A Foggy Day

I decided to to walk down to Ft. Point (right under the Golden Gate Bridge).  It's a great hike for me and it is so beautiful - even in the fog!

It's fun to stand right at the edge of the path and watch the waves splash when they hit the shore!  ( Of course, this is at low tide....)

If you "embiggen" this, you will see Mr. Seagull, proudly perched on this rock!  He *greeted* me with a gully-shriek....but I couldn't aim fast enough to catch him with his beak open!

Right under the bridge.....for those of you Alfred Hitchcock fans, this is where Kim Novak's character jumped into the Bay...only to have James Stewart *rescue her*...in "Vertigo".  (My all-time favourite Hitchcock film.)

Just as I was getting ready to begin my walk home....I was fortunate to see a ship sailing out into the Pacific!  (A side note, you see the chainlink fence to the left....as of 9/10/01, you could walk all the way under the side of the bridge....it was thrilling....but after 9/11/01 ....it became a thing of the past..)

And last, but certainly not least.....I was thrilled to meet Mr. Pelican!  I have NEVER been so close to one before...  you can see he has a blue band on his leg....so *once upon a time* he was injured and banded.... he is perfectly healthy now....and rather friendly....  we actually made eye contact....they have the most extraordinary eyes...so wise....it was a wonderful ending to my walk!

Sending you all many hugs and love,

♥ Robin ♥

Animal Wednesday - A Day Late....

Hmmmm...  I know you are wondering WHAT THIS IS!!!  Well, it's the *Bear Costume* from our "Ring". I posted a photo of the man wearing it last month...and somehow, in all of my "Ring Posts", I never included this photo of the costume hanging backstage. 

My life has hit a small but bumpy patch....and right now, this music and this video reflects it perfectly.  And yes, there ARE animals in the video as well as the name of the musical piece.  One of my ALL TIME favourite composers..Ralph (pronounced *Raif* - like in Fiennes) Vaughn Williams.

Enjoy....and Happy Belated Animal Wednesday!

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

*Sun* Days

If you "embiggen" this, you will see a dog in the water, ball in mouth, swimming back to his owner!

As all of you know, Summer in San Francisco is NOT like Summer in most other places...  as we have water on three sides of our City, the heat generated from the valleys more inland (where the weather is *typical* in Summer - 30, 40 - even 50 degrees warmer) draws in the Fog....and those of who dwell here live (for months) under a blanket of grey skies.  So.....it was a delicious treat to have a few days of sunshine, warmth (70's) and blue skies.  I went out for several long hikes....  come along with me!

"Embiggen" this one too...to see a few Sea Birds on the inlet... the one on the tip has a gorgeous curved bill...but he was too speedy for me to capture him when his bill was totally revealed!

Ummmm..........smells delicious....and you KNOW I love the colour!

More photos from my sunny walks soon  but I leave you with  a  view  of the GG Bridge yesterday afternoon.....yes....here comes the Fog!

I know most of you are sweltering with 100 degree temps.... I am blowing some cooling fog Eastwards to all!  Don't forget to drink lots of water - and make sure your animals do too!

Love, from under a blanket of Greyness,

♥ Robin ♥

Animal Wednesday - Mr. Orange Posts Again!

Hello there....yes, it's ME, Mr. Orange again...it's Animal Wednesday - and it's SUNNY out!  Hooray!

Auntie Robin loves the Sun - and so do I and my Furry Family! The top photo is ME.....always FIRST for breakfast!

Here comes Charlie.....

 And here is Smoke, basking in the warmth of this rare Summer Sunshine!

Darn....Auntie is taking too much time snapping photos....  we are going to have a Sunbath...while we wait!!!!

OK...this is too much!  I am HUNGRY!  I am now going to *attack* Auntie's shoe and pretend to eat it!  FEED ME!!!!!

Humph!   HAW!!!


Love,

Mr. Orange, Charlie , Smoke and Sterling 


No photos of Sterling, (who did arrive late), Midnight and Puchinella (who did not show) but I am sure they will be here for dinner!)

And yes....as I write this, they are all dining alfresco in the glorious sun!

♥ R ♥

Riding Through the Carousel of Time...

The one-and-only- Lolo, did a post a few weeks ago on a Carousel..... 
it inspired me, to go out in the cold and misty SF "Summer" and photograph "my" Carousel.  The current Carousel was built in 1914 by the Herschell-Spillman Company and operated at amusement parks in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, before it was installed in Golden Gate Park in 1940 after a stint at the World's Fair on Treasure Island. It was shut down in 1977 and restored, reopening in 1984. The Carousel's 62 colorfully painted menagerie animals include a dragon, camel,stork, and goat as well as horses, frogs, dogs, roosters, and pigs. Painted panels inside the Carousel depict Bay Area landscapes.  As a child, my Father took me there every Sunday...I had a favourite "Steed"...and always ran to "claim" him as "mine".  I find it incredible that a place where I found joy as a child still exists for children today....the thought just makes me smile...

This woman waved, thinking I was photographing her....but, it is the Armoured Steed in front of her...he was, still is "My" Charger!  A-ha-ha!

One thing I particularly love is the variety of animals to choose to ride on.... Tigers....Frogs....  (above, far left and a second favourite of mine to ride), Roosters (see below, far left),

 Some of the hand-painted scenes inside the Carousel...

All this magic encased within....

I hope you enjoy this little journey into my childhood....

