For the botanically inclined, I submit vegetable porn involving burgundy and green filet beans. Basically haricots verts / violet, but Californian. Bush beans of the Maxibel and Royal Burgundy varieties, if ya wanna get technical.

Royal Burgundy bush beans.

Oddly enough, after cooking the purple filet beans, they turn a green color to match the haricots verts.

I obtained some Texas tomato cages in hopes to control the tomatoes. The rectangular folding cages used in the past often buckled and nearly collapsed halfway through the season. This year we planted Stupice, Big Rainbow and Early Girl. I learned after several seasons that the best Early Girl fruits come from the indeterminate variety, instead of the bush-style or determinate variety. For some odd reason, the more compact Early Girls lack the flavor and vigor of the crazily sprawling one. In any case, I see many flowers on the three plants, and a few green fruits, so I imagine the tomatoes will ripen by next month or so.

On an impulse, I decided to plant some green and red shiso. Copious amounts of leaves! I wonder how I’ll use them. Shiso’s aroma is a combination of mint, anise and pepper, which is sharp when fresh, but becomes more subtle when fried. They’re okay in Vietnamese salad rolls, but I prefer their flavor in deep-fried dishes, which we typically order at Japanese restos. But we very rarely deep fry food at home… Hmm, anyone want some? Or have some good recipes?

Then there are the birds, which sometimes I now address as “damn birds.” First, there was the Crow Incident, involving a neighborhood cat nearly capturing a young crow in the backyard. (The feline leapt nearly a meter into the air, but failed to capture anyone.) Corvids, charmingly clever beasts in general, seem to be particularly protective of their young. So as this young one cried (insert loud, desperate cawing), many, many crows arrived into our yard, to yell at the cat and us —even though we chased off the cat. (Reminds me of the crows in Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, where they cried “Egg stealer!” (conveniently and ironically translated by Jiji, the black cat familiar) at Kiki as she accidentally fell into their nesting tree.) The young one survived, thankfully. But for good measure, it (or one of its vigilant parents) visited the backyard for a couple weeks to yell and dive (fortunately not close enough for contact) at me. Things seem to have mellowed out now, either due to the young crow growing up and out of the neighborhood, or because of the typically non-elephantine memories of avians.

The young crow escaped into a neighbor’s plum tree, then beyond.

And secondly, those brash Mockingbirds. They ended up nesting some place other than the honeysuckle bush. But now they’re performing their summertime relationship-affirming concerts, which involves touring the neighborhood, they shall have you know, especially localities containing aromatic flowers and fruiting trees. This production begins before dawn, tapers off around midday, then picks up again around dusk. The “before dawn” aspect interferes with the human sleeping habits. (Silly humans, so little appreciation for outdoor music at high volume and high places.) I do admit, however, that the songs remain enchanting. I just wish I were more of a morning person.

There wasn’t much of the miserable rodent left. But my morbid curiosity (with permission from PG&E and the fire department) allowed me some picture taking. I think it was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, or possibly a Cooper’s Hawk. Hard to tell, with its belly singed and tail obscured. (I restrained myself from turning it over.)

Continue onward to view a raptor memorial, as well as for additional bird news. I.e., this serves as a warning about a dead animal photo; it’s isn’t gross IMO, just sad, really.

If you want to see other pictures of this incident, let me know and I’ll send you links. They’re more gruesome compared with the one below, so I’ve hidden them somewhat.

However, on a much lighter note, and also related to the title, we’ve been watching a pair of Mockingbirds making a nest in one of the honeysuckle bushes. It’d be great to have a mockie family in the yard. I just hope they aren’t in danger of rodential or feline harassment, since the bush is on a not-so-high fence.

Mockingbird sez, “Eh? Wot?”

It is a definite pleasure to watch and listen El Mocko sing on our chimney. They are so cute while in gathering or bathing mode. (So far neither has decided to dive-bomb us, which would be awkward; they do swoop at cats that meander into the yard, though.) One of them was torn between hiding away, taking a bath and checking me out. Such smart chaps!

