More vacation

Greetings from high atop the lovely Fremont!  

Wish you were here!  

Possibly to protect us!  

‘Cause ... you know ... East Bay! 

Bella’s Raider Nation look  

And a kinglet, just because it was the only so-so bird pic of the whole morning.

Those little faces

Gah! Could you not just bite that little face right off?  

Sometime I can’t believe how much I lucked out.

I think we lucked out in the coat department, too. It just keeps getting crazier and crazier. I suspect if she were rough coated she would have that woolly mammoth hanging down to her knees thing going on by now.  

Still short, just….backwards. Less aerodynamic .  

And then the other face. She kills me when she tries to act like a collie.

We know better, don’t we?  

We are not even half way through vacay and I am already over it. I HATE time off to just stay home. That whole “stay-cation” thing is just dumb. Most folks would be thrilled to have 12 days off. Not me. Not without a plan. I don’t travel over the holidays because a) I don’t like boarding the dogs when they are crazy-busy over there and b) because they are crazy-busy you need to make reservation in, like, July. My place of employment can never seem to decide sooner than 2 days before what actual days we will have off. Knowing six months ahead is just not going to happen.

 So, I polished off all my Dexter episodes, been running every day, taking the East Bay Parks tour since dogs are not allowed off leash in the commie South Bay in which we live, and trying not to eat 5000 calories a day out of boredom. 

This is from my run this morning. This is the main marsh at Coyote Hills RP. Marsh. Yes, as in should be filled with water and migrating birds.

 Not a damn drop!  

Holy moly, are we dry. Driest year on record, I think. 

Even though we are dry, it is still grazing time in the parks. Not much for the cattle to eat, but apparently enough for them to….you know…  

Second only to sheep poop!

Blend

 

It's about baby making time for these little guys. Lots of yelling and showing off and sparing.

 

5 grams of tough guy.

 

 

 Anna's Hummingbird - backyard

 

 

You're in my sun

 

With age comes the desire to bask. I am not quite there yet. She is, though.

 

 

Sun on all sides 

 

Content to watch the kids at the park. From a distance, of course.

 

 

Still, there are some things that one cannot resist

 

 



Winter is here

 

And, yes, I know we live in California. And, yes, I know we have no right to complain about “cold.” 

27°F, though? That’s a complain-able temp even for here. Of course, that’s only at 6 AM. Sure. It’ll be 50-something soon enough. I actually like it like that. Cold enough in the morning that the natives say inside and we have the park to ourselves. Warm enough during the day to not be miserable. And, no snow. At least not the involuntary kind. I can drive to it soon enough if the mood strikes. It rarely does. Thinking about it, I haven’t seen snow in years. As someone who grew up in IL and spent 10 years in NH, that’s weird. Maybe a Tahoe run this winter. 

Kate should be used to it. Maybe been near the bay too long? She’s a mountain girl. Well, foothills anyway. She came from Murphys, CA. You know Murphys? On the way to Stanislaus National Forest, just beyond Glory Hole Recreation Area. 

Damn, that makes me laugh every time I see it. 

One would think a place called Glory Hole Recreation Area would be *IN* the bay area, yes? 

Poor Kate. 

The desert dog likes it even less. During sleepy time, anyway. Loves to be HOT at night now. 

 

The more blankets the better. I concur. 

She could stop aging any time now. That would be good. Fingers crossed that we have years left together, but she is starting to show that she is not a young-un’ anymore. I love it and hate it at the same time. Nothing beats an old dog. They’re just so…comfortable. However, being reminded that this will not be here forever totally sucks…

 

I think Kate will live for another ten years.

Just to be annoying.

Lost in the bokeh

Who gets bored tugging?

This one, apparently. She looks like she’d rather be at the dentist.

 

 

Not this one, though

 

 

Always have time for the tugging

 

 

I found the first appearance of this particular disc in the pic archives. It was July 2004. It’s almost the same age as Bella. Go Ruff Wear! Other than needing a shower it is in great shape. Nary a stitch out of place. Even with nine years of being smashed into the ground because someone has decided the correct way to pick up a disc is in the middle. Middle. She will catch it normally, put it down, then mush it into the ground while trying to pick it up in the center. Frisbee taco.

 

 

That could be why this happens?

 

 

I don’t know how she walks in a straight line.