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Animal Wednesday - "Cruz'n in Capitola"

A curious Harbour Seal comes close to shore in Capitola. (A quiet, small, lovely area about 90 miles South of San Francisco.)  He stayed for several minutes, clearly captivated with all the sights and sounds of people!  Several kids saw him and jumped in to swim out and say "hi"....but he decided it was all too much and left for deeper waters...

This is the West end of Capitola....I love the brightly-coloured houses....they remind me of the Venetian Lido.

More of the Coloured Houses...the water is not part of the Pacific, but a small inlet.  It is a "favourite" bathing place for Gulls!

Just a bit North of Capitola, is Santa Cruz....a larger town, with a Boardwalk, a University and.....Sea Lions!  Here, a cluster of them loll about on the sun - much to the delight of passers by.

This fellow is HUGE!  Definitely the "Patriarch" of the Group....  he never moved, except to flop over and "sun" his backside...  and he preferred the opposite end of the mooring - away from the females and kids!

This shot didn't come out too well....(perhaps it's for the best)...right as my friend and I were leaving the pier, a Gull flew in - with a fish.  Thank goodness it was dead....because Mr. Gull began to disembowel it right before the crowd!  (I snapped this right after the Gull deposited the fish on the mooring...he waited for a bit before he began to "dine"!  The Sea Lions didn't even raise their heads....  ah, Mother Nature!

HAW everyone!  I hope your Wednesday is a good one...and for those of you in the East and South, not too sweltering. Here, it is drizzling heavy misty and 50 degrees! I haven't seen the Sun since I returned from Capitola last week!

Love,

♥ A Cold Robin ♥

p.s. *My* Mockingbird still continues to stay and sing - despite the gloomy weather!

Capitola Passion Flower

I am STILL slowly descending from the world(s) of Wagner's "Ring"... a friend invited me to a few days of sun and sand in Santa Cruz and Capitola.  Of course, I agreed..July - September is the "Mini-Winter" here in SF.....and by now, most of you know I am one of "those people" who is always cold.... so it was more than delightful to be in a place (not as far South as Lori's Carpenteria), but still South-enough, to have SUN 24/7...  We ate fresh crab on the Santa Cruz Pier, picked Plums and Apricots from trees, then drove a bit more to Capitola...where we spent days on the beach, listening to the waves, feeling the warmth, smelling the air, listening to Gulls and even spying a Harbour Seal poking his head out of the surf.  Oh yes, this girl had not yet downloaded her "Ring" pictures.....so had to shoot with her cell phone.    I am saving those photos for my "Animal Wednesday" post....but, had to share this gorgeous Passion Flower with you.

I came back, refereshed....and ready for the rest of "Summer" here in SF.  Today, I returned to the de Young (after a two month's absence)...and saw our new Picasso Exhibit.  More to come on this soon.

I hope you have all had a warm and wonderful weekend!

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Animal Wednesday - The Story of Maru Continues...

I saw Suki's marvelous video of Maru - a wonderfully entertaining cat!  Great Face - HUGE personality....so I decided to add one more Maru Episode!  Suki, thanks for introducing us to this funny, furry, feline!  I hope you don't mind that I continued his story!

MEOW!

Love and HAWS,

♥ Robin ♥

The Ring.... Who Has It, Who Wants It, Who WEARS It!

Two hours ago, our final "Ring Cycle" ended.....  the audience gave the cast and orchestra a standing, cheering, stomping ovation. I guess they liked it!  For me, it was the end of almost two months of non-stop rehearsals and performances.  My wonderful "team" provided coffee, teas and a variety of foods for 46 rehearsals and performances.  (Most of which lasted at least 5 hours.) 

It was an unqualified success - for all of us!  And for me, a life-long lover of Wagner, a dream realised. My 9th "Ring"...  four in Germany, five in the States....  and this one was definitely the second best I have ever seen.

Anyway, I KNOW most of you are tired of my "Ring" entries....but I HAD to leave you with one final post.

This one follows the course of those who created the Ring, cursed the Ring, relinquished the Ring, killed for the Ring, were given the Ring as a token of Love, betrayed the Ring.....  and finally, a-ha-ha...WORE the RING!

Ok.....here we go...top photo, Alberich steals the Gold from the Rheinmaidens and makes the Ring.

Wotan steals the Ring from Alberich - but must give it up to the Giants, Fasolt and Fafner, in order to free his Sister-in-Law, Freia. (View my Anna Russell video from a month or so ago for a "rational explanation".)

Wotan still covets what he had to relinquish....and so does Alberich...

But, Mime, Alberich's brother also covets it....

But, he dies at the hand of Siegfried, who slays the Dragon (aka Fafner, the Giant), seizes the Ring, presents it a gift of Love to Brunnhilde......only to betray her and take back the Ring!

In the end, Brunnhilde gets the Ring back, after betraying Siegfried and causing his death....but she gives it back to the rightful owners, the Rheinmaidens.  And....the Opera(s) end....after 17 hours and four days....

BUT....there is an addendum here.. because someone YOU ALL KNOW also wore the Ring for a a bit!  (This took a month of planning on my part...)

Kiss the Ring, Baby!

I know, it is HUGE..more like a glittering, gold bracelet....but remember it must be able to be seen from the top row of the balcony....so BIG is the order of the day.  And trust me, it really sparkles and glitters when stage lights are on it!

I promised SF Opera I would NOT post these photos until our "Ring" was completed..and now it is!  And I can finally say, A-ha-ha!

Wow....it was quite a ride.....I am exhausted, but exhilarated!!

Thank you for making this journey with me!

Love,

♥ Robin ♥