No avian tenants yet in the birdhouse, even though we still Chickadees and Oaktits in the yard. Wrens continue to sing loudly and fly about; they’ve been carrying snacks and nesting bits, but it’s unclear where their nest is.

Update 10:30am: I had written this entry on 23 March. This morning, however, I saw a Mockingbird egg on the fence near the honeysuckle. My guess is maybe our neighbors saw it on the ground and placed it there. My other guess is the local Bewick’s Wrens might’ve been the culprit who knocked it out of the nest in the first place. (Or the House Sparrows, or the California Towhees eyeing the bush; they’re other birds seen in the vicinity.) Or maybe a neighborhood cat popped it out…though the honeysuckle seems too dense for anything larger than a small bird. Many suspects. I still hear the mockie singing, but I’m crestfallen because I doubt they’ll continue to nest nearby.

Update this evening: I’ve seen the Mockingbird fly into the bush twice since I last wrote. Perhaps there’s hope for viable clutch and fledglings this year! (S/he could’ve been moving nesting material to another location. Who knows?) Those beasts are certainly persistent.

Before bathroom remodel.

But finally, finally two years ago, we got everything stripped down to the studs, and in about a month we had a lovely functional bathroom. (Designing and planning always take the lion’s share of time!) Not in pink. In greens and blues, since bathrooms are easy to associate with water, after all. It took me a couple years to get around to uploading the pictures, but there you go.

After bathroom remodel (though shower doors were soon installed).

“Birders, are ye?” Well, I prefer the term bird watching, mainly because Simon and I are very amateurish about the whole avian sighting thing. We’ve gotten into the habit only about four or five years ago. Having a garden helps, I tell ya. Along with binoculars.

I highly recommend the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America as a guidebook. Since I often hear the birds before I see them, having good audio guides also help, such as the Peterson Field Guides Western Birding by Ear (a good teaching and learning resource) and Western Bird Songs (more comprehensive).

I also link to the corresponding page at the awesome Cornell Lab of Ornithology for each species. Their videos require QuickTime (pretty, but limited), and their audio samples require RealPlayer (ugh, why not MP3?), although the latter comes in both Mac and Linux versions. On to the list!

Common visitors

These include our year round avian neighbors and reliable migratory visitors.

• American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
• Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
• Nothern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
• Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
• Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
• Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus)
• Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
• American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
• Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
• Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
• California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
• White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
• Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
• House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
• Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
• Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
• European House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Occasional visitors

Sighted now and again, usually a few times annually.

• Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
• Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
• Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
• Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)
• Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
• Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus)
• Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
• Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
• Townsend’s Warbler (Dendroica townsendi)
• American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
• Black-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
• European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Rare visitors

Some birds we’ve seen only once or thrice.

• Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
• Great Egret (Ardea alba)
• Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
• Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
• Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
• Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
• Black-throated Grey Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens)
• Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
• Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)

Yellow-rumped Warbler and the Avocado of Gluttony (February 2008).

At the end of January, Simon cleaned out the house previously occupied by the Chestnut-backed Chickadees. They came to feast on seeds from volunteer sunflowers in October, but I haven’t seen them again until recently.

Nest of former chickadee tenants. (February 2008).

Mockingbirds tentatively started singing around the end of January. Now they’re singing frequently, flying around chak-chakking at anyone threatening their favorite trees.

This past week, though, everyone has gone nutso! The Bushtit mafia flies from bush to tree to hedge and back again. Gangs of House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, American Robins and Cedar Waxwings argue and take baths. Pairs of chickadees and Oak Titmice vie (possibly) for the birdhouse. Bewick’s Wrens belie their surreptitious nature with loud BWEEE-chivi-chivi-chivi’ing. Black-eyed Juncos forage for snacks. And another reminder that young Cooper’s Hawks use our backyard for hunting practice and…make pit-stops at birdbaths?

