December 13th (Communications Group Christmas Luncheon)

On the 13th of December, we had our annual Communication group party. We meet for class all semester, once a week, and now it's time to celebrate! I'll highlight just a few folks from this big group. My friend shown here worked in finance before his stroke.

This one of our interns, choosing a gift to open in the famous "open it or steal it" gift exchange.  She chose our gift and loved it!

Our other intern had her gift stolen twice, but persevered and came out on top!

Our friends and instructor.

He does a "news review" for the class each week that really provokes a lot of conversation from us! It is absolutely solid!













Our friend Mari is making a great recovery. She got the "Waterfall" which I fell for and tried to steal. The game kept going, and I thought we were going to end up with a dud, but Krista made a trade with John's wife for a Starbuck's gift card - yay!

Vince was a Yosemite Guide and is very funny. His antics crack up the class.

This is John, always with a "help you" attitude!

The last gift was some very funky rainbow silverware. I think this may have been the "dud". It looks ripe for "re-gifting." Who knows which gift exchange it will go to next?

November 28 to the 12th of December

We began this Thanksgiving with the Turkey Trot 5k.

This was swirling rain! I finished it in about 58 minutes, keep that in mind.

This is my Thanksgiving plate - and I opted for EVERYTHING! Vegan lasagna, squash soup, roasted veg, tofu loaf, and Turkey Breast, one of our contributions (which I cooked)!

We had a great snowfall on December 1. Krista called me from work to lure me outside for photos of the beautiful view! This is a selection from the many I took.













Here is the Christmas Program on the 5th. Krista and the rest of the band played backup for the kids' choir. It sounded great - They have a dynamite music  director!

On the following night, 6th of December, we listened to some terrific holiday jazz. It's the Raymond James Trio (joined by a Sax player on the 6th)!

Raymond has a interesting story: he is the son of Crosby (of Crosby, Nash). He met his father as an adult and they do some writing together.

December 7th. This is the Santa Monica to Venice 5K! I got up very, very early for this race, which I finished in 53:31. My best is 53:03 so it was close! This is just past the finish line where they said "we'll have snow." It was fake snow, from the movies. The real snow was in the hills!

 Here we have on December 8 a Party with one of our support groups, which we have attended since they formed three years ago.  Everyone was decked out for the "ugly sweater" contest. What a wonderful, welcoming group!

 On a walk thru the Claremont Colleges, I encountered a surprise. A substantial tree had fallen in the rain, in front of one of the  performance auditoriums! 

On my walks, I do 30,000 to 70,000 steps per week.










The following week, December 12, we went to the Claremont Senior Bikers Christmas party. It was packed!
  Our oldest member, Jim, was presented with a special award for Outstanding Contributions to the biker's club.

Black Sky

Oncoming snowstorm around the first of December, 2019

Snow all the way down to the foothills this year!

California White Sage (Salvia apiana). Lovely silver foliage.  In spring, it will blossom with lovely long wands of white flowers - covered with happy, humming bees of all types.  This is one of those plants that keeps bees so enthralled, they don't even seem to notice passerby.

A Palm tree gazes out toward the snow-dusted mountains. Such diverse landscapes we have, thanks to California's geography!

Exploring DStretch

    My friend Tom and his pals introduced me to an app called DStretch, which helps make faded petroglyphs more visible.
   This is an iPhone photo of a petroglyph at Bandelier National Monument. The interpretive info says this ancient petroglyph was created for a specific ceremony, then plastered over. 
Later, the plaster cover weathered away, exposing the design. The petroglyph itself began to weather, so a protective plastic cover was installed.

Here is the same photograph, after processing it with the DStretch app on the iPhone. The intensity of the pigment has increased.

This is the initial DStretch view of the same photo, but on a PC computer (CRBG).  More striking than the iPhone result!

This is a slightly redder version.

Here is a browner view.

 A well-preserved petroglyph on display at the Visitor Center.  (Unedited with DStretch)

 And the PC DStretch view.  I'm still learning what the colors indicate, and which colors are best for revealing different aspects of the various petroglyphs.  Great for petroglyph detectives and researchers, professional or amateur!

This petroglyph photo, nicknamed "Spaceship and Alien," was snapped at Petroglyphs National Monument.  Its faded portions, just visible, might be enhanced with the use of Dstretch, too!

The "Falls"

The Falls Trail at Bandelier National Monument. Well, there wasn't actually any water in the Falls just then. We did get treated to this view, when we turned a corner and beheld the gateway to the confluence with the Rio Grande.

Along the trail, Krista spotted the heart-shaped pattern on this tree. There was a terrific interpretive guide for this trail, about the flora and geology, shaping and shaped by the flow of the river and the orientation of the canyon.  Just a few steps around the corner to the south, the exposure and air temperature create different conditions.  Flowers of the same species bloom a full month later in the cooler, sheltered part of the canyon.








Below: It was a steep drop to the valley floor.  Vivid colors in the rocks and vegetation (a little washed out in this shot). Amazing how the shrubs and trees find footholds on the cliff faces.

Above and Beyond - The Las Minas Trail

 

Near Taos - A Nice Afternoon Hike

Here we are near a creek. Jim, Colleen, Krista and I went on a picnic outing and lingered by the creek afterward.

This meadow daisy had a visitor!

Sunsets

We stayed an extra night to answer Jim's invite to join them for dinner at his sister's. She's 81 and going strong!

She had a wonderful view to the west and Krista drew everyone out to enjoy the sunset. We watched for the "green flash" that occurs just as the sun dips below the horizon.

People II

Dave took me to a Friday breakfast at Harry's while Krista packed us for our next adventure. These wonderful characters have coffee-fueled political discussions! Dave gets a huge kick out of it and so did I!

Community

Taos Publo. This is ancient! The present-day "Community" consists of native Americans, and others, who lease these apartments, at least part time. 

This is from farther away...The adobe requires constant maintenance.  There's always patching and resurfacing to be done, to keep the walls sealed against the elements.

This is inside - interior photos are by permission only! Notice the pole beams.  Some residents welcome visitors to a peek inside.  Others create homemade traditional food to sell visitors. We stopped in a few doors down for some delicious frybread.  Mmmm, with honey drizzled on top.

This is a church on the grounds.

Think of time. It could be a couple of hundred years ago, except for the truck.