tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25209439165884742592024-03-12T20:47:51.020-07:00wellingtonStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-50166759823315933812017-09-04T19:33:00.000-07:002017-09-04T19:33:14.161-07:00Sunset District<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After days of intense heat, it was cooler this evening so after dinner we walked downtown. We met up with the local friendly cat, Ziggy. Then walked along the water. I snapped this photo with my iPhone but saw a couple sitting on a bench with some pretty fancy photography equipment. I can only imagine how lovely his photo turned out to be.<br />
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This is Ziggy. I think he's a Maine Coon. If you're by the water in the downtown area, you may run into him. Give him a scritch.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-63341444170339376342016-11-10T20:06:00.000-08:002016-11-10T20:08:28.902-08:00Lovely Benicia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are no two ways about it, Benicia is lovely in the autumn. As usual, we took a walk downtown. Today, as a treat, we walked to the pier. It was in the mid 70s with no breeze. The light on the water was just so gorgeous because of the combination of blue skies and still air. </div>
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I've taken this picture many times, of the old ship wreck at the end of West C Street. Some people think it looks like junk and should be removed, but I think it's interesting and an important part of downtown.<br />
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This shot is right along the pier as the seagulls were flying east. This weekend one of my favorite friends is coming to see me just so we can go downtown and enjoy the shops in their holiday splendor. It's a tourist attraction right at my doorstep! Who could ask for more?<br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-57418847910538615842016-09-22T19:08:00.000-07:002016-09-22T19:08:35.013-07:00Ahhhhh-Tum!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What's your favorite time of year? Answer: autumn. There's nothing like it for reviving the spirits! Not that they need reviving. But IF they did, just hang on until autumn and everything will be fine. As usual.<br />
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Here at Wellington autumn is first in evidence by the changing leaves of the Boston Ivy. Even before there's a nip in the air. Next sign: Andy's Nut. And if you don't know what I'm talking about you're not a regular Blog reader. <br />
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Today when the old Hubster and I were coming back from a walk I noticed that one of the little "berries" from the Arbutus Marina had landed on this sweet little bench. I love how this bench looks and send pictures of it to The Dot all the time. She doesn't generally respond, but I know she must enjoy them because look! It's especially lovely in autumn when the Boston Ivy that grows around it starts to change color. And when the Arbutus Marina, as previously stated, drops its fruit right on there.<br />
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Autumn also marks the time you can start doing all these projects. Here is a list of projects I'm planning to start: organize my pantry; pick up embroidery (I'm going to do a whole post about this later, because it's very exciting); sew something; bake something orange; organize Family Gatherings; ride a horse; eat lots of extra food (an extra layer of fat is necessary if one wants to make it through winter). So far I've done the horse one and the eating one. And started the Family one. <br />
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I've also done a little match-making, much to The Dot's mortification. But I think it might be going pretty well! It isn't THE DOT! SHE JUST GOT MARRIED! I didn't write about the wedding on The Blog on account of that's someone else's personal business. But I will just say this: The Dot and Mr. Dot's wedding was one of the most fabulous days of my life. <br />
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Speaking of fabulous, isn't autumn fabulous? Today I baked this raisin cinnamon-swirl bread:<br />
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It wasn't as hard as it looks. I used the method where you just mix up a bunch of flour, yeast, salt, etc and then put it in the fridge. When you want to bake you just pull a hunk out, shape it and let it sit for 40 minutes before baking. No kneading necessary. With this one I added raisins and then put some cinnamon inside. Haven't tasted it yet, but I will in the morning. I'll keep you posted. Baking bread puts a little bounce in your step first thing in the morning, as soon as you wake up and remember you baked something the day before.</div>
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I plan on having a fantastic autumn and I hope you all have a great autumn too.</div>
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-38390169528715929222016-08-13T13:29:00.001-07:002016-08-13T13:29:42.400-07:00Seventh Benicia Peddlers' FairToday was the Seventh Annual Benicia Peddlers' Fair. It's actually been going since 1963, but this is our seventh year in Wellington, so I'm calling it the Seventh Annual. <br />
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In true Hubby Fashion, Hubby abstained from the Fair yet again. But that didn't stop me. I had a date to meet my neighbor at the booth she was running at 10 a.m., and by jove I made it there at 10 a.m. Almost exactly.<br />
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She was running the booth that sold coffee in the early morning, but by the time I arrived they were selling (and consuming) beer. The margarita dispensers were not operable yet, but they were being prepared. </div>
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We walked down about a block, then my neighbor had to turn back and get to her booth. So I proceeded alone. There was a huge crowd and the street was barely navigable. But I navigated to a lot of booths with antiques. Many with jewelry. And tons of food and clothing booths. Here is a partial list of things I didn't buy: silver necklace; cowboy hat; succulents; various Donald Ducks; antique hinged box; "designer" sunglasses; beaded coin purse. Here is a complete list of things I bought: book.</div>
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Here is a view looking towards the water from D Street.</div>
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This booth had a lot of characters from Nightmare Before Christmas. This is where I didn't buy the Donald Ducks.<br />
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I thought this picture, taken right before I headed home, was interesting. There were a couple of banks of port-a-potties. These two little dogs were very unhappy to be left outside, but the owner seemed to have a grip on their leashes from inside the potty. Incidentally the margarita machine was up and running by this time - just past 11. It seemed to be fairly popular.</div>
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I was just congratulating myself on all the things I didn't buy, but then I passed the library and had to zoom in just to see. I headed right for the "special" section and bought something I can't write about since it's a present for someone else. But it was quite a gem and only cost $2.50. So I count that as a complete success!<br />
