! Actually, I'm a foziewisp...see definition above.

Rapt for Raptors

On Saturday morning, B. and I ventured to Ramona to the Wildlife Research Institute, a cool nonprofit where they conduct research on wildlife and wildlife conservation. During January and February they put on a free educational program called HawkWatch, where they (obviously) concentrate on raptors. They catch raptors, for educational purposes but primarily to band them.

It was an amazing experience, as these photos attest. Above is a red-shouldered hawk. Isn't she gorgeous?
This fellow never really settled down--he was showing everyone that he is big and powerful red-tailed hawk.

This is the female red-tailed hawk.
Sadly, I'm not sure what kind of hawk that is above...

This is a female American kestrel, a very small hawk (9 to 12 inches); she was feisty and managed to bite the naturalist's hand...they'd also snared her mate, but he managed to escape and flew away before he could be banded.

Some gorgeous tailfeathers...

Here the naturalist is banding a bird...he tucks their wings in, leans them back, and they settle right down, almost as if they're hypnotized. It's fascinating.These are the contraptions in which they hold them before they band them...you can see some talons up top...

And here is a raptor soaring soaring soaring. It's magical... out in the field, we also saw a (rare) prairie falcon and a (rare) bald eagle.

It was a lovely day...I'm a closet bird geek, I confess--and I mean "bird geek" in the nicest possible way!!!

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