Calvin told me not to take his picture. I ignored him. An auspicious start to the weekend.


A *very* auspicious start.


Gratuitous Ozzy photo!


Farting around out front when I went to let the dogs in. This is the view you get if you look immediately to the right of our front door, going out. This puppy needs to be pared back every two weeks or it starts to take over.


Some purple flowers we have planted in a pot at the head of the driveway.


Gadget wandering off toward the street as I stop paying attention long enough to take pictures.


Gypsy enjoying the tail (har) end of a stretch. Two minutes before this, she had been napping in a hole she dug right underneath the spicket in the back yard. I don't have the heart to scold her - it's damn hot outside.


The other potted plant, right next to the front door. I forget what it's called, but it's related to the ice plant.


Farting around in the back yard now, since Calvin is violently protesting his boredom by taking a nap. This is looking toward our neighbor's yard - you can see the darkening sky between the trees. We're in for a good storm, I think.


The eucalyptus trees in our yard are starting to whip as the breeze picks up.


One of the bower vines. We call this one "Matilda" because it seems to be taking over. The thing is one massively huge complex of twisting and intertwining vines.


Conversely, we call this one the "Charlie Brown" vine, because his scrawney-ness is reminiscent of the Christmas Tree that Charlie Brown took pity on in the holiday special. It just doesn't want to seem to grow at all - he's actually the second one we've had in this spot. The first one pretty much died, so we dug it up and planted a new one. We ought to get the soil tested there, I think.


My feet, buried in the wonderfully lush grass. I don't care if it looks unkempt, I love it when the grass gets long.


The dust storm cometh. Later, it poured buckets, but it was too dark to take a picture.


The opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics begin. This shot of the Parthenon was displayed approximately thirty million times, but I doubt I'll ever get tired of it.


The extraordinary Olympic Stadium.


The freaky cube man gives his performance. I didn't get the "Frolicking Lovers" or the "Parade of History", but I do think the sculpture breaking apart in the beginning was cool. I had to snort at the anatomically correct sculpture of a human figure. If the whole structure was stories tall, how big was the thingy?


The Parade of Nations. This is the flag bearer for the US team.


Calvin on the speakerphone with Michael. We kept up a running commentary on the opening ceremonies for an hour.


The US Basketball team.


The US team.