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Then I came home and got my yogurt and latte. I was just starting to enjoy my lunch when there was a ding-dong at my door. It turned out to be two ding-dongs. Heehee. Not really. It was the mayor and an assistant who were campaigning. I took the opportunity to complain about a couple of things, in the most good-nature way possible. I won't write about them here since that's not the type of thing that goes on The Blog. But I'll keep an eyeball peeled and if the things get fixed I will let you all know so you can reelect the mayor.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-7656806718339037582016-04-24T08:19:00.000-07:002016-04-24T08:19:13.450-07:00Happy Birthday Wellington - 6!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've had our ups and downs. Mostly all ups, thank goodness! Wellington has made it through neglect, a new family, drought and now look! Blooming and glowing like the Wellington he was meant to be! And now he is six years old. Pampered and well loved</div>
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Last month an anonymous admirer sent Wellington a bunch of balloons. I think they got the dates mixed up. He was awfully proud, standing in the cloudy morning holding his mylar bouquet.</div>
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Unfortunately they were too close to the electrical wires so we had to cut them down. He is only six, after all, and doesn't know about these things. That's why we're here to take care of him.</div>
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This next bit of information is not generally something that goes onto the blog because of its sadness. But in the second picture of Wellington you can sort of see Fester, the Forest Pansy Redbud tree that we planted a few years ago. He died. We had to hack him down on Thursday. He was a beautiful tree. You can see him <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2013/07/wellington-update-2013.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2011/09/trees-of-wellington.html" target="_blank">here</a>. And this one makes me sad . <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-trees.html" target="_blank">This was him being planted. :(</a> Poor Fester. he has been there almost since Wellington was Wellington!</div>
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Around that same time I bought a baby gingko biloba tree. It was about seven inches tall, in a four inch pot. I got him at the <a href="http://www.morningsunherbfarm.com/ssp/home" target="_blank">Morningsun Herb Farm.</a> He has been in a larger pot for quite some time but still is fairly small, by tree standards. But he has done much of his growing at Wellington so it is fitting that he should be Wellington's new tree. Besides, gingkos are the oldest tree on the planet. Gingko has been found in fossils dating back 270 million years. That's what I read and I'm sticking with it. But this little guy is only five and a half. And he's about 18 inches high. I was hoping we would plant him today in honor of Wellington's birthday, but some people feel like we need to let Fester's stump fester a while longer.</div>
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Have a Happy Wellington Day!</div>
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-48790611828876767212016-03-13T20:33:00.003-07:002016-03-13T20:44:57.542-07:00Why Are Baby Hummingbirds So Cute?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day One - February 19, 2016<br />
Don't worry, they get progressively less blurry as they grow.</div>
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Day Two<br />
Whenever I go to take a picture I'm in danger of having my left ear pierced by a protective Mama Bird with a long beak.</div>
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Day Three<br />
What is up with all that hair?</div>
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Day Four<br />
Notice the lichen on that gorgeous nest.</div>
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Day Seven</div>
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Day Nine<br />
I'm hungry Mama!</div>
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Day Ten</div>
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Day Twelve</div>
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Day Sixteen<br />
Their eyes are open!</div>
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Day Seventeen - morning.<br />
Look at the two little bundle clumps all shoved in that little nest. I read somewhere that the nest is built to expand as the birds grow.<br />
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Day Seventeen - evening.<br />
Is it my imagination, or have they grown more just since this morning?<br />
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Day Eighteen<br />
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Day Nineteen<br />
One day soon I'm going to go out there and the nest will be empty. These birds look like their mama already. Compare this picture to Day Sixteen - just three days ago. Amazing!<br />
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Day Twenty</div>
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Look at the little dickens perched on the side of the nest! He'll be flying any day now. I predict Sunday (today is Friday). That's when they'll be three weeks old. Their backs are now iridescent green.</div>
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Day Twenty-One<br />
Every day now I expect to find an empty nest. I think they will fly either today or tomorrow. I put this picture on my desktop on my new laptop. Enlarged you can notice strands of what appear to be my hair intertwined in this nest! That's where it went.<br />
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Day Twenty-Two<br />
It's hard to see the difference between today's picture and yesterday's. But if you notice the size compared to the nest you can see that they have really grown. In my opinion they are way too big for this nest. Yesterday we saw the mama feed the babies. <br />
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It has really been raining lately and I think they just feel like sitting tight. I can totally relate. I've barely left my nest in two days. But I think that one on the right is thinking about it. Hold on. Nope. Still both there. I'll keep you posted.<br />
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UPDATE<br />
I saw them flapping like crazy so I ran and got my camera. I waited patiently. They didn't flap anymore at that time, but the Mama came over and fed them. I have to film from inside my back door, so I'm too far away to get a great shot, but I uploaded the video onto YouTube. If you pull it up large, you can see the mama feeding each of the birds, then flying away. They're in the center of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbAkLNgB1Hc" target="_blank">THIS VIDEO.</a><br />
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Of course I'm keeping an eye on the nest today, expecting the babies to fly away any minute. I went into another room and shot this next video of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEqiN7hstwM" target="_blank">MAMA FEEDING THE BABIES</a>.<br />
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Then I got a shot of the babies flapping and preening, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-c-8voG6P4" target="_blank">SO SWEET</a>.<br />
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As predicted, this was indeed FLIGHT DAY. I was watching as the first bird flapped and flapped and was soon aloft! She flitted to the next branch down where she sat for a bit. A few minutes later I came back and she was gone. Her brother sits alone in the nest. It's dark now and possibly the brother is gone. But I did see the mama come back one last time to give him a meal.<br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/X8aGw4CWh94" target="_blank">Here is the final video</a>. (It's better than the last three. Go ahead and click on it.)<br />
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On the off chance that I wake up tomorrow and that little brother is still sitting in the nest, I will update this blog posting. But I have a feeling he will be gone by light of day. And this posting has been waiting for days to be posted. Weeks! But it was so much fun watching these little birds grow day by day.<br />
