I like spiders. They are my allies in the fight against the insect invaders. We have had a few Black Widows (not my favorites) this year. But pictured below are some nice Orb Weavers that have taken up residence around the house.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

We have had a bumper crop of lizards, this year.  I really enjoy seeing them in the yard.  We seemed to have one living under our mailbox for a while.

The lizard is at the top of the picture. My toes are at the bottom.

From Lizard

If you look carefully, you can see Ellyn & I hiding behind the sunflowers.

It’s amazing to me that they grow to be taller than I am in just a few months.

From Hidden

 No, we’re not anticipating a zombie invasion, but they certainly make me happy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

We (mostly Ellyn) planted a bunch of Sunflowers in front of our house.  I’m so excited!  The first little one has finally bloomed:

Yesterday, the boys next door left a note on the door announcing they’re having a party.   They’ve had ’em before, and we appreciated the heads up – even if it was same day.  They said they’d get quiet by midnight.  Really, that’s when things seemed to start up.  That’s OK; a little warning goes a long way.

This morning I awoke to my alarm – which is my work cell phone.  It has a very mild gong tone that repeats and gets louder.  I leave it in the den, usually.  But today is Saturday, and my alarm only sounds on weekdays.  And the sound wasn’t quite right.  So I mostly fell back asleep.  I remember all this on reflection. 

Then the floors in the house started creaking, and I woke up pretty quick.  Someone was standing in our hallway, wearing some cloths and one of our blankets.  Trying to make sense of everything, I decided Ellyn had had someone crash at our place.  Then I decided it was Jaryd – but too short.  Then I realized: he was a party goer.

So I woke Ellyn up and sat him down and went next door.  I got Billy to come over and come collect the guy (who was pretty wasted).

Note to self: lock the back door – especially when the neighbors are having a party.

Ellyn & I went to the Montana de Oro State park with Mark & Yvette. It’s about 15 miles away.
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Kurt’s Blog.