The weather and other nonsense

I know it's cliche and boring to talk about the weather, but can we just talk about California weather for a second, you guys? Working in ecology makes me extremely aware of what the local weather is like--we keep a daily log of temperature, wind in meters per second, and obviously keep a hawk's eye out on possible rain.

This winter has been a roller coaster. It's been extremely dry, and has been generally very warm--we're talking mid 60s to 80s! There was maybe two weeks when it got way colder than the Central Valley part of the state should--mid 30s. And then it got hot hot hot and didn't rain for a long stretch. It finally rained about a week ago, not stopping for 3-4 days straight, taking a little rest, and raining again. And now it's warm and dry, AGAIN. 

Sunset leaving the parking structure after work. This was a warm day.

First of many rainy days. Olive trees lining the streets. Davis can be so pretty sometimes.

Almond tree in bloom?! It's not spring! Go back to sleep!! It was overcast but not rainy this day.

Honey bee, you're drunk. You don't even know what seasons are.

...fine.

And then it got insanely warm this past weekend.

We sat outside and had ourselves some beers, like it was summer. Mmm, beer.

There is no rhyme or rhythm. I guess all there is to do is to sit back and wait it out.

On a somewhat related note, eesh am I nervous to see what temperatures it will spike to in summer if this is what winter conditions are like.

(pssst: Look out for another post soon, I have something on the needles I'm pretty excited about!)

2014 doings

I have been doing things! 

I've been knitting a decent amount because it's "winter" now and my skin doesn't catch on fire when I touch yarn as it does in the summer. Winter is in quotes because this year California winter means 75 degree weather and no rain. I think it is the driest year in California in 300 years. Except it is raining right now, which hallelujah!

Scarf for a friend.

 If I am knitting a Noro striped scarf, does that officially make me 75 years old? Or Jared Flood? I'll take either.

Jar cozy for the hipsteriest of friends.

Jar cozy #2, in a hard-to-see chevron pattern

The whole "winter" thing is no joke. It was warm enough to go hiking the past two weekends.

Lake Berryessa, looking mighty low. 

Erik, looking mighty pissed (he wasn't)

.

Hiking selfies, cause duh.

And then I've been working. The past two weeks have been pretty enjoyable, as usually I go absolutely crazy being inside for this long, but I was assigned to take photos of seedlings in a greenhouse. It's close enough to being outside, and except for the one time when I almost passed out after underestimating how hot it gets in there, I enjoy the warmth and fake sunshine, much like these little dudes. 

Baby Gilia capitata. They are just so gummy and adorable!!

Eschscholzia californica, having no problem establishing. Water and sunlight?! I'm ready to GROW!

Didja miss me? I missed you!

a passing wave

It is true, I have been silent for a little bit. I didn't realize how much of my time I spent while unemployed reading other blogs, coming up with ideas for posts, and taking pictures. I still do things, I swear! But now that I work more than full time most weeks, it seems I have little time for other things besides bees and native wildflowers. I promise, something will appear soon. Until then, here's a picture of a goat to tie you over.

 (this one too added in for good measure; Aquilegia formosa, a native wildflower)

unemployment baking

Hmm...for some reason my camera refuses to connect to my computer, so I guess I am stuck with phone pictures until I get that fixed!

I've been trying to keep myself occupied and happy while out of college and unemployed and try to take advantage of the free time.

By baking.

Blueberry galette (so perfect for summer)

Being around friends and family and pets.

Erik running with his aunt's puppy

Family kitty 

Erik and Bridgette try out hockey

I think once I get more structure in my life I'll blog more but for now these momentary updates are good, as I've been more than lazy and unproductive the last month or so. It's sort of a good feeling though after being constantly on the move the last four or so years.

galentine's & surprises

I haven't posted in a long time! I have a little bit of the post-college slumps, so it's been hard to get motivated and kick my butt into gear. All of the photos for this post are from my phone, so they may be not as great in quality. Now that I have a smart phone, I've eased into laziness! I need to now make an effort to use my camera.

I spent Valentine's Day being mopey in my post-collegeness, unfortunately. Erik and I were going to go ride go-carts since we hate typical coupley things, or seeing other couples, but I woke up too late :( Fortunately, I celebrated properly later that weekend with Galentine's Anna Howard Shaw Day and dinner with Erik! 

I went to a cute restaurant called Awful Annie's for Galentine's with my friends, indulging in waffles (with plenty of whipped cream!) and scrambles and enforcing a purple/pink dress code. We walked around the small town of Auburn and shopped at some small antique stores. 

I've also been casually attending a knitting circle near my house at It's a Grind some Tuesdays, filled with feisty yarn-loving ladies. I am certainly the youngest, but it doesn't bother me.

Still making slow progress on my blanket. This is actually what my lap looks like right now as I'm writing this!

And then I made dinner for Erik to celebrate a late Valentine's Day AND to celebrate him landing a job! I made jalapeno-cheddar scones and lentil soup with sausage (or soyrizo!), chard (I used kale), and garlic from Smitten Kitchen. Both were delicious, but I really loved the scones a lot. So much so that I might make a second batch in a few days!

I also made toffee inspired by my friend Jenny's blog, Smitten with Snack, where she makes snack for her co-op housemates using recipes from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. The toffee entry is here, and I used a general recipe online. You should check out her blog, but not when you're hungry because all the snacks look so delicious.

(I didn't have enough chocolate or nuts, oops)

And then today I bought these. This isn't relevant to anything besides it makes me enormously happy as I've been anticipating these boxes for 3 months or so. I'm trying so hard to make my rations last. It is hard. I have had two Thin Mints so far. Erik has had 5 patties so far (that box is his, he is bad at rationing). It was very cute when Erik and I went to buy our three boxes and the woman there with them turned it into a math and cash exchange lesson for the little girls. It sparked fond memories of my Girl Scout days.

And to wrap up, I had never owned or had extensive interaction with a cat before until now. I had always loved both cats and dogs but leaned more towards dogs, only because I have a cat-like personality and we would be the worst influence on each other. But I'm looking after Erik's family's 15-year-old cat, and I think I finally get it.

Erik and I were watching Parks and Rec and Magik the cat decided we weren't going to watch it anymore cause he was using the laptop now.

So that's just a random little update. I'll try to use my camera more, I know blurry out of focus phone cameras are no fun to look at!