Nob Hill race and My Birthday

On Saturday evening at 8:30pm we did the Inaugural Nob Hill 5K....a frightening experience because of the time, the heat and the humidity (almost 90F or presque 32 c)....It was brutal. No other woman my age (smart) so I got a 1st place medal. Steve and Marion were 3rd of their age group, congratulations! Oh, btw, my time a horrible 28'08"

Afterwards we went for a bite to eat at a cafe and celebrated my birthday and the end of the race. Indispensable Sergio on the left and Marion la Gazelle des Déserts. We are wearing our medal!

on Sunday we celebrated my birthday with DavEm at their lovely apartment and David's half birthday, how fun!

That morning I had made our favorite sweet thing, a cream cheese lemon pound cake with lemon glazing, no guilt here!
So, yes, all of this is already in the past...wow...time passes so fast!

Working in the pond

These leaves, decaying, seemed to show myriads of tiny black dots

which, upon closer look, are myriads of yucky aphids.....nevertheless I like the patterns and colors!


Our pond was getting invaded by the water hyacinths and the water lilies dead leaves and flowers needed removing. Done!
The huge beautiful orange dragonflies are regular visitors and I can't help reaching for the camera!

Visitors

These 2 "adorable" little skunks came to visit the other day behind our garden wall. I could hear noises made by tiny feet (perhaps my chickens escaped in the wilderness?) in the dried leaves so I peeked and this is what I saw. They did not seem bothered the least bit and since they are near-sighted maybe they just did not notice me

Bastille Day

I love it!

Marion came adorned (at least her hands) with the French colors

Sergio too came prepared

We were not having any fun....photo by Emily Barnes

Could not get everybody, Marion got cut off, I apologize!

Goodbye Bleuette

One of my biggest girls, she was a gentle, very quiet soul, mostly keeping to herself.(Ameraucana breed)
I had acquired her as a young adult to replace Candy, also Ameraucana, to enjoy those gorgeous greenish/bluish eggs typical of that breed but Bleuette did not care about our desires and was laying pale tan/pinkish ones!

Lavender in the Village

The poster is by Dee Sanchez

Beautiful tree-lined entry into Los Poblanos

Lavender rows

People picking lavender

Amazing lotus bud

These lotus are H U G E

The pond is entirely taken over by the lotus plants

So gorgeous: a barn owl...she was very sleepy as it was her sleep time!

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

Kestrel

Can't recall what this beauty is

Mister raven is too hot

"I keep my beak open to cool off"

Don't remember what kind of owl she is but

she is a beauty for sure
We had a very nice time in spite of the heat. The best part was getting close to the birds! There was a huge crowd, very successful event with the 5k race on Saturday.

Things to Come

Tomorrow...like pictures of our outing at Los Poblanos for the Lavender in the Fields events....got sweet pics of birds like this gorgeous raven...

Tle Lavender in the Village 5K

Steve and 2 guys we see regularly during races

Close up of Steve's calf...looks like a "good one", no?♥
I, of course, did not do it but Steve did and finished 2nd in his age group. He was not crazy about his time but I think that he did very well considering he is barely recovered from his last bout of injuries and he slipped in the nasty gravel and fell during the race. How is that for slowing you down?

Eggs

In the refrigerator, how do I know which eggs are the hard-boiled ones? What is your way?

Resting on the Sofa

That's the view and what I'm reading....
Went to my favorite podiatrist who gave me a shot, a friendly nurse called Lily taped my foot, got a prescription for 800mg ibuprofen, referral for therapy....and got a pair of inserts AND the guy at the shoe store convinced me that I needed a new pair of running shoe to correct my pronation.......I decided to try since he designed a pair of racing shoes for.......Carl Lewis, yes, you read it, the great Carl Lewis...
Dear podiatrist told me that he thought I could start running again Saturday....

Back to the 4TH...

David 's great idea to carry all the stuff to the park...times are hard, you know, financial crisis and all....

The park was all for us...nobody in sight

Getting settled

First things first...quenching our thirst

DavEm had everything beautifully prepared and neatly arranged

The necessities

We had to match the paper plate!

DavEm made some delicious curried empanaditas-type little goodies

What sign? Never saw it, officer!

Can't have a picnic without it, right?

Or may-be you prefer this "lemonade"?.....Looking into my cup...

R & R

Madeleine who lives in the neighborhood came to chat...She is French and has been in the US since 1955

We laughed and giggled a lot, the day was per-fect

After packing and dropping everything back at their place we went for a leisurely walk in DavEm's neighborhood, it was peaceful, blue skies, cute little white clouds drifting, sun shining...What memories we made!