“Bathe or hunt?” Cooper’s hawk on arbor, seemingly considering the birdbath below. (Photo by Simon, February 2008)

There’s a squirrel who made the mistake of tucking away an avocado (from a tree a couple houses away) in the apricot tree. Which has no leaves or big enough holes for cover. Which is also a big meeting place for birds. Suffice to say, after too many bites stolen (stolen? who took the fruit from where and when?) by Mr. Yellow-butt, Ms. (or Mr.) Squirrel decided to store the rich stash elsewhere.

Hyup! The squirrel with the Avocado of Gluttony. Observe its kyoot belly. (February 2008)

More bird pictures in the avian gallery.

A brief chronicle of The Squirrel and the Avocado.

• Played with the MacBook Air. Oh, my, it felt thinner than I was expecting! This is the slimmest, lightest computer I’ve held since Akkana’s Vaio. Its specifications aren’t enough for my own needs, but I think the MacBook Air would be perfect for MacBook-level users, or those who already have a primary desktop and need to travel frequently with a lighter secondary machine. The bevel (frame) around the display seems too wide (similar to the MacBook). I wonder what technical limitations prevented Apple from maximizing the monitor area?
• The Time Capsule has a cute, low profile design. I’d prefer more than 1 Terabyte of storage; then again, my crazy storage philosophy is to obtain at least four to ten times capacity than I think I’ll need. It also seems expensive at $500, but I’m confident that capacity will inevitably increase, along with a price decrease. Er, make that hopeful. Wonder if one could backup non-Mac machines, like Linux and Windows? On a related note, Simon visited the Drobo booth, which has a similar networked storage system.
• I acquired a collection of handbag brochures, mostly for friends who might be seeking a briefcase with laptop capacity (Kathleen? Sonya?). My attention to iPod accessories was at a minimum this year, as I’ve found that the iPod shuffle’s clip is the best way to have portable, less obtrusive music as I exercise.
• Kensington had an Expert Mouse (trackball) hooked up to a MacBook Pro running Leopard. It behaved fine, except for weird pointer jumps due to other users playing with nearby wireless mice. I also noticed that they didn’t install (on purpose?) their own MouseWorks software on the computer. I asked the rep if there were plans to update that package for Leopard, and the response was (my paraphrasing), “Yes, sometime soon we’ll upload a new version to the site.” Sadly, I forgot to ask if there were plans to make a wireless version of the Expert Mouse.
• Living-e AG, makers of MAMP, were not present. Not too surprising, as they’re based in Germany, and haven’t released any major upgrades. MAMP 1.7.1, though, was released back in December (or November, or…?), which I haven’t installed yet. The website and forum remain out of date (without RSS) and full of spam, respectively.
• I wish I lingered longer at the MacSpeech booth, which was impressively bigger than in previous years. They have discontinued their speech recognition application iListen and replaced it with Dictate. I bought iListen a few years ago, but gave up because of its long training period, slow performance and just-enough-to-be-disruptive error rate. Dictate, which is based on Dragon Naturally Speaking, is currently in beta, but touts better accuracy and speed. I’d like to give MacSpeech’s product another try! Will need to dig around to see if I could participate in any beta testing. Ars Technica’s Jacqui Cheng wrote a good article describing the new Dictate project, which won Best of Show for Macworld 2008. (Odd for an application that isn’t released yet, hmm?)

Addendum (24-Jan-2008): I don’t mind the MacBook Air’s footprint, especially since I prefer a large display. (Rarely traveling with a laptop influences this opinion, of course.) Thin form and low weight are very important to me —seeing and holding the MacBook Air made me gasp with wonder. Certain features, namely the small hard drive, slower processor, Remote Disc limitations and lack of Firewire port, hold me from wanting one. (I’m usually a slow, late adopter of computing gadgetry, thus my less-than-two-year-old MacBook Pro suffices for now.) But I look forward to (i.e., hope for) future computers, especially in the professional series, that will use the MacBook Air as a model of space and power efficiency. A computer that can be rolled up like a towel: well, I can dream.