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I think my favorite is day seventeen, the morning picture. I remember when I used to raise rats, it was right after they opened their eyes they were so cute that you just felt like popping them in your mouth, .Day seventeen was the day I had to restrain myself. </div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-47790563561309995132016-03-11T16:57:00.000-08:002016-03-11T16:57:43.431-08:00Another Rainy Day in BeniciaIt's been a long time since we could say "another rainy day . . . " and it feels so great. I ran home from the gym in the rain today. When I got home I hopped in the shower then put on some cozy clothes. There's not a better feeling in the world than just coming off a good workout and being warm and cozy.<br />
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On the way to the gym we stopped by the metal lot to get rid of some metal. There's a guy downtown who collects metal and donates money to the schools or something. I'm not really sure what he does with all the metal to be exact, but it's a great place to put metal you don't need anymore.<br />
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Right next to his yard is the cove with the old boats. It's hard to resist taking a picture every time I go by because it's always so beautiful. Picturesque is a word that would not be inappropriate at this juncture. Here, see for yourself:<br />
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See? If I knew how to use my new computer I just got today right after putting on my cozy clothes (delivered by UPS at 11 a.m.), I would have cropped it a bit. But there it is! In all its natural beauty! I love this town.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-37781149429858771872016-03-01T17:04:00.003-08:002016-03-01T17:04:45.350-08:00Cats and Birds and Leaving the Nest<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today Cinii spent about 15 minutes in the backyard with minimal supervision. We know when it's time to come in because she starts making like she's going to climb the fence: gets close to it, shifts her weight to her haunches and looks up. We aren't ready for her to climb the fence yet. And frankly she isn't ready either, but she doesn't know that. She is terrified of cars (good!). But who knows what she will do once she discovers that she is in the front yard? Or in the next door neighbor's yard? I don't want to find out. At least not yet<span style="font-size: x-small;">. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a picture of her traipsing up the Arbor Walk. And then one of her sitting quietly. Although once she sees me ready to take a picture her face gets all screwed up with alertness. She's much prettier when her face is relaxed. Aren't we all?</span></div>
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But she's still lovely.</div>
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Speaking of lovely, how dumb are these birds, Thumb and Tack?</div>
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Bluebell (formerly Mindy and before that Midas) is rarely seen near the babies these days. But I'm sure she is feeding them because they are growing like weeds and will soon leave the nest, literally.</div>
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And my babiest chick will soon be leaving the nest figuratively. The little boy moves out in three more days, never to return to the family home. No more will I hear the lovely words, "Mom! My coffee is not going to make itself!" Maybe I can get him to come home occasionally and eat my food. It's just possible he will allow me to do his laundry once in a while. </div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-75095213854815607522016-02-04T16:51:00.001-08:002016-02-19T17:24:18.171-08:00Midas the HummingbirdMidas has made a nest in our teeny tree in the backyard. The tree is right next to our back porch. We could pluck this bird out of his nest without even bending over, that's how close he is to the porch. We first noticed the nest a couple of weeks ago. It looked like this:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0X3V-FrNg58/VrPvsDbo-LI/AAAAAAAAQs0/RIL0WI9wBxE/s1600/IMG_3227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0X3V-FrNg58/VrPvsDbo-LI/AAAAAAAAQs0/RIL0WI9wBxE/s400/IMG_3227.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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You can see bits of feathers and string in there. Two days later it looked like this:</div>
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So much fluff!</div>
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He wasn't spending much time in the nest at this point. But on occasion he could be spotted bouncing up and down in the nest, as if to mold it to his plump little rump. I can just imagine how proud he must be, waiting for a female ruby-throated hummingbird to happen by and spot him doing his rump bump dance.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I took this close up shot yesterday. He is so used to us passing by now that he doesn't fly away. I got my camera within one foot of him and he barely flinched!</span></div>
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Zoom:</div>
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Of course it's possible that this is now the wife sitting on some eggs!</div>
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We haven't had much nesting in Wellington's yard over the years, but that's because we had our darling Hugo. We miss her every day. But Midas doesn't.</div>
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**UPDATE**</div>
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I think it's safe to say that that last picture was not of Midas, but of Mindy. Because when I was coming in from the gym this morning, she flew off the nest and over to a nearby tree where she preened herself in the sun. I took the opportunity to snap a picture of what can only be EGGS. No worries, though. She was soon right back on those eggs.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uWyrx9l6d0E/VrTktWVs0JI/AAAAAAAAQuc/IX4e1NtVFrE/s1600/IMG_3310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uWyrx9l6d0E/VrTktWVs0JI/AAAAAAAAQuc/IX4e1NtVFrE/s400/IMG_3310.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'll keep you all posted while we wait for the pitter patter of baby hummingbird feet.</div>
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**UPDATE #2**</div>
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Apparently it's the female Ruby Throated Hummingbird that builds the nest. So this was Mindy all along. The Dot found out when she looked up the incubation time of hummingbird eggs. It's two to three weeks. And then another two to three weeks until they leave the nest so if all goes well we should have a hummingbird in residence for five or six more weeks! I hope she doesn't mind if we still call her Midas. After all Hugo was a girl and she didn't mind.</div>
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**UPDATE #3**</div>
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Her name is actually Bluebell. And Midas is still in the picture, too. Today, February 19, the eggs hatched. It's hard to tell, but this is a picture of at least one baby hummingbird.</div>
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Bluebell still sits on the nest. And we haven't seen her feed the bird(s) yet. But we'll keep an eyeball out.</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-2637620754493237762015-09-15T09:59:00.000-07:002015-09-15T09:59:31.076-07:00Hugo's Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It wasn't much talked about on the blog on account of it is not a happy subject, but our beloved Hugo died in June. She was apparently about 21 years old and had a very happy life. <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2011/06/one-about-hugo.html" target="_blank">(If you missed her story you can read about it here.)</a> But we still miss her every day. The Hub and I planted a memorial garden for her in the backyard. We used to have a little strip of lawn in this area that was there when we bought Wellington. Hugo used to love to eat the grass along this strip in the mornings. But with the drought, lawns aren't doing well in California. So we took the lawn out and planted this garden in Hugo's honor..</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AMJYdcYQ5tA/Vfgl16qdM-I/AAAAAAAAPac/VxD23yFYALI/s1600/IMG_1235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AMJYdcYQ5tA/Vfgl16qdM-I/AAAAAAAAPac/VxD23yFYALI/s320/IMG_1235.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
It has mostly ornamental grasses that Hugo would have loved. There are a couple of carpet roses and in the center is an olive tree with Hugo's ashes underneath. The olive tree has gotten a lot of new growth. I think it likes Hugo under there. We are searching for a perfect cat statue to put in this garden. The grasses and plants will soon broaden and you will hardly see the stepping stones. It has already grown so much in the three months it's been planted. It's a nice quiet place to sit and relax and think about a little kitty cat who brought us joy.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qkULMQbIufc/VfhNgLHkW5I/AAAAAAAAPa0/M0dMdQIUNaM/s1600/hootie%2B4%2B2014-12-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qkULMQbIufc/VfhNgLHkW5I/AAAAAAAAPa0/M0dMdQIUNaM/s320/hootie%2B4%2B2014-12-21.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-6022280491538925602015-09-04T16:11:00.002-07:002015-09-04T16:11:52.815-07:00Drat This Drought!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the few months since my last post a lot has happened. Little Hootie died. Then the piglet died. We are now completely void of pets and it's very sad for us. Also our bottom lawn died on account of the drought that has been hanging over California for years. Everyone has to ration their water and the gardens are really hurting. Our upper lawns in the front are still sort of green because they have more shade. But the lawn between the sidewalk and the street completely died. The Big Guy took it out a few weeks ago and tried to kill the crab grass. He planted some jasmine instead. It tends to grow really well in Benicia. Today he put in a drip line, which conserves water. Next step is landscape fabric and some recycled wood chips from the local mulch yard.</div>
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Wellington still looks awfully nice, if you ask me. He looked better with a cat on his porch though.</div>
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Here is the jasmine and the drip line which will soon be covered up.</div>
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This is a better view of the poor lawn. It's September, coming into fall. We are really hoping for some rain before we lose the whole lawn. I am sitting in my front office and although it's a pretty hot day, I can see the first signs of autumn which many loyal blog readers <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-post.html" target="_blank">will remember from this post.</a> I call it "Andy's Nut." That industrious squirrel is already gathering his nuts for the winter.<br />
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My little Christmas tree from years ago is growing nicely with his little fuchsia that I propagated from the neighbor's plant and a beautiful bright pink impatiens. But this porch misses its kitty cat.. </div>
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-39358763776061946212015-02-19T17:30:00.000-08:002015-02-19T17:30:18.192-08:00Silly Cat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Here's Wellington!</div>
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Here's Wellington closer.</div>
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And closer.</div>
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Who is that waiting for us to come back from our evening walk?</div>
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Only the best oldest kitty in town.</div>
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Sweet little Hootie.</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-54756486689567196182015-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:002015-01-29T17:06:10.739-08:00Beautiful Evening Stroll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MbOn_SXBhF0/VMrW2jbdQpI/AAAAAAAANck/7ilRH9SY41k/s1600/benicia%2B1%2B29%2B15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MbOn_SXBhF0/VMrW2jbdQpI/AAAAAAAANck/7ilRH9SY41k/s1600/benicia%2B1%2B29%2B15.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
A lovely evening in Benicia. Took a stroll down towards the water. This promenade is along West I between West 4th and West 5th where the road ends. There is a new home that backs to this walkway. They have this view right out their back porch. It's a little odd though, because if they're sitting on their back porch they are right there where people walk by. But no automobile traffic, so that's nice. And it's the first LEED Certified home in the county. Or in Northern California. Or something like that, I can't remember which and they don't have the sign up anymore. But it looks nice. <a href="http://www.donaghue.com/current_construction_projects.php" target="_blank">You can read about it here</a>.<br />
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When we got home, Hugo was waiting on the front porch. She chose to stay out there because that's her favorite place to be. Just look at her little smile. She's saying, "Ahhh."<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-68481206926537219132015-01-04T14:33:00.001-08:002015-01-04T18:38:32.059-08:00ORGANIZATION: Craft Cubby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I wish I had a before picture. But it was just too horrible. I didn't want it documented.</div>
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For Christmas my favorite sister bought me a storage drawer cabinet. How did she know that in the new year I was planning to organize my cozy Craft Cubby? She knows me too well. I wasn't feeling well over Christmas so I didn't get to this project for a few days. I was planning to start the day after Christmas but first I had to catsit, which is my fourth favorite activity. Then I had to come home and lay around for a day or two while I coughed and moaned. Finally enough was enough and I went upstairs, opened the door under the eaves that leads to my Craft Cubby, sat down and had a think.</div>
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The next day I pulled out a few things and thought some more. Gradually the thoughts I was thinking coordinated with the diminishing of the ill I was ailing and I was able to get to work. I began by putting together this wonderful little drawer unit. I needed a hammer and an allen wrench so I think I'm going to call myself "handy."</div>
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The whole project took me four and a half days, including thinking and ailing time. The last two days were particularly productive and here is the end result.</div>
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This is the drawer unit, with labels. These drawers are the perfect size for things like "sewing notions", "zippers/tapes", "knitting/crocheting", "rubber stamps", "stationery" and "paper." To the right is a large plastic bin I got from the barn that used to have horse food in it but now houses my fluff, known also as stuffing. On top of the drawer unit is a small three-drawer unit which is currently empty and a long box with long knitting needles in it.</div>
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Here is the drawer unit with some open drawers. Santa brought me a lot of organizers with compartments.</div>
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Here is a better pic of my sewing basket with bin beneath. Behind the drawer unit I was able to fit all of my Christmas decorations, and there are a lot. They include my two small trees, garland for the banister, Creepy Santa collection and glitter houses. To the right back there are the two boxes of The Dot's books she asked me to save until she needs them back. On top of that is a tin which is currently filled with smaller containers that are not in use at the moment.</div>
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Santa also brought me a spool rack. To the left of that is a wine container I am saving for some reason. It's really cute.</div>
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Inside the cubby to the right in back are my two bins of yarn. On top of them is a plastic bag with the rest of my alpaca to finish my alpaca afghan I'm knitting. (Next on the list of to dos: finish knitting the afghan! Pics to follow.)<br />
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To the right of the yarn I have two wire drawer units I got from Ikea a couple of years ago when I first started organizing my Craft Cubby. That time the organization wasn't successful since it wasn't really complete and I just started shoving things in here. But now there is a place for everything.<br />
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For instance: In the bottom drawer on the left, and the one just above that, I have large pieces of fabric. I have stapled swatches of each fabric to the front of the drawers so I don't have to go digging in there when I need a particular piece. The third drawer up has some more large pieces of fabric along with various scraps. The top drawer on the left has all of my Christmas felt. On the right on the bottom I have all of my Purts©. I believe there are about a dozen finished purses in there. Above that I have large pieces for making purses and above that I have some smaller pieces I've saved, like pockets and zippers. The top drawer has beading materials. <br />
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Here is a view of the right-hand drawer unit. On top of that I have a little drawer unit that Santa brought me. It is full of beads and beading supplies. Behind that I have a large tin with Christmas Craft Bits like baubles, glitters, sequins and teeny weeny gingerbread men.</div>
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Two more views of the Craft Cubby from the doorway. You can also see the little step stool my brother in law gave me for Christmas. It came in handy to sit on while I was working. I can also go inside my little Craft Cubby under the eaves and just sit on this little stool and pull open a drawer. I have done this a time or two and it's very rewarding after so many hours of organizing. I recommend it to everyone.<br />
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Time for a nap.</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-46385081087132807512014-12-22T16:30:00.000-08:002014-12-22T19:11:11.143-08:00Wellington at Christmastime 2014It's Christmastime again at Wellington. As usual, there is no snow on the ground, but we have had our share of rain. Finally. I love Wellington every day of the year. But Christmas is especially nice. This year we are particularly happy because our beloved kitty has surprised us yet again and is apparently going to make it through another Christmas. This will be approximately her 21st!<br />
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So for those of you who, while still enjoying your own Christmasses in your own Wellingtons, are not fortunate enough to be experiencing Christmastime at Wellington in person, here are some pictures to give you the essence. The merest smidgeon of an inkling of the wonders and pleasures found herein.<br />
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If one listens to neighborhood gossip, it is the general consensus that the following cat is 21 years old or so. We have only had her for a little less time than we've had Wellington (about four and a half years), but we'll take their word for it. Readers of the blog know the lovely story of how Hugo came to be our very own kitty, so I won't go into that at this time. If you don't remember, or have never heard the story you can find it <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2011/06/one-about-hugo.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. Let me just say that we have recently expressed our love for Hugo in the best way possible. We have given her the most expensive present under our Christmas tree. It's called "A Trip to the Emergency Vet" which has caused her life to be extended considerably, we're hoping indefinitely. So far it has been three weeks. This is her way of thanking us for her Christmas gift.<br />
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Ah Heaven.</div>
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Here is Nordmann. He is our Christmas tree. Some of us decided we didn't need a large tree. Why not get a very small tree this year, etc. But as you will notice, this tree is about as large as possible in this room with high ceilings. And some of us cut quite a bit off the top knot. Some of us are in the Christmas spirit, I'm not naming any names.</div>
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Here is Nordmann ready for action.</div>
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The Christmas cactus is from last year and it just started blooming in time for Christmas! What a coincidence. Below is a little Christmas quilt I bought at Romancing the Home, a downtown Benicia shop for which I have been carrying a Gift Certificate for a couple of years. I was saving it for something perfect, and here it is!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BPD-fT7smI/VJeWT2zbioI/AAAAAAAAM-0/peSOKVE6P1E/s1600/c%2Bchair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BPD-fT7smI/VJeWT2zbioI/AAAAAAAAM-0/peSOKVE6P1E/s1600/c%2Bchair.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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This is a little blown-glass heart one of my closest friends gave me on our Christmas Outing. She is the same friend who gave me the Gift Certificate for Romancing the Home! She knows me pretty well.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nSGt22IiNBs/VJeWYhmw57I/AAAAAAAAM_E/Or6-MI1Udyk/s1600/c%2Bcross%2Bstitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nSGt22IiNBs/VJeWYhmw57I/AAAAAAAAM_E/Or6-MI1Udyk/s1600/c%2Bcross%2Bstitch.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
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The birds were purchased at the Dickens Faire a few years ago when I went with The Dot.</div>
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I didn't make a glitter house this year. I think the collection is a pretty good size.</div>
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Every year I hang some antique glass balls from ribbons in my window.</div>
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This year when I was downtown I bought a new icicle glass ornament to add to the collection. I got this gold one at Steffan Antiques in town for $3. Yesterday when The Hub and I were in the shops I found two more, a pink one and a larger blue one, in Charlie's Attic antique store for $1 each!</div>
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Loyal readers will remember that a tradition in our house is the annual Christmas Stocking. It started in 1982 when I made The Hub a little stocking of his own. The next year I made him another little stocking. The tradition was set and I haven't been able to weasel out of it. Every year I pretend like I'm not going to make one this year and every year The Hub pretends to believe it. Until a few days before Christmas when he notices a new stocking hanging among the many (34? I haven't counted) hanging throughout the house. Actually I have counted but I can't remember the final count. It was in the 30s.</div>
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This year he walked in on me right as I was finishing it. Oh well. It was bound to happen. Here it is.</div>
