Doves

There has been a pair of dumb dopey doves hanging around our back yard for the last month or so.  They spent seemingly forever looking for a place to nest.  On the lip of the awning?  Nope.  At an inch wide, too small.  On top of the grill?  Nope.  Too exposed. On the light fixture?  Nope.  Too slopey.  On the hangboard?  Nope.  Denizen of the house chases you off.   Watching doves look for a place to nest gives one the impression that they are not the brightest bulbs on the planet.

Eventually the doves seemed to disappear, until Chad noticed that they had found an actual good nesting spot in a hanging pot that has been mostly covered by the passion fruit vine.  I peeked in and saw a chick (accidentally giving them a fright, which they fortunately got over).

Given that Chad can see this part of the yard from his temporary office in the living room, he has been privy to lots of dove drama.  Squawking, feeding, playing dead on the patio to distract a crow attacking the nest. All quite entertaining.

The best part so far was today.  Chad observed the doves checking out the area near where the bike rack extension is sitting, and the he texted me to come look when they brought their fuzzy chick out to explore with them.  Cute!

Beach day

Restrictions locally are starting to ease up a little, for better or worse, so the kid and I felt justified in driving over to the coast to take a hike yesterday.  I had never explored the salt marsh over by Pescadero, but knew there were a few trails, so off we went.  This entailed an earlier start than Kean prefers, as I wasn’t quite sure how much demand there would be for the limited parking that was open.

We arrived around 10, which was just about right, as the lot was empty when we arrived, but began to fill up as we got out of the car.  We found the trailhead down to the beach, and crossed under the freeway to find the marsh trail.

The trail was a bit overgrown in places, but was just delightful, filled with interesting plants and surrounded by bird song.  We even startled a couple of deer!  (Look closely and you will see one.)

The trail eventually ended at a slightly higher spot, which gave a nice view over the marsh.

 After crossing the marsh, we were able to skitter across highway 1 and walk back along the beach.  A fine outing!

(Though Chad was working and missed this one, he and I did get out for a most excellent 5 hour mountain bike ride along the ridge earlier in the week.)

The not-so-mighty hunter

Behold the Cat.

She has delusions of grandeur, thinking she can catch one of these.

Not a chance, Cat.

Pandemic pantry

A while ago, I got fed up with tripping over things.  Boxes in the garage, overflow food in the TV room.  Ugh.  As a result, I decided to turn the sturdy box that the sink came in (so sturdy I knew it would come in handy someday — but also a trip hazard) into temporary shelving for the extra food we currently have on hand.  I chopped up the lid to make shelves, and used the reinforced edge bits of the lid as shelf brackets.  Most satisfying:  there is no more heap of grocery bags on the floor, it didn’t cost anything, and I can just put it out with the recycling when we are done with it!

Flocked

I opened the garage door this morning to find this:

Upon closer examination, I found that the flock must have come from a fundraiser.  Aha!  Now I know which friend was the likely culprit.  We got a day of pink flamingos to celebrate the kid’s graduation, and the food bank got a donation.  Presumably, the flock will disappear in the dark of night tonight.

They are sure funny while present, though!  We will miss them.

Grad cake

Tonight, we will finish off the last of the kid’s graduation celebration cake:  a layered confection of chocolate sponge cake and espresso custard, flecked with chocolate and covered in whipped cream.  The picture below shows it when it was still intact; there is only one serving left at present.  For the kid, of course!

Day 83 of our captivity: Graduation

Graduation! I graduated. Isn't that neat? I think that's neat.

Unfortunately, due to quarantine, many of the traditional graduation events had to be cancelled or significantly altered, such as the shift to a virtual graduation ceremony. However, the school was still able to organize a number of fun events for us seniors, most notably a car parade on the day of graduation.

Of course, we had to decorate the car. Green banners courtesy of Mom, as well as my silly chalk marker drawings. I was particularly amused with my silly horse mascot drawing on the back windshield.

Day 81 of our captivity: Kitty couch

Betcha thought I’d say something about graduation...  Nope, saving that for later after I look through all the pictures.  For now, enjoy the cat lounging on her newly finished kitty couch.  It is, appropriately for the day,  Homestead green.

Day 80 of our captivity: Grad cap

I got my cap and gown from the school last week so I could have it for end-of-year photos, and it was pointed out to me that I should decorate it, as per tradition. Given that I'm finally done with end-of-year projects, I was able to spend the last few days on it.

Some acrylic paint, metallic Sharpie, and way too much glitter later, these were the results:

It's not perfect but I'm reasonably happy with it. Graduation, baby!

Day 78 of our captivity: Deluxe teen brunch

Kiddo thought I should be impressed by the food array consumed upon awakening today.  A leftover sausage, a nectarine, potato chips, and iced tea.  It did sort of cover all food groups...

It also fueled much careful work decorating the grad cap!