Strange but pleasant observation upon returning home: I thought the 5.6M earthquake in San José would’ve at least knocked off a few books from shelves. But nope, everything was in place. Guess the shakes were in the “best” directions (whew).

What I already miss:

• Beautiful hikes in Cumbria. No rain, either.
• So little time to hang out and investigate Edinburgh. Again, our weather karma held out.
• Old buildings. It’s exciting to be surrounded by unfamiliar (and often cool) architecture.
• Delicious food, especially seafood, sandwiches and innovative Indian-fusion cuisine. More on that later, perhaps.
• Easy access to tea. Tea rooms and cafés with fresh tea and cakes. Everywhere. Oh, right, it’s the U.K., duh.
• Rail service. It exists throughout. Lovely views going from London to Carlisle, as well as from Edinbirgh to London.
• Reminders in perspective: While English might be the official language, it remains different from home! Communication styles and nuances required getting used to, but still intriguing to observe and learn from.
• Friendly, helpful service people. Those in retail (e.g., advice at a pharmacy, the O2 franchises, etc.) seem much better trained and more clueful than those here. (Insert clichéd regret at the demise of American shops and retail.)

What I don’t miss:

• The push of the Christmas sales crap in October, which seems sooner than over here.
• Salty food, even at some upmarket restaurants! How odd.
• How CDMA mobile devices are bricked overseas. Thanks a bunch, Verizon. Also, how other carriers make it difficult to roam overseas. Thanks AT&T, for neglecting to activate a service we’re already being charged for. And people wonder about my disgust with the telephonic technologies.
• Rail service from the 19th century. Repairs and maintenance indicated, yet unavoidable. Delays and inconsistent news and announcements.
• London Heathrow. Queues. Air and noise pollution. More repairs indicated.
• Having a cold/the flu sucks while traveling.

Photographs (mostly by Simon) to follow. There are a lot to sift through, so it might, er, take a while.

I need to deal with a huge load of spam messages that Thunderbird can no longer handle gracefully or efficiently. So if you sent me an email and still await a response, you might need to send it again …or, uh, wait a bit longer. Techno-rant digression: To quote the hosting service support,

The Thunderbird e-mail client (v2.*) has a bug that causes the Trash folder to overfill with temp files when you try to delete a large number of messages or if there are a large number of messages already in the Trash folder. When this happens the Trash folder becomes unusable and usually causes errors (i.e., Connection dropped by IMAP server…). To work around this bug I’d recommend deleting smaller numbers of messages (at one time) and purging/emptying the Trash folder often so it doesn’t get very full.

Many thanks to my hosting service for their explanation and help! I cannot seem to find a Bugzilla number[s] for this issue, though. Sadly, this might be the ultimate push for me to switch to another mail client, sooner rather than later.

Sun Gold cherry tomatoes: So dainty, so golden, so many.

I collected a basket of tomatoes, only to be reminded that there was another basket sitting in the kitchen, staring and waiting. It was time to do something before they started to attract fruit flies… Allow me to present the Lazy Tomato Sauce.

I cheated by using a flavored oil like infused garlic olive oil. Another big shortcut was not peeling or seeding the tomatoes. Yup, whirl ‘em all! However, you should taste the sauce before puréeing, to see if the skins or seeds seem bitter, which might occur with tomatoes at the end of their season. (If this occurs, resort to filtering through a food mill or sieve to remove the bits, but that goes against the lazy technique

The total oil amount will depend on the amount of tomatoes. My very rough rule of thumb was about 2 to 3 tablespoons per pound of tomatoes.

Sadly this year’s Early Girls turned out to be flavorless balls. (It’s usually such a reliably tasty variety; perhaps the strain has been, uh, strained.) Hence another cheating moment: adding just a touch of sweetening, not to make it really sweet of course, but to open up the flavors, similar to salt.

