Giants game

We went to a Giants game last night. It was a spur of the moment thing. Emily's cousin is a catcher, he didn't play, but we got to watch him warming up the pitchers. The bay was beautiful
We ate lots of baaaad food
I've been told many times that 'yeah, baseball is boring on TV, but going to a game is tons of fun.' I'm still not convinced. The few times anything happened, I missed it because I was watching the birds or the ships or something out of sheer boredom!

Emily, Jenise, Ralph, and Alessandro, a friend of Jenise and Ralph
Oh, and did I mention? it was freaking cold! 85 in Davis to freezing in San Francisco!
The boys in front of us had the right idea though, keep moving! Funny kidsEmily convinced me to play picture lottery, where you make all sorts of random faces while someone takes a picture.
Ale and Jenise

Zoe adopted

Zoe was adopted today. This was not an easy one for me to let go of. But, they seem like a nice family. I just hope they know how lucky they are! And that they understand that a tired dog is a good dog, and that a trained dog is a perfect dog. With her brains and her size, miss Zoe here has the potential to be perfect... or a terror.

I will miss that girl.

Quick trip home

Kendra
Well, I finally got more than three days in a row that I could take off without horrendous guilt from various parties. I jumped on the opportunity to head home for an important visit before I head out of the country yet again. Most importantly, I really wanted to spend some time with my Father's wife who has recently started a battle with cancer. Although we found this out a month ago (almost to the day), this was my first major experiment free chunk of time in ages. Luckily, Kendra has the most amazing support system of friends and family. I've had to content myself with constant phone calls and check ins. It takes 10 hours to make the drive up too, so I had to have at least a few days up there to make it worth it.
Unfortunately, I got sick. It was very frustrating to drive all that way and then not be able to visit because I was a germ factory. Luckily, the neighbors put me up (and the dog too, very brave of them!). I eventually worked things out to wear a mask the whole time and wash my hands obsessively (and no touching, of course!) and got to spend one evening at home with Dad and Kendra. Eating dinner wearing a surgical mask is interesting, let me tell you. It was a pretty nice visit, and I am very proud of Kendra and how well she is holding up. She has an amazing spirit. I always knew that though, this is one woman who won't let the world get her down!

Zoe
Taking Zoe on this trip has not been the easiest thing. Too many changes in houses and rules. But she did amazingly well for a puppy, poor thing. I unfortunately don't have any pictures because I am an idiot. The best thing was her introduction to the llamas. Lottie was, if possible, even more curious than Zoe. When I took the pup up to the upper pasture for a good run, the two ladies spent almost 5 minutes smelling each other through the fence. I so wish I got a picture of this! So, llamas like to sniff each other and anyone else as a way to say hi. I've always called it giving kisses. You basically stand there and blow in each other's faces. Now, picture a large dog, and an even larger llama as far apart as possible, but so that their noses are still touching through the gate... streeeetching.... sniffing... hold that pose!
Then Zoe discovered that llamas like to play tag! Oh what fun! Most of them were smart enough to stop when they got sick of the game. Poor Angel didn't though, she got a little freaked and kept running, getting Zoe all excited and nipping at the heals. I was in a bit of a conundrum, but then Angel solved it neatly by jumping the fence! Wow! Luckily she just went into the next pasture. Silly dog!

Essay Contest
The other main goal of this trip to Oregon was to sell my essay contest at the High School. I dutifully made a little powerpoint show of only the interesting adventures of my work to give the kids another take on science. This is a new thing. I always used to just have Sully announce the contest for me, but for the past 2 years I have been doing it myself. And since I am there, the teachers have asked me to talk about something to show the kids a potential success story out of Estacada. So, there you go. I had the stupid cough though, and it made giving a coherent talk rather hard. And then I got super sick at lunch time! Actually spent a few hours lying in the nurses office puking my guts out! Don't have a clue where that came from. Kind of cut my talks short. But, at least the kids I did talk to seemed to pay some attention , and I was there on Earth day! Not intentional, but useful. So maybe I will be getting some good essays this year. I sure hope so!

Bella rose is 1 year old!

Since I had to come home to see Kendra and make an appearance at the high school, I also made a quick stop at Katherine and John's to see the little Bellamonster. Waaaay too short of a visit since she takes a few days to warm up to you, but still worth it. I got some pictures to get me through at least!

she loves her uncle James
Funny face
I even managed to be here essentially on her birthday, Bella Rose is 1 year old now!
Ticklish knees
Helping mommy cook!
Dancing
Her new trick
So proud
Look what Daddy did!
Zoe came too. She did amazingly well at not knocking Bella over. But boy oh boy did she like Bella's toys! That was a struggle. And she loved this chair more than anything. We eventually just gave up and put the blanket down. and you have to admit she looks pretty darn cute.

Raiding Pop's files

I've come home for a quick visit before I head to Czech. I had a lot of buisiness to do that I will tell you later. But quick... I wanted to post these pics because they I found them on Dad's computer. These are pics of my Poppa when he was young and crazy (as opposed to old and crazy ;) He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Isnt he cute?That's him in the middle being cheeky.

Poppa

Army pic of my Pops

Helpful Zoe

I've been frantically trying to organize my plants so I can get my big common garden experiment set up before I leave for Czech in a month. It isn't easy when you have to depend on plant growing when you have a deadline! You can't exactly force them to hurry up.

So my past few days have involved lots of slime and filth and stinky plants. And man am I going to be buff! These things get heavy when they fill with water!

