2011 Actions of the Lowe Countries

This was an Eighty Years War period weekend, full of pike and musket drills. This may have been our last time at Camp Tamorancho, in the hills above San Anselmo. The camp has become more restrictive about black powder use, and may completely ban them by next year. Even though they were not allowed to fire them, John and Tony brought their artillery to show off. Mabel and Mary Ann, the twin cannon, helped create a very nice entry into camp.


The Morgan's Company presence grew to five, as Tony and Harvey joined John, Pia and me. We gained points after a catastrophic break in the tavern tent's ridge pole. Harvey was summoned, and used his sailorly know-how to lash a splint onto the pole, thus saving the day - and night of drinking and gambling. That night we used up our good karma (and possibly the camp's good will) by winning seven of the ten raffle prizes.



This year's new fun was having Spanish spies marauding on Saturday night. The Romero brothers spiced up the night watch by sneaking around and "killing" the unwary with a cry of "Attaque!". On their watch, Tony and John successfully thwarted those Spanish dogs, but great damage had already been done. During earlier watches, the brothers killed many a guard, Colonel Gaul and Captain Siler. They also spiked the artillery and captured our flag.



The wildflowers were gorgeous, and I took a little time from my water-bearing duties to explore and take photos.

Ohanami and Chanoyu Demonstration

For our April Chanoyu demo, we "flash mobbed" the gazebo in Eureka to enjoy tea under the sakura. We had about 15 guests enjoy a chaboko-style (picnic box) Tea with us. We also got into our kimono (not in public) in record time with minimal frustration.

Ohanami 2011

The wind drove us inside this year, but we managed to have a lovely Hanami Tea and picnic in the living room.

2011 Aleutian Cackling Goose Fly-off

This year, Holly and I represented Team Vogel-Da and the Sirens. We got sprinkled on a bit, but the temperature was comfortable. There were more families with small children in attendance, and the little ones seemed to have a great time splashing in puddles.


Blurry image of the cackler flock

Although the big cackler fly-off wasn't as massive as the last two years, it was still impressive. And even a bad day birding is better than a good day working - unless your job is birding. As we strolled along the levees, we also saw northern shovelers, greater scaups, green-winged teals, buffleheads, pied-billed grebes, tundra swans, Canada geese, snow geese (?), Ross' geese, great egrets, marbled godwits, a northern harrier, song sparrows and violet-green swallows. Marsh wrens scolded from under cover.

Holly has a nifty video of some of the geese flying over.

Twelfth Night Party

Another smashing end to the Yuletide at the freshly expanded Prancing Pissmire.

Dickens Christmas Fair

Another Yultide romp in Charles Dickens' London. Never enough time to see and do everything, but had lots of fun anyway.

Taking a Little Break

There are more wee birdies in the garden, as the weather gets cooler in the hills and up north. The fox sparrows have been back for a couple of weeks, and this time I have three visiting instead of just one. Because there are more, I get to hear their squeaky chatter, that kind of sounds like the "chirp" I can make. Last week, one of them was startled, and flew into the breakfast room window. I dashed out to pick it up before the cats did. It just had the air knocked out of it, and I set it in a rhody while it reinflated. They look so big when I look at them among the white-crowns, but it was so tiny in my hand. I love their dark brown plumage and streaky breasts. Of course I didn't think to get a photo until it had flown off.



But this morning, an Anna's hummingbird hit the same window. I had the camera at hand, and charged to the rescue. Although there was no blood or obvious injuries, Mr. Anna didn't look so good, and I worried he wouldn't make it. I took a few pictures, and then set him in the dish of the thistle feeder. He wasn't grasping with his claws, so I figured this was a safe enough spot for him. When I checked back in a few minutes, he was gone, hopefully to defend his flowers from the honeybees. Yes, I've seen them chase off a bee.

I've been working on my third and last indexing exam, and I've been mostly a mole person for about a week and a half. This afternoon, before having some lunch, I went out to blink at the weak sunlight, water the veggie garden and pick some produce. The beans are still producing, and I'm sure the lettuce will continue until the rains really come on.



There are still some beets and carrots left. Sadly my August plantings didn't do anything, so I'll have no winter and spring roots. The broccoli and kale are coming into their own, and I am pleased to finally have success with the broc. Marathon is great, because it keeps putting out flowerets after the main bunch is cut.



I'm not sure where the seed came from, but I have a volunteer tomatillo. I doubt it'll give me any fruit - it's way too late in the season. But it's blooming prettily.



And now it's back to the exam.

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