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It's a wreath made of felt ornaments with felt holly. I particularly like that there are bits from the past incorporated into the design. The dress that the gingerbread woman is wearing is cut from a piece of lace that originated as my sister's 8th grade graduation dress, which later became my dress, which was later cut down to be one of The Dot's dress-up dresses. One of the buttons is made from a piece of fabric that I used to make the kids their Christmas outfits one year when they were about four and six. The bow tie of the gingerbread man comes from a bag of fabrics that a dear friend gave me years ago. The fabrics belonged to her grandmother. The little reindeer that sits in the wreath has beans in his bottom so that he sits nicely on a shelf (except he doesn't, he sits in the wreath) and there is one bean in each of his hooves to make them dangle nicely.</div>
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Another tradition is something I like to call "chocolate truffles." Both of the kids have made these over the years for their friends and I hear that The Dot's truffles this year were so popular she made a second batch. I always send a box to my favorite brother and I often include an ornament that I have made. This year it's a little squirrel with a holly leaf. I made a little girl squirrel very similar to this one and gave it to my dear friend whom I previously mentioned numerous times.</div>
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These are the truffles. And there is also one fruit and nut cluster. I understand from the Post Office that this box arrived at my brother's house this morning where they are probably chilling themselves in a snow bank.</div>
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What would a Christmas Blog be without a nod to the Creepie Santas?</div>
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There were two additions to the Creepy Santa collection this year. One is in the top picture, leaning on the little tree and tipping his head at a jaunty angle. The Dot found him a couple of months ago at a thrift store and nabbed him for me. The other is below on the left. The Hub and I were in Santa Rosa with The Dot and Mr. Dot. We found this little Creepy in an antique shop in the downtown area. He is so perfect. First, he is made of wood, carved by someone who is not a professional carver. Likewise his costume is made by what I would refer to as a hobbyist. His hair, which came from a real sheep is falling off his head and down his back. The best part of all is he was only $5! We couldn't believe our great fortune and The Hub absolutely would not let me leave that store without this little guy wrapped in tissue and tucked under my arm. Seriously though, he allowed me to nestle him into the trunk of the car and bring him home. He rounds out the collection very nicely.<br />
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There are too many great ones to even pick a favorite.</div>
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Now I'm sitting at my kitchen table while my turkey brines. I have a pot on the stove that smells like turkey stock. My boys are playing a game and The Dot is coming over tomorrow for a pre-Christmas visit. Soon the whole family will be together and smushing will ensue. That is a teeny glimpse into the splendor I call Christmastime at Wellington.</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-2459315289453095662014-10-21T17:52:00.000-07:002014-10-21T17:52:35.651-07:00Beaver Run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Regular readers of my blog may have been asking themselves why there has not been any reference to the Benicia State Recreation Area (aka Beaver Run) since my blog of March 19, 2010, before we even moved in. I have only been to Beaver Run once before today. That was in 2010 when The Dot and I rode bikes there. But today The Hub and I decided to drive there and take a walk. The entrance is about two miles from Wellington, so we could technically have walked it. But we didn't. And it's a good thing, because the best part of the park is about 2.3 miles from the entrance.</div>
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This is a nature preserve and you have to stay on the paths. Some paths are little dirt trails and some are paved for walking, biking and even driving your car in some areas. This picture below was accidental, but I kind of like it.<br />
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We saw a lot of pickle grass which I remember from Field Trip days was used by the Patwin Indians in this area. And according to the brochure, the endangered northern salt marsh harvest mouse depends on it for cover. The picture below shows a lot of it covering the ground.<br />
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There are a lot of low lying areas which I imagine become very marshy when there isn't a drought. I saw a beautiful pheasant land in this area.<br />
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There were some little water ways that seem like they would be perfect beaver habitats. But we didn't see a single beaver.</div>
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Apparently there are otters in these areas as well, but we saw zero of them.<br />
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When you come to about the two-mile mark, the straits and bay look like a large lake. It was a gorgeous day with lots of boating and fishing.<br />
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Although we didn't see a single beaver or otter, we saw about a dozen ground squirrels. If you look carefully you can see this little guy on this fence to the right of the frame. He was lounging in the sun.<br />
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We also saw an egret, a hawk, a lizard and about 50 shore birds. And we heard a mocking bird and what was either a deer or a bear in an overgrown area. We're counting it as half a deer.<br />
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Here is a map of the area. <br />
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We started off the map at the top right corner, to the right of where you see highway 780. We parked on West K and walked up the path and into the park. Then we looped up where it goes off the map in the top left corner and back onto the map and down to the point, where the restrooms are and you can see Dillon Point. It was 2.3 miles from the start of the park to where we turned around. I think we'll have to go back more often than every four years if we want to see a beaver. I'll keep you posted.</div>
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And here's a picture of the bread I baked yesterday. It was The Hub and my 35th going-steady anniversary. So I made a nice veggie lasagna and this bread which I'm only shoving on the blog because, isn't it gorgeous? It was 35 years ago that he asked me to go steady and gave me foot pegs for his motorcycle. It was a mere six years later that we got married, but the foot peg anniversary, that was the start.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-73201411346889498152014-09-27T16:59:00.000-07:002014-10-21T17:53:17.872-07:00Wedding Crashing and Kitty Scratching. Plus a FrogToday's walk brought us to the Jefferson Street Mansion. Our first choice was the Benicia Memorial Cemetery, but they closed at 4, so we kept right on walking. I could have titled this post "One Wedding and a Funeral" except we missed the funeral. Technically we missed the wedding too. They were just starting to take pictures of the wedding party and we decided not to stick around. But I did snap a couple of pics. It really looks like a great place for a wedding. The weather was beautiful.<br />
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This is the mansion above. To the right is a door leading out to the reception tent.</div>
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Here is a view of the front of the mansion.</div>