And look how they grow! Literally bursting out of the pots. They have been sitting on racks in the giant white tubs you can see in the background in many of these pics. So many of them have grown through the racks... so much so that there are more plants outside of the pots than in them. I've had to rip plants apart, drag them out. All very hard to do when you are leaning over the edge in a meter high tub!
Zoe was very helpful though. This isn't the best pic, but this is one of my favorite expressions of hers. I love this silly dog!
She wouldn't stay out of hte water. It was cute, but when you are lugging a heavy plant that is oozing slime all over you and all you want to do is put it in that container she is in... it gets rather old rather quick. This poor girl has had such a hard time lately. She just can't seem to get a home. All her stories are spectacularly tragic. We first got her because her family was going through a terrible time: Dad was in the hospital dying, Mom had 4 kids, and their house was in forclosure. Then, she got adopted, but the family found out soon thereafter that their 9 month old was deathly allergic to dogs. And last night? She got adopted again, by a wonderful family with a dog that they wanted a playmate for. The two dogs got along great, everybody seemed happy, but when they got home, their dog got super territorial and things got bloody. So, Zoe is back. My poor darlin!

Popeye the squirrel

Graphic Content, Beware!

Don't look too close if you have a weak stomach.

This squirrel has been hanging around my building for at least 6 months now, with an eye out of a horror story. It's been steadily getting worse, but I've never had my camera with me until now.

We are all shocked that he is still alive, poor little thing.

There are no predators to speak of (except my dogs and they mostly don't get away from me to actually catch one of the little buggers, sooo). He's pretty damn chubby, so he must be getting enough to eat.

Zoe

I got a new foster dog this weekend. Meet Zoe. These silly dogs love cameras so much that it is impossible to get a good picture of them. This is her caught before she can jump up and come investigate the thing in my hand deer in the headlights look. Zoe is an amazingly beautiful dog. Her color isn't your normal chocolate, there is gold in there too. She's got something in there besides lab and it gives her grandeur and grace. She is rather large, I'm guessing 95ish. And she has the biggest feet. She is a baby still too. Only 11 months. For a puppy, she is amazingly well behaved. Unfortunately, she is still a puppy.


She has the temperament I love in a dog. Cuddly, affectionate, playful, watchful, not needy (for a puppy) and has a good radius (what I call the distance when she is off leash that she goes before she circles back to say hello). For a young dog, she is remarkably well behaved and mellow. If I had a yard, I would already have signed the papers to adopt this girl. Give her some time and training to work off the puppy (as cute as it may be), and she will be perfect.
But unfortunately, she whines when I take my attention away for a second. She chews my furniture (the table my Dad made that I've carted around everywhere and even managed to keep water stains off from my plethora of plants! arghhhh!). She barks if I leave her alone. She wakes me up at 5 or 6 am to play, or else! Yesterday, I couldn't take that one. I've been sick, so sleeping is a priority. I grabbed my blanket and crawled to the living room. She eventually settled down and slept for almost 45 minutes with her head on the little dip of my waist as I slept on my side. can you say awwwwwww? And my personal favorite? She thinks that biking to school is the greatest game. My foot circling in front of her to chase and bite for 2 whole miles? How fun! ouch.

I love this dog! But can I survive?

This is my neighbor's dog Nathan. These are the guys I jokingly call the gentlemen druggies. There are always tons of guys just hanging out. Lots of coming and going. Not the most reputable looking crowd. But, they are so polite, and always take the parties inside when it gets late. Plus, I like their dog. Nathan here is soooo sweet and shy. I took him with Zoe d I to the dog park yesterday. He spent the first half trying to sneak out the gate. But then he discovered the tennis balls lying around. I would throw a ball for him and he can tear out as far as he wants? yippee! He didn't want to leave. tee hee.

Got to love how his poppa tries to toughen up his look with the chain. Silly.

Last day!

We had our last day of the big isotope experiment. Sundays are free again! For working on other stuff, sure, but hey! Admittedly, it was fun. Saturday night, Stephanie came over and we tried out the fry daddy that Grandma gave me. We even made donuts to bring the lovely ladies.
I brought my new foster Zoe. This dog is very young (11 months), but was absolutely perfect out at the greenhouses. I let her off leash. She had fun exploring, but always came back. There was one funny moment, when she went tearing out after a ball that I had thrown. The ball frightened a squirrel, who subsequently startled the crap out of Zoe. Not for long though! weeeeee
As it got hot, she eventually found a wet spot and spent the time sleeping while we worked. Can you see her back there?

I'm a thief

Ok, so I stole this picture from Katherine, but isn't she cute!?! I miss home!

botanical horror story

I never seem to put anything up about actual work, many of you seem to have the impression I am doing nothing but play down here in sunny California. but, alas, I'm not. So, here is some boring, less boring than usual, but still boring, pictures for you of our most recent project.

We are doing a big experiment on the weekends (the only time we are all available, bah!). we are looking at nitrogen uptake, yippie! but, all's not so well as it seems...

First, we give them a nice yummy last meal

Awww, aren't they cute! (got to be a plant person I guess)

Then... we cut their heads off!

and dig them up..

and pick all their roots off, one by oneit can be frustratingly tediousand throw them into a giant oven ... wooahahaha!laughing maniacally all the time. and then we celebrate a job well done, by destroying their homes!

ok, well really, it's just boring to look at, but we kind of have fun doing it, so...