Not the Hokey Pokey I Know

Zoom in on instructions for doing the Hokey Pokey up there...I'll wait {waiting, la la la la la}. Are you back?

Number 1: right foot in, right foot out--check. Number 2: shaking it all about--yep. Number 3: do the Hokey Pokey, yadda yadda, etc.--rightio. Number 4: Um. What? I don't remember EVER getting on my knees and slapping the floor during the Hokey Pokey, do you?

Also? Do we really want to do a dance called "The Creep"? I think not. I'm just sayin'...

(This is a record I have for sale in my Etsy shop...)

I Bee Obsessed

I let this artichoke flower...just lovely (and thistle-y!).
Oh look, there's a bee..
LOOK at how covered she is in pollen, from head to um, toe.
She was so loaded down with it that she really couldn't fly properly.
So she landed on this leaf and proceeded to wipe some of the artichoke pollen off so she could fly away (not a great photo, but so so so cool to watch!). Hey! Guess what? I love bees--oh, you already knew that, right?

Peonies, Redux

More peonies, in all of their crepe papery loveliness.
Inspector Tallulah Mae heartily approves!

Nascent

A precocious prickly pre-pickle (a cucumber)...
And a teeny-tiny tomato! Grow grow grow!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Yin and yang? Sweet and sour? Id and ego? Up and down? Mad and glad? Near and far?

Nope. The correct answer is: "Darling and adorable." And also? Cute and sweet, smart and clever, goofy and silly, cuddly and snuggly. (I could go on, but you get the picture[s].)

Good Try, Camo Gecko, But We Can Still See You...

...and your fascinating yellow armpits! Check it out.

Yum Yum Summer

These peaches and nectarines practically scream "SUMMER" to me. Just lovely (and they were tasty, too!) Stone fruit should be eaten with your head hanging over a sink as the juices run down your arm...

Stanley in the Enchanted Forest

Doesn't this just look like the cover of a children's book?

A Bee's Fried Egg Breakfast

Miss Bee has her pollen sacs fully loaded! Work work work...
...work work work some more {buzz buzz buzz}.
The plant is a Matilija poppy plant, also called the fried egg flower for obvious reasons. It's a breakfast fit for a ... bee (not a queen, though--a worker girl bee). Go, bee girl, go!

Happy Father's Day

I thought about my dad more than ever today: I do miss him so very much. Here he is in his Marine Corps uniform, the handsome devil!

Hug your daddies tightly--or if you can't, for whatever reason (to paraphrase Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young), just think about them and sigh, and know they love[d] you.

And to any dads who are reading this: Happy Father's Day!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Sometimes, when I come into a room and find her like this...
...I can't quite believe how lucky I am to have gotten such a cute/darling/amazing/funny/sweet/goofy/brilliant dog. Tallulah Mae, you're the best--you're a bit of a weirdo, but you're still the best!

SFSIDMABNBA: Part 4

In March, we went on a Nature Conservancy hike to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. It's lovely, a real taste of what undeveloped Southern California must have looked like.
We had to tread carefully because the paths were covered with these little fuzzy dudes.
The Reserve has vernal pools--pools caused by the topography (ancient lava flows) that only fill with water in the spring--some of the largest in the country; they're filled with creatures, including endangered fairy shrimp.
Lots of wildflowers along the trail...
This woodpecker was hard at work doing what wood peckers do: pecking wood...
...as you can see, he and his fellow woodpeckers have filled this palm tree with California live oak acorns--always nice to have snacks available for later, don't you agree?
These are holes wherein Native Americans ground corn and grain...
We had a nice lunch under a gorgeous tree, listened to meadowlarks, and learned about moutain lion tracking. A truly lovely day! Every time we go for a hike, I'm reminded how much I really love it...

SFSIDMABNBA: Part 3

MONSTER TRUCKS!!!! Oh yeah, baby! A stadium full of rip-roarin', ear-splitting, stinky MONSTER TRUCKS! The awesomeness was overwhelming...my inner redneck came out in full force (and of course, I mean "redneck" in the very BEST way!)
Killer air, dude!
Cute truck! (It was a dog, complete with tail).
Oops!
Really really REALLY oops! (No one was hurt, BTW).
Woo-HOOOOOOO!
Yeeeeee-HAW!The BEST saved for last: it's GRAVEDIGGER, the MOST awesome of the Monster Trucks. He won it all! And I have a T-shirt showing my allegiance to Gravedigger. Woo effin' HOOOOO!

You MIGHT be a redneck if: you go to a Monster Truck rally and scream until you're hoarse. Also, if you use lots of capital letters and exclamation points when writing about them. I'm just sayin'...

SFSIDMABNBA: Part 2

In February: the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. Always a lovely lovely day--a must-see if you are in the L.A. area. No captions, just loveliness! Enjoy.
Well, OK, one caption: this document is signed by Queen Elizabeth. The FIRST Queen Elizabeth! Cool-o-rama, especially for someone obsessed with the Tudors.