Ingredients

• A large amount of fresh tomatoes you don’t know what to do with, say, at least 2 to 3 pounds
• 3 or more tablespoons of garlic-infused olive oil; you could chop up a bunch of garlic, but we’re aiming for least effort expended.
• 2 or more tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• (optional) wine: I used some leftover Viognier (true to both laziness and avoiding waste), but anything to complement the tomatoes would work.
• salt and pepper, to taste
• (optional) sugar, honey or molasses, to taste: I used 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
• (optional) tender, aromatic herbs, like fresh basil, parsley, chervil, etc.

Method

1. Wash and roughly chop the tomatoes.
2. Place the tomatoes, bay leaf, the garlic oil, olive oil and wine (if using) into a heavy-bottomed stock pot. Bring to an energetic simmer.
3. Simmer until the sauce reaches your desired thickness. For me it took about 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf. Cool a bit before the next step.
5. Apply immersion blender to attain desired level of smoothness.
6. If serving immediately, stir in chopped herbs if you want, and/or stir in some crème fraîche, yogurt or sour cream. Inhale with pasta, or other suitable dishes. Freeze leftovers for off-season consumption (with or without herbs or cream, although some fresh herbs might darken over time).

Nope. I walked around the backyard two days ago, and saw how the paths were strewn with bruised, sweet-smelling apricots (as well as the soles of my sandals). Fortunately, quite a few fruit remain on the tree. (Not as many as past years, but the slow die-back is endemic to this valley. Sadness!)

Let this be a reminder for me: The fruit remained green and small until about the beginning of this month, June. So it takes the better part of a month for ‘em to plump up, turn that charming orangey-pink-red, and develop that perfumy sweetness. This year.

In any case, the next week or two will be our mad apricot jam and chutney cookin’ phase. In addition to the ones here, Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes wrote a article referencing a bunch of mouth-watering apricot recipes.

Anna’s Hummingbird: Scritchy scritchy complain scritchy… BzzzzzzPINGk!

Black Phoebe: Pfee pfee. (Wag tail.) Pfee.

Western Scrub-jay: (Insert loud, rasping squawk of choice.)

…And: Chichichi chichi chichi hyeenhyeenh! Hyeenh hyeenh! (Repeat.) Chestnut-backed Chickadees have become our neighbors.

Chestnut-backed chickadee during a bath: “Hey! I haff not yet coiffed my feathères.”

A couple years ago Simon gave me a birdhouse for small wren-like birds, which he mounted on the backroom wall, near the apricot tree. Nobody visited, until last Summer, when I heard a hammering sound coming from the backroom. The neighbors next door were remodeling, so I nearly shrugged it off. I went outside to see a Nuttall’s Woodpecker widening the birdhouse’s entry hole. Unfortunately, the woodpecker lost interest and never nested there.

Last month as I was staring at the apricot blossoms, and heard a couple of chickadees calling to each other, with beaks full of blossoms and grass. They flew in the direction of the birdhouse, perhaps scoping it out.

For the next several weeks I’ve continued to hear chickadee chatter. Tenants at last? Yes, especially when any of the jays or mockingbirds come nearby. Oh boy, do they raise a(n auditory) stink when either human or bird come near the apricot tree, and therefore their domicile.

Chickadee loudly expressing disapproval, with a beak full o’ tasty crunchies.

Two weeks ago I started hearing a high pitched Peepeepeepeeeee. Chickalets! The parents remain quite defensive of their foraging grounds, yelling in that incongruously giggling voice. It sounds like there are at least two youngins. They’re gradually developing that chattery giggle their parents have. (Checheche che che che.)

Just yesterday we saw one of the kids for the first time, poking its head out of the b-house. Like most young birds, its mouth has this amusing “scrowling” expression, made noticeable with a contrasting yellow beak (unlike their parents’, which are black). It’s a sign that they don’t have full plumage, or adult coloring. But they do have enough feathers to make me wonder if they’ll fledge soon. I will upload more photos to the creatures album.

Scrowlie gawking…staring… photo by Simon Fraser.