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To the left is where they were going to hold the ceremony.</div>
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The chairs were set up. I think the wedding was probably going to be at 5.</div>
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On our way back I took a picture of this hideous frog that has appeared near the parking lot of Robert's Chinese Restaurant. I don't like the way he's staring at me. He seems upset about something. Again, we kept right on walking.<br />
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At this corner, we hung a right and walked up the alley towards Wellington. A delightful kitty cat came to greet us. We think he belongs to the ambulance station along the alley. He was very friendly and even posed for this picture.</div>
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He had a very loud kitty voice.<br />
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Homemade chicken pizza for dinner tonight!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-5763259962445022432014-09-22T17:21:00.000-07:002014-09-22T17:21:41.648-07:00What's Making Me Happy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The view from every window.</div>
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A cat that wants to nap wherever I am.</div>
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Little cuttings hoping to root.</div>
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Gnarly orchid sprouts.</div>
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The beginnings of a perfect lunch.</div>
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The anticipation of a perfect lunch.</div>
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Any gardening.</div>
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Crosswords and yogurt outside on a perfect day. </div>
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Watching my boyfriend garden.</div>
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The cat's slow migration around the room.</div>
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A great book lent to me by the daughter.</div>
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More cat migration.</div>
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Another perfect day at Wellington.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-21456814591122417762014-08-18T20:29:00.002-07:002014-08-19T09:10:35.839-07:00An Evening Stroll to the Arsenal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We don't walk to The Arsenal very often. And we don't walk in the evening as much as we walk in the daytime. This evening we walked to The Arsenal with the little boy, so I had to take some pics. Above is the photo shop. Below is the Guard House. It used to house prisoners and rumor has it Grant spent 30 days in there for being drunk on duty.<br />
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Here you can see some ship docked at the Martinez marina.</div>
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Just some more buildings down there. Not sure what they are.</div>
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Over by the Ironhorse Furniture store we saw this little stray kitty.</div>
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This one old warehouse building had some nice sort of chimney pots.</div>
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I just loved this building. I don't know what it could have been used for. It has a very steep roof. It's very intriguing.<br />
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This last pic is not very pretty. But it's very exciting! There has been this terrible, boarded-up building on East 5th since well before we moved to Benicia. They finally tore it down! I hope they're going to tear down the one to the right also. It's just as ugly.<br />
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It was a really nice evening stroll, as usual. </div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-18207157696639130432014-04-24T19:01:00.003-07:002014-04-24T19:01:35.898-07:00Happy 4th Birthday, Wellington!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was four years ago today that we moved into our lovely Wellington. Is he just precious? In honor of his fourth birthday I made Beef Wellington for dinner. And the whole city celebrated by having the first Farmer's Market of 2014!<br />
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Happy Birthday, Wellington!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-63973711736093124422014-04-17T17:12:00.001-07:002014-04-18T19:00:55.738-07:00Ducklings at the Harbor (a Video)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy1wow1BLMl-IrDcRoe94Fm1s1cX7O--HXNmS86UWGxipo4ANgADgKY-fxCDvLVCQvf2MD7vGJKA0FZqFxkDw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Since the video has been reduced by Blogger, I uploaded it to YouTube. The quality was reduced there when they took out the shaking, but it's a better quality than this video. The best part of the video is the sound. It's so peaceful down there with the birds chirping. And that little wayward duckling at the end climbs aboard the duckling island with his siblings. So cute.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_Mnf5FPLE&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Find the YouTube version here.</a></div>
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-84286090822958919242014-04-10T17:30:00.000-07:002014-04-10T17:30:48.236-07:00What's Blooming?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SV72bMUawLY/U0cw7CBrW7I/AAAAAAAAKaI/ok-Y2xAprAE/s1600/IMG_5212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SV72bMUawLY/U0cw7CBrW7I/AAAAAAAAKaI/ok-Y2xAprAE/s1600/IMG_5212.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
Last week The Dot gave these two little rusty metal birdies to The Hub for his birthday. The one on the right seems to have collected a present for the one on the left. So cute.<br />
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Walked down to the water again. The tide was low. It's about 75 degrees here today and absolutely gorgeous, as usual.<br />
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Here is the little bird bath and The Hub watering some flowers. That's the neighbor's garage wall in the background. Wellington was originally built in 1918 when it was common to build the garages along the lotline in the alley. It's pretty quaint.<br />
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This little wall is looking lovely this year. The window boxes hold most of my culinary herbs. Two different mints, two different basils, oregano, thyme, yellow and red strawberries. There are a couple of sages growing along the wall and of course, rosemary on the ground. In the picture above this one you can see the bay tree that I bought in about 1995. It's to the right of the bird bath. It was stunted because it was in a pot for years and didn't get enough water. But I love that it isn't huge and taking over everything. It's much happier in the ground.<br />
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A very tranquil spot to relax. There is a fig tree in the pot to the right of these chairs and an avocado tree in the pot to the left. Just little dashes of shade.<br />
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The cactus in the pot on the ground is blooming yellow-orange. I'm sure I have pictures of him in previous posts when he was on my kitchen window sill. He's so adorable in the evening when he closes up his little flowers.<br />
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I am in love with this Japanese Snowberry. Little dainty dangly white flowers, then he gets cute hard seed pods that hang from the branches. <br />
