Fun with leaves

One thing I have missed since we moved here is Fall leaves. Most of the trees here are pines, firs, and Eucalyptus. Even the trees that do lose their leaves, like our fruit trees, can't really tell what season it is and when to drop their leaves since the weather is so mild. Our poor plum tree still has half of its leaves and January is nearly over.

So, it came as no surprise to me that the girls though raking the leaves at Grandma's house was great fun.









Even playing in the green-waste bin was fun.





You may notice that Autumn is missing from these pictures. She's gotten too that age where she won't let me take her picture. So, no pictures of Autumn in Autumn this year.

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Islay Hill

If I am going to the beach, I love a clear blue sky. Not when I am taking pictures. We took a hike up Islay Hill one rainy day and I was in photographer heaven. The views were amazing and the sky was a wavy ocean of grey.



Just down the other side of the hill we came upon this cross.



The railroad tracks curving through Edna Valley.

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Rough day

Today has been thoroughly depressing. My team was laid off today. The fact that I lost my job is actually not what is depressing me. I know there are lots of exciting things out there for me to work on and we planned for this so the financial aspects of it are not devastating. What is making me sad is leaving a company I really enjoyed working for and a team that I loved being a part of. I am so bummed that I will not get to continue working with my colleagues. I know I was not going to stay in this job and with this team for my entire career. It just feels different when you make the choice to make a change versus when someone else makes it for you, and by surprise.

My blog is going to change a bit going forward. I will still be blogging pictures but now that I do not have my work blog, I will be blogging geeky stuff that I used to blog there.

In the mean time, I am going to enjoy some time with my family, the beach, and getting my garden ready for this year.

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Zebras, elephant seals, and windsurfing

Not windsurfing zebra or elephant seal though, too bad. I am once again months behind in my pictures. I am mot sure how I keep letting that happen but it seems to be the norm rather than the exception for my 2008 pictures.

Back in October we spent some time up in San Simeon. Here are some pictures from our day.









Laura wanted to take pictures too.





Did you know we have zebra here... I mean ones that are not in a zoo? We do. It was a trip the first time I saw them. W. R. Hearst brought them here when he had is private zoo at Hearst Castle. Now they live on the hills next to Hwy 1 along with the cows (and eat from their troughs).

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