An initial reconnaisance yielded a huge stack of business cards and brochures. I ended up purchasing from less than a quarter of those creators. While I might’ve missed some potentially excellent comics, it’s good news for the most part: Many to investigate further online, many to see again at future conventions…and gentler treatment of my pocketbook.

First time visiting the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco: In spite of the occasional Hallway Jam of Humans, it was a pleasant venue. Much better access than Fort Mason. Not as convenient as San José, but nicer lighting, with a not unpleasant pseudo-rustic feel: exposed dark wood, or exposed structures painted in a redwood bark tone.

I hadn’t attended APE or any other comic book convention since 2002. (Got back on the wagon this year with WonderCon.) It had been the fifth consecutive APE I visited, and at the time I wasn’t finding new comics which would grab or hold my attention. <rant>It had also included my worst (so far) convention experience: Where a creator pointedly ignored me while attempting to obtain more information about their work. (I think it was the creator himself, unless it was someone else holding the table while he was away, and he just didn’t know how to cope with attendees.) I stood, waiting to ask how much the comic cost (it looked interesting then; I no longer recall the creator’s name). He chatted with someone else behind the table, for several minutes. I waited some more, skimming through the comic. Another person approached the table, so I moved and started to ask the creator during the shift —then he suddenly greeted the other person, turning his body completely away, and started another conversation. Ookaaay, I guess you don’t want to speak to a potential reader of your comic. I put the book down and walked off.</rant>

Fortunately, nothing like that happened this year. Only a brief saddening moment while talking to Jon “Bean” Hastings, author of the awesome Smith Brown Jones. I got the impression that he had become blasé, or, perhaps, not interested in chatting with a comic book reader. When I first encountered him at APE in 1999, he seemed eager to know what comics I liked to read, to engage the reader, as it were. (Alas, I wasn’t as responsive as I’d wanted to be, coughing and congestion reducing me to a bleary state.) Like any of us, though, he could’ve been having a rough day.

But I must say I did enjoy myself. Having not been to APE for five years, I saw so many interesting comics, most of them new to me. I miss not seeing some of the creators I had seen back during the 1998 to 2002 period. (Such as Greg Beetam and Stephen Geiger-Miller, Ellen Forney, Linda Medley, Jimmie Robinson, Dave Roman and John Green, Ian and Ty Smith, Tara Tallan —not to mention dim sum with Rachel Hartman and Carla Speed McNeil.) On the other hand, many of them have an online presence now (yay!), and some might (ya never know) return again to a Bay Area.

Even though I was overwhelmed by the variety, I’m thankful for the artists and writers (and my companions!) who patiently tolerated my page flipping and half-dazed expression. I’d like to go again next year, considering how I didn’t obtain even a majority of the comics which piqued my curiosity. Maybe I should limit myself to attending every other year, so I don’t become as easily disenchanted with what I see?

Items acquired, alphabetical by creator:

• Von Allan: “Li’l Kids,” a prequel to the upcoming The Road to God Knows…
• Brian Andersen: A preview to So Super Duper.
• Phuong-Mai Bui-Quang (P.M.B.Q. Studios) et al.: Tea Party volume 1, a Tea Club anthology.
• Jennifer Feinberg: Chi, and Scrowlie volumes 1 and 2.
• Jon “Bean” Hastings: Terrabella Smoot and the Unsung Monsters, a children’s book.
• Llyn Hunter (Bobcat Publishing; website requires Flash): A Little Book of Monsters and Punnies Folio I. Also various cards, including a fold out tarot deck, buttons, etc.
• Derek Kirk Kim: Same Difference and Other Stories. Both he and Gene Yang mentioned that they’ll be producing a book of their collaborations, perhaps next year.
• Hope Larson: Gray Horses and Salamander Dream.
• Steve Oliff: Armature #1 and #2.
• Bryan Lee O’Malley: Lost at Sea.
• Helen Parson: Strawberry Ghost volumes 1 and 2.
• Tammy Stellanova: A Field Guide to Urban Wildlife: Abridged, an Illustration Bloc anthology, and Ritual.
• Grace Woo (New Year Designs): Cute cards based on the Chinese zodiac.

