Point Reyes visit

Last week, I was in California for several days visiting friends and family. My first stop was at Michelle and Jamie's house in Petaluma. Petaluma is a beautiful area, with coastal hills and lovely weather. Michelle and I went to Point Reyes. It was a really nice trip, despite the fog. We had a lot of fog right on the coast, so we couldn't always see the sea. We did see lots of happy California cows, as there are many ranches at the point.

We did have some breaks in the fog, as seen here:
The fog is rolling in again behind me. The water on the left of the pic is the sea, while the water on the right is a cove of sorts.

The trees grow sideways because of the wind.
It was really interesting to see several pieces of whale brill in the small museum/ranger station.
These plants were tenaciously holding onto the rock.
Lovely coast, with fog:
This building's white paint was covered by bright orange algae on two sides. The historic lighthouse stands behind this building, but the light and horn are now mounted on this smallish house.

Here is the lighthouse from the top of the steps. The orange house stands just behind and a little lower, out of sight. The fog is thick, so it is hard to see the water.
Some whale bones:

Cow in the mist:
Deer in the mist:

birthdays

Dave and Amy are visiting Columbus for a few days, so we celebrated my and Dave's birthdays over the weekend. (Dave's birthday was a few days before they arrived.) We had some pizza and cake and presents. It was a nice celebration.

One of the gifts I got was Mexican Train, a game based on dominoes. Here we are playing it.

Presents waiting to be unwrapped:

Dave and Amy with one of his presents. Amy is indicating her favorite picture in the frame.

Me with some candles to blow out:

Dave has some candles too!

Dave cutting cake with his mom. It was quite hard because it was frozen ice cream cake.

My cake with berries - yum!

Brian and I also celebrated my birthday separately before Dave and Amy's visit. Brian got me this delicious oreo cookie ice cream cake.

summer excavations

This week has been hot and humid here in central Ohio (and many other parts of the US as well, I've heard). I have been trying to get my walk in either early in the morning or after dinner, to avoid the heat as much as possible.

Last Saturday, I took the camera with me to the dig I have been working on just south of Columbus. We are working on an Archaic burial site. The site was identified by the landowner, who noticed several bodies eroding out of a hillside. It has been worked on, at a leisurely pace, for many years (mainly during the summer, on Saturdays). The times I have been there, we haven't found much. But in past years, they have found several burials.

Me and Meg, who I have worked with in the past:

When this excavation unit was opened up in the morning, we discovered mold growing on the walls. It has been a moist summer. This growth took place in one week.

General site shot. In the foreground, you can see the screen, which is used to process all the dirt we excavate. It is really easy to miss artifacts (especially small ones) when you are digging, so the screen is a way to catch those artifacts. A couple weeks ago, we found a small bead this way. In the background, you can see one of the excavation units currently open and behind that, some of the tarps we use to close the units each week.

Here I am in one of the open units. We were extending the unit east to uncover more of a pit.

A couple of students working at the bottom of the pit. We all take turns.

Here is one of the excavation units all closed up for the day. There are several layers of wood and metal under the tarps, which are held down by rocks. This is to protect the units from weather (we have been having strong rain storms) and cows (who walk all over this area when we are gone).
It was pretty hot already on Saturday, so we needed a lot of water to keep cool (although I drank most of mine). Here you can also see the nice corn field on the edge of the site. The corn is really getting tall.

Ferrets and their toys

The ferrets like to "help" Brian read by tunneling through the pages.

This is a frequent sight when I look under my desk.

In the past, the ferrets have enjoyed tunneling through shredded paper. So we filled this soft cooler with paper about a week ago. They do like to search through the paper (especially when there are treats hidden in it), but Rex also likes to nap in it.

This play mat is a recent acquisition. It has a tunnel through the middle that the ferrets can access from two "O"s.

A couple days ago, we couldn't find Eve when we were putting the ferrets back in their cage. After looking in all the normal places, Brian came across her on the book shelf, tucked behind some large law texts.

4th of July parade

In Brian's parents' neighborhood, there is a small parade to celebrate Independence Day. Brian used to participate when he was a little kid. This year, we went to watch the show. The parade starts with a firetruck. Then kids decorate their bikes and ride behind the firetruck. This year, the parade was wrapped up with a couple classic cars. Perhaps one of them looks familiar to you?

Summer ferrets

The ferrets have been having some fun playtimes lately. We've been trying to use some new toys, like a water playground in the bathroom and some bubble wrap. We also occasionally take them outside, although we can't go out for too long because it is warm.

Making Videos

Brian has been improving his video editing skills by working on several projects. While he has been taping the performers, I have taken a few shots of him. It has been interesting to get out and see some local music acts.

Oldies good time band, 4th of July celebration:

Waterfall/nature stock footage:

(sound recording)

At the Jazz festival: