Late Lassen Update

Oh, hello world. I went to Lassen with Lisa more than a week ago, and I haven't mentioned it yet. That's because of the 412 computers in our house, none of them had all the right parts working that I needed to take the pictures from my camera and put them on the web. Seems shocking, but it's true. Luckily, the local IT department defragged my laptop repeatedly, and we're back in business.

I'm going to try the new slideshow feature in Picasa. Or, it's new to me anyways. Let me know what you think. Good way to enjoy photos in a blog, or kinda annoying. I heart feedback.



Okay, it's working on my end. I think. You can click on the link to see the photos in Picasa itself. Wow, these Google products sure are slick!

Lisa and I had a good trip. Lassen is definitely a more laid back park than Yosemite. Far fewer folks, no shuttle system, available parking. Less active bears. Sure, there were signs about how to stash your food and stuff, but we're seasoned enough to know what it looks like when you'll most likely have a bear in your campground at night. The language on the warning signs gets ramped up. There are either photos of cars bears have torn into, or actual cars that bears have ripped open to demonstrate how serious the rangers are about those bear boxes. In Kings Canyon, where Lisa and I had our closest encounters with bears, we'd left our bear box open while we carried food to the table, and a ranger came by to say that was dangerous. Less than a minute, and we had a ranger at our table. THAT's when you'll see a bear in your campground.

Lassen also has plenty of lupine, as you'll see from my photos. I'm a bit lupine-obsessed it seems. We walked around three different lakes, visited fumaroles, and hiked down and up the sides of an impressive waterfall. We're ready to go back, and drive the "Volcano Highway" between Lassen and Crater Lake. Maybe next summer!!

August. Fresno. Wedding.

Three words that, together, would normally make me cringe. Who wants to be dressed up where it's bound to be 145 degrees in the shade. But, this weekend, we did indeed go to a lovely outdoor wedding, in mid August, outdoors, in Fresno. And it was delightful!! The weather gods were quite kind. We got there early, and snagged some shady seats, but there was a gentle breeze blowing. And dragonflies everywhere. Very scenic.

Here are a few of my favorite photos. You can click on any of them to get to the Picasa album. Just the usual George clan. :)

From Michelle's We...

From Michelle's We...

From Michelle's We...

Temporary Library Cat

Tuesday, when I arrived at the library, there was a cat in the building. A huge grey and white cat, patrolling the upper floor. I confirmed with one of our Circ Staffers that indeed, though it would be cool, cats were not supposed to be in the library. He was not a "seeing eye cat" of some kind. I went over to the cat, who was delighted to be picked up. He had on a tag that said "I'm an outdoor cat, and I know my way home." It also said his name was Max, and it had a phone number.

So I put Max outside, and thanked him for visiting. Max waited a moment or two, and then when a patron came through the automatic sliding doors, he followed right on in. Fearless. We debated whether to call the number on the tag, since obviously his owner knew that Max was a wanderer, and that Max would be more than able to get himself home when he wanted to leave. Someone had the brilliant idea of escorting Max out the side of the building where the doors are not automatic sliders. That was fine with Max. He lounged in a sunbeam, next to a window for awhile. The kids, of course, LOVED that there was a cat in and near the library.

Several hours passed, and then, there was Max. Downstairs now, weaving among the folks using our stand up terminals. I scooped him up again, and introduced him to our director, who is in favor of a library cat. I finally called the number on his tag, and got a voicemail box that said, "If you are calling about Max the Super Friendly Cat, his human is out of town. You can call this other number to talk to a human that knows about Max. Again, if Max has wandered into your life, call this number. If you actually wanted to talk to me, leave a message." That cracked me up. We let Max roam in the back staff area until his temporary human came and picked him up. Then I missed him the rest of the day. But I understand he has other folks to visit.

Library cats are the best.