Maroon PCH iris.

The first one I saw blooming this year in our garden was a Pacific Coast Hybrid (PCH, usually a hybrid with Iris douglasiana), which we got last year from a California Native Plant Society plant sale. No interesting variety or cultivar name for this one, its label had read “Iris PCH: Huge maroon w[ith] black fall[s], buff outline.” The flowers aren’t huge, about the same size as other cultivated PCHs I’ve seen. Still, pretty.

I keep thinking that PCHs usually bloom later, like late Spring or Summer. I’ll keep an eye on the older PCHs in the garden —although those might need dividing and/or fertilizer before they flower again.

Several of the bearded irises are also in bloom. I enjoy how the flower goes from a neatly folded bud to the unfurling state. Sure, the bud might seem unexciting, and the unfolding part a bit chaotic. But for me the colors then often seem more rich and saturated, compared to when it’s completely opened.

Top view of unfurling “Terra Rosa” bearded iris.

More pictures are in the gallery’s iris album.

Peapod from Climbing Sugar Snap.

I have bad memories of split-pea soup from childhood. Pasty, with chunks of nasty ham. Blech. But soup made from fresh peas? That is a completely different creature.

An article by Anita spurred me to make soup this past weekend. Another influence was the Greenhill Pea and Leek Soup from The Inspired Vegetarian, by Louise Pickford and Gus Filgate. That recipe adds mint, which helps emphasize the brightness of the peas.

We used Sugar Snap peas, but English shelling peas or petits pois would also work well. Young green garlic is also in season, so I added that into the mix. When it’s not available, you can use garlic cloves or shallots —but do so in smaller amounts, since their aroma is stronger than young garlic. A creamy garnish is a nice finish, yet this soup stands well on its own without it.

Fresh pea soup with leeks and mint.

Ingredients

• 3 young leeks; clean away any dirt, and chop the white and pale green parts into thin discs or half-discs
• 4 to 6 young green garlic; clean away any dirt, and chop the white and pale green parts into thin discs. Or, substitute with 2 to 4 garlic cloves or shallots, minced.
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 quart hot chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups freshly shelled peas, roughly 10 ounces. This came from about 2 1/2 pounds of unshelled peas.
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons mint (e.g., spearmint), minced
• 2 to 3 tablespoons parsley, minced
• (optional) crème fraîche, sour cream or yogurt, to garnish

Method

1. In a stock pot over medium high heat, sauté the leeks and garlic in the olive oil until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Add the stock, and simmer for 10 minutes over medium low heat.
3. Add the peas, and simmer until they are just cooked (not mushy), about 6 to 9 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the mint and about half of the parsley. Remove from heat, and purée to desired consistency. Ours came out with freckles of mint and parsley.
5. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with parsley, and a dollop of creaminess, if you wish.

There are a few more apricot images in the plant album.

The Blenheim apricot has a brief blossoming period. This year I noticed the first buds opening a week ago. Last Saturday, about 80% to 85% were open. Today, I think it’s around 90%.

Like the blossoms, the fruits seem to come all at once. By early June or thereabouts, we’ve got a couple of weeks, maybe a scant month, if we’re lucky, to gather as many of the aromatic, tangy, sweet fuzzy jewels as possible. Many do fall, rotting, food for birds, slugs and insects (not to mention sticky shoe accessories). Yet many happily end up as jam, chutney, compotes, tarts, so many snacks and meals. I’ve yet to experience a better tasting, more versatile apricot. Moorparks have a longer season, and Turkish ones are imported year round. Neither have Blenheim’s personality.

2006 was a bad year: rains occurred for a week or two after the blossoms had opened. I don’t know if the showers deterred the pollinators, or simply washed a away the buds, pollinated or otherwise. The end result was no apricots, not even one to eat out of hand. There were a few at the very top of the tree, but those became a snack for wondering birds. That was the first year we had a zero crop. I hope we get a nice yield this year: No rain in sight for at least a week. There were only one or two bees last Saturday, but I think I see interest growing daily from the Apidae community.

A retail convention?

Biggest impression: So many vendors. Mostly comic book stores, not surprisingly, but also model/toy merchants and clothes/costume sellers. Publishers, such as Slave Labor Graphics and DC/Vertigo, made up the next largest exhibitor segment. This was the first time I went to WonderCon, so I didn’t realize that there was such little focus on creators (comic book writers and artists), at least compared with the other comic book convention I’ve attended, the Alternative Press Expo (APE). Has WonderCon always had a focus on vendors, perhaps so that they could trade stock, or do more corporate or administrative networking?

I admit that my main goal is to investigate the exhibitors at conventions, regardless of genre, topic or medium, rather than sit in on panels or presentations. I prefer to see the individual’s works, be it a single person or an organized company. Sometimes it’s even pleasant, and potentially helpful, to converse, to get a better idea if I would enjoy a particular book or item. An interesting way of socializing, and dare I say it, networking, even though a given convention might not be directly related to my profession.

Given my overall impression, I doubt I’ll go to WonderCon again. I would never have known what it’d be like, so I’m glad I went. Most importantly, I managed to pick up some delightful comics, as well as speak with a couple of creators.

Linda Medley & Castle Waiting

I bought the latest issue of Castle Waiting and chatted briefly with Linda Medley. I asked how she invisioned the series’ duration. After all, not all comics last foreover like X-Men or Batman. Some of the best ones have a definite end, like Sandman and (eventually) A Distant Soil. Her response was that she knows exactly how the last scene appears. I appreciated listening to her reasons for Jain’s and the Castle’s existence.

In addition, Linda has a sensible approach to writer’s block and boredom: when encountering difficulty with a particular character or arc, she knows that there are other roles and lines which she can develop, so shifts and refocuses as needed. I usually shy away from spoilers, but what she told me, in all honesty, didn’t spoil it for me. In fact, it made me feel more confident about her writing, as well as eager to continue reading Castle Waiting!

Gene Yang

It amuses me when people whom I’ve rarely dealt with manage to remember me. I recall meeting Gene Yang at APE, over nine years ago. He had recently published the hilarious and touching Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks. Seeing the American Born Chinese graphic novel last Sunday filled me with glee. I have always been curious about the Monkey King legend. It entwines the Monkey King, an Asian American adolesence and farcical takes on Chinese caricatures. All performed via Gene’s splendid illustration, and in color.

Tea Club, Digger, winding down with tea

I also picked up a comic I hadn’t seen before: Tea Club, by Phoung-Mai Bui-Quang. It’s a manga-style comic about…tea. Including defending the honor of the tea ceremony. And life in college. With a bear. Perfect!

After thinking that Ursula Vernon’s Digger was out of print, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Sofawolf Press had a booth at WonderCon, selling both volumes. Chomp, dig, yum. They also said that a third volume will be in print this summer. Yay!

Kathleen and I pooped out after only three or four hours at the convention, so we headed over to nearby Samovar for therapeutic tea and reading. A good day, indeed!

The trip to the Philippines in early 1997 marked my first overseas venture. I used my then-falling apart, now-defunct Ricoh SLR camera. I originally digitized the pictures with a flatbed scanner (thanks, Jed!), but I’d like to redo it sometime, if I can find a scanner that would handle 35mm film negatives. If anyone has pointers on such a tool, do let me know! (I could also clean out the annoying mirror crack that appears in most of the pictures; can crop only so much.)

Philippines (1997)

In late spring of 2002, we took a trip to France, my first time on the European continent. Most of the time was spent in Paris and Provence. We started and ended the trip with brief stops in England.

France and a bit of the United Kingdom (2002)

A request directed at architecture / city history buffs: Name this building! Seriously, neither of us remember its name or location, other than being in Paris. At first I thought it was the Panthéon or Opéra, but I’m not so