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Wellington is full of delights.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-10864340120340126562014-04-03T09:23:00.000-07:002014-04-03T09:23:00.677-07:00Good Morning, Wellington!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EXj_QYyRzIE/Uz2JUxSgpJI/AAAAAAAAKZc/jaaoYQEozfA/s1600/geranium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EXj_QYyRzIE/Uz2JUxSgpJI/AAAAAAAAKZc/jaaoYQEozfA/s1600/geranium.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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On a scale of 1 - 10, how happy am I? The Dot asked me that this morning. The answer is apparently 8.5.</div>
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This little baby geranium was just a little snippet I plucked from a pot in Carmel last May. <a href="http://housewellington.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-fruits-of-wellington-and-trip-to.html" target="_blank">We went there for The Dot's birthday.</a> I spent a large percentage of the day plucking snippets. Many have taken. And this little guy in his little pot on Wellington's front porch is just adorable.</div>
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Speaking of Wellington, isn't he just looking splendid? The answer is, of course, yes. Maybe you shouldn't love a house this much, but Wellington is one in a million. And I just can't help but be crazy about him.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-69639955009748198462014-02-22T15:51:00.000-08:002014-02-22T15:51:02.974-08:00Another Glorious Day in Benicia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It never gets old. It's so beautiful here. Another walk downtown. Another pic of the old boat with the bridge in the distance. I've seen it before, bit it's just so picturesque I felt a picture was in order. Here it is.<br />
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Here is a shot of the palm tree promenade by the pier.</div>
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The palm trees are full of black birds chirping away.</div>
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Wellington is looking lovely. Springtime is his absolute favorite.</div>
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The weather has been nice enough that Boo, the guinea pig, got a bath. Here she is drying on the grass. She took the opportunity to have a munch. She has to keep up her figure.<br />
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Here is Stumpy. This is actually a stump that Hub dug up after chopping down the old ivy that was ruining the fence. Yes, this is an ivy stump. I made him save it on account of it's CUTE.</div>
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The apricot tree has a lot of blooms this year. Hopefully we will have more than one apricot. But no pressure.</div>
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After all he's just a baby.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520943916588474259.post-3726761879245219472013-12-22T13:39:00.000-08:002013-12-22T14:34:15.913-08:00Creepy Santas 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's Christmastime again at Wellington and you know what that means. Creepy Santas. My Creepy Santa collection has a special place in my heart and in my storage cupboard. It's the thing I look forward to unwrapping and displaying every year. I love getting my new Creepy. This year was a great year for the Creepy Santas. First of all I was very excited to get them out because I got a super special Creepy Santa last year from my beloved brother and sister-in-law from New York. They came to visit and surprised me with a little old Santa with eyes that open and shut. He's so cute I hate to call him creepy. </div>
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Here is the whole collection:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWO-a9-AU18/UrdSUDCzPiI/AAAAAAAAKL8/Hi6Bm2QN8Lc/s1600/creepies8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWO-a9-AU18/UrdSUDCzPiI/AAAAAAAAKL8/Hi6Bm2QN8Lc/s320/creepies8.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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I've had this little guy above for a couple of years now. His eyeballs are lopsided and no one knows why.</div>
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This one with the string of lights is almost too cute to call creepy. In fact he's not technically creepy at all. But he is old and has a little rust on him which makes him precious so he fits in. He came as a surprise gift from the same beloved brother and sister-in-law who last year gave me THIS:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nP8DpCCCHbM/UrdSCnHdRCI/AAAAAAAAKLc/u8JETGMWaAY/s1600/creepies4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nP8DpCCCHbM/UrdSCnHdRCI/AAAAAAAAKLc/u8JETGMWaAY/s320/creepies4.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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The googly-eyed Santa above. Is he great? I admired him for weeks in the little downtown antique shop and was thrilled and surprised when he showed up in front of me at the table during lunchtime last Christmas. He qualifies as creepy, that's for sure. But he's also really old and special. Next to him is the little German elf who was among the trio who began my collection. Why he needs to have that look on his face is anyone's guess. Plus he cost about 12 cents because I got him and his brothers in a $1 bag of Christmas picks about five years ago.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sml0CAwsEa8/UrdYrOb_2VI/AAAAAAAAKNM/7DqcCxcNB74/s1600/creepy10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sml0CAwsEa8/UrdYrOb_2VI/AAAAAAAAKNM/7DqcCxcNB74/s320/creepy10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are the other two that helped start the collection. The guy on the left is really good. He's holding a little Christmas tree and a metal spike. I would assume the spike used to have something Christmassy attached to it except look at his face. He's positively evil. I have a feeling he came with this old rusty spike.</div>
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This fellow came from a shop in Danville. He would be pretty creepy anyway, but the fact that he's footless really helps. The guy lurking behind him is more tacky than creepy. He cost $1. Cheap and tacky equates to creepy in this Creepy Santa collection. He's plastic and hollow and has a hole in the bottom. I think you're supposed to jam a light bulb up there.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XxmzGgQ33f0/UrdSIioL4kI/AAAAAAAAKLs/whIard6TOJ4/s1600/creepies6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XxmzGgQ33f0/UrdSIioL4kI/AAAAAAAAKLs/whIard6TOJ4/s320/creepies6.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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This one is from my brother-in-law, plucked right off his tree while he watched and didn't object. He barely has a face which definitely qualifies as creepy. Here's a close-up.</div>
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I bought this guy below from a shop in Benicia. His nose is peeling. He wasn't too good-looking before that either.</div>
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Here's my other new addition this year and I can't express how perfect he is. But I'll try. He's about 10 inches tall. He's very old. He has one black eye. He is sitting on a toy tin rooftop. If you put a quarter in his chimney he's supposed to move or something. He doesn't have batteries yet but I'm told by my most special friend, Cindy, who gave him to me last week, that he may need repairs. I don't care. He's fabulous just the way he is.</div>
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The entire collection of Creepies with their little Christmas tree that has four little Santas playing instruments. They don't qualify as creepy because they're not. But I bought them for 25 cents each last spring at the Peddler's Faire, so they can sit in the tree and keep the collection company.</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954198969105704739noreply@blogger.com0