New kitty harnesses

The cats were "backing out" of their old harnesses and getting loose, so Cristie found these great new harnesses made for chihuahuas.  They look comfortable and the cats never even tried to get out.

"Mommy, can you hold my cat for a second?"

Time to go back in

Electric Bike!

The other day we went to a bike shop looking for a bigger bike for William and I made the "mistake" of trying an electric bike.

It was awesome -- the same feeling I had as a kid the first time ever riding a bike -- a feeling of speed and freedom.

Ever since we moved to Marin I haven't done nearly as much biking as anywhere else I've ever lived because it's so hilly.  e-bikes have a reputation as "hill flatteners" so they're a natural for around here.

The technology has just started to mature with tiny, light, quiet motors, lithium-ion batteries, and computer-controlled systems. And just recently it has become (barely) affordable.

I spent the last few days feverishly researching and test-driving e-bikes and bought one today.  It's a Trek FX+ with a "bionix" motor system.

On level ground I can comfortably cruise at 20 mph (32 km/h) and can climb the long steep hill to my house without breaking a sweat.

Unlike many other electric bikes that have throttles on the handlebars that tempt you to just cruise along like it's a slow electric motorcycle, this one has a pedal-assist system which means that you only get an electric boost when you pedal.

It measures how much torque you're pedaling, and electrically adds 25%, 50%, 100%, or 200% more depending on the setting.

In California electric bikes are officially just bikes which means you can ride them anywhere (street, bike path, sidewalk) just like a regular bike and you don't need any license, registration, insurance or anything else.

There are only 200,000 e-bikes in the US so far, so it's still a pretty early-adopter product.  I'm sure they'll get a lot better and a lot cheaper in the next couple of years.  Still, I hope to get a lot of riding done this year!

Check out Smugmug

Cristie has started uploading pictures to our Smugmug galleries again.

The blog is our "newsworthy" pics.  For some of our best stuff check out

http://thebrandons.smugmug.com/

Finch Drama

The pair of purple finches raising their chicks in our yew tree out front just can't seem to get it right!  They built their nest so precariously that it's tipped over a few times already, with the hatchlings falling to the ground each time.  The first time, Sandy (our gardener) rescued 2 of the 3 newly hatched babies (one had taken too hard of a fall) and put the nest back.  A week or so later the nest toppled over again, and she returned it to the tree with a bit of cardboard underneath to help level it. 

Here she is holding one of the chicks:



Well, this morning I awoke to find the cats excitedly watching Finch TV through the glass doors. 



The nest had fallen completely out of the tree, and one of the babies
was holding as still as possible a few feet away, probably hoping to
look invisible.





I put the nest back, this time a little lower down but
on some very stable branches, and gently put the bird back in.  His
parents were fluttering around and watching from a distance. 



I hope the little guy is getting ready to fledge soon, because I don't know how much more of this he can take!

4th of July County Fair

It's almost the 4th of July and everything around here is turning red white and blue.

One of the 4th of July traditions is the Marin County Fair which we attend almost every year.

It's a traditional county fair with animal demonstrations and competitions.

Before

After

These little pot bellied pigs were playing with their ball to the delight of the children.

Pig races!

Of course, unhealthy food.

One thing slightly different about the Marin County Fair is that it has a large art show & competition, part of which is bonzai trees.  Our carpenter, Jay McDonald, is probably the most accomplished bonzai master in Marin and his trees were the centerpiece of the show.

Here is a detail from his little giant sequioa.

A fair also has lots of strange and useless souvenirs and prizes.

William saw these colorful guitars.  He's been studying guitar and getting pretty good at it.  He checks them out.

This guy won second prize -- a giant white monkey.  First prize is no giant white monkey.

Rides rides rides.

 
Am I tall enough?

Yes!

Finally, the sun set so the fireworks could begin.

Monterey weekend, continued

While William was off having fun at the aquarium, Eric and I enjoyed a really nice walk in the hills.    The hike was amazingly varied.  Dry, scrubby hillsides covered with cactus soon turned to a valley carpeted in wildflowers of red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, and white.  A little farther along were lush groves of ferns and redwoods with gurgling streams. Off in the distance fog drifted over the hilltops, reminding us how close we were to the ocean.








After the hike we drove to Carmel to visit the old Spanish mission there. The church was a simple affair, but had some glass details I found photographically interesting:

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

William's friend Olivia had a birthday celebration in Monterey featuring a visit to the aquarium.

On our way there, we stopped by the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk which I've always wanted to see but in 20 years of living here we've not gotten around to it before.

It's one of the last old-fashioned beach amusement parks in the US.

It features everything you'd expect a good old amusement park to have.

Games where you can win prizes.  Here's William at the claw machine where he won a crab.

More wonderful prizes

Amusement park food

And of course rides.

The Little Dipper Roller Coaster is over 100 years old -- a very shakey old wood roller coaster that really throws you around.

The Boardwalk also features the last carrousel in the US that still has a "brass ring" for you to grab.  If you get one of the brass rings you try to throw it into a big wooden clown's mouth as you go around.