Gold Dust Women

Did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now- do you know how
Pick up the pieces and go home?

-- Stevie Nicks

New Farmers Market at Harding School

The Farmers Market opened at Harding School yesterday, and I was on hand to take some pictures. Candidates David Pritchett and Helene Schneider were on hand gathering petition signatures. There was a pretty good crowd, and everyone seemed happy. We all hope this will be a successful market.

Ledbetter Beach / Fog

The Kitties Have Names Now...

Spitfire



Sugar Plum

Tour de France 2009

Well the Tour is over, and we can all go back to our everyday lives without worrying about the drama between Lance and Alberto, or whether Mark was robbed, or how Mont Ventoux will affect the ride. As always it was a great race, and we're looking forward to what 2010 will bring.

Kittie Report

We let the kittens out of the cage overnight, and by morning they were hiding under the bed. It seems easier to leave them there than to try to get them out...they'll come out when they get hungry. So there are no new photos today!

Where the Wild Things Are

...That would be my house! These kittens are definitely wild!

So we had them confined in a wire cage, and bedded them down for the night with a warm towel, food & water, and a mini litter box. Some time in the night I was awakened by a loud crash. I got out of bed to investigate, and the kittens were out of the cage! Apparently they had been able to bend the wire door and escape.

There were bits of furniture upholstery all over the house. In the guest bedroom the pillows were disarranged and a few things knocked over. One of the cats had thrown up on the bedspread. In the office half the items on the desk were on the floor, and some things that had been leaning against the wall were flat on the floor with them -- surely that was the crash I had heard.

We found one cat huddling in a bookcase in the dining room. She ran from us -- around the dining room and out through the kitchen into the bedroom -- zooming like a crazy cat. We closed the bedroom door to block her escape, and she ran into the bathroom. Even better! We closed the bathroom door. She zoomed into the shower, then up onto the sink top where finally we captured her.

She seemed happy enough to be held in my arms. I petted her and comforted her a little, and then we carried her back to the cage. She acted willing to go in, until she was right at the door where suddenly she bolted again! She ran into the office and disappeared; we closed the office door.

There are lots of lovely places in this office for a little kitten to hide, and we had to search pretty carefully. But we found them -- yes, them! Both kittens were huddled together under the futon. We pulled them out one at a time, calmed them down, and put them back into the cage. This time we made sure the door was secure.

This is going to be an adventure for all of us.

Kitties!

We have acquired two new kittens...sisters born to a feral cat. These two kittens were captured three or four weeks ago, and now through a complicated series of events they are ours. Right now they are in a cage in our house, but they'll be running free just as soon as they get used to us.

New Letter from the Botanic Garden Volunteers

Below is a letter Bill Lewis has sent to the Botanic Garden Trustees on behalf of Garden Volunteers participating in the Moratorium....

Gary and the Board of Trustees

On behalf of the moratorium volunteers, we thank you, Fife, and John for spending the time to meet with us on Friday July 3rd.

You commented aptly that the Garden was facing a "Perfect Storm" : a confluence of challenging events affecting the garden, all hitting in the same season. Most elements of this storm are self evident: a global economic downturn that has impacted countries, institutions, and individuals, that has, of course, also impacted the Garden's financial situation; the Garden's wealth has been depleted by the extraordinary costs of Ed's pursuit of the Vital Mission Plan; staff firings that, in the face of long term efforts by the volunteers to improve communication with Garden's administration, became the catalyst for a volunteer moratorium that continues today; in addition, the fire that did extensive damage to the garden, requiring greatly increased staff time...

You can read the rest of the letter here.

Interesting sport

This is from an official City publication:

"Santa Barbara Fiesta Meet

Rules of Events
Beach Flags
• When laying down, competitors fingers must be overlapping and there heals must be touching."

I can see laying down my overlapping fingers, but "there heals"...?

Chrome Plated Heart

I got a chrome-plated heart
I got wings on these fingers trying to tear it apart
I got angels crying from up above
And they got rust in their eyes
They got rust on their love
But I have learned to leave no stone unturned
And keep the wall against my back
And the love is real as the day is long
And the night is black
As black as night

I got a two dollar stare
Midas in my touch and Delilah in my hair
I got bad intentions on the soles of my shoes
With this red hot fever and these chromium blues
And I will feel another lovers wheel
And drive for miles and not look back
And the love is real as the day is long
And the night is black
As black as night

And I'll dance in time and the times are rough
And I'll pay the price and I'll pray that it's enough
And just outside the door where it always rains
I'll take the time to polish these scratches and these stains

On my chrome-plated heart
Wings on these fingers trying to tear it apart
I got angels crying from up above
And they got rust in their eyes
They got rust on their love
And the only way I know where the train will go
Is when I'm sleeping on the tracks
And the love is real as the day is long
And the night is black
As black as night
And the night is black
As black as night

-- Melissa Etheridge

Here Comes the Sun

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
It's all right

-- George Harrison

Caterpillar Dreams

Does a caterpillar, safe in his cocoon, dream of flying? I think not -- what does he know of flying? I think he dreams of crawling through endless fields of sweet green leaves... He's going to be in for a surprise!

Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play


-- Lennon/McCartney

Butterflies Alive !

I visited the Natural History Museum to see their Butterflies Alive! exhibit, and here are some photos. There are more photos here.

Melon With Wings

Melon Ba'al Canaf - "Melon with Wings"
Yield: 4 servings

2 sm Cantaloupes
1/4 c Oil
2 c Raw chicken or turkey meat chopped
1 T Cumin
1 t Salt
Pepper to taste
2 c Green onions; chopped
1/3 c Parsley; chopped
1/4 c Fresh lemon juice
2 c Cooked rice

Cut each melon in half; remove seeds. Scoop out pulp and reserve. Dust chicken with cumin. Heat oil in a skillet and saute chicken or turkey. Add salt and pepper, and continue to saute until poultry is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Blend in green onions, parsley and lemon juice; continue cooking until onions are soft. Remove from flame and cool.

Add rice to cooled chicken mixture; stuff melon cavities. Chop up 1 cup of reserved melon pulp and place on top. Put stuffed melons into an ovenproof dish; bake at 350 F. for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

The authors write: "Melon Ba'al Canaf is a dish that is said to disappear as soon as it is placed on the table, as though it had wings."

From The Yemenite Cookbook by Zion Levi and Hani Agabria.

Mission Creek

The City has done a great job of cleaning up this area. Doesn't it look nice?

Alternative Art Show

I went to the "Old Mission Alternative Art Show" on Saturday. Here are a few photos:

Happy Independence Day !!

First Thursday: Grape Juice

We stopped at the Imagine Gallery on Canon Perdido Street. There was an artist's reception for photographer Robert Redfield, and they were pouring some varietal grape juices under the label "First Blush". We tried the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Chardonnay -- liked them both. However, I think you can find similar juices in simpler packaging for much less money at the Farmers' Market.

First Thursday: Music Academy

S


The Music Academy was offering several performances as part of "First Thursday", and we caught two horn ensembles. We also spotted an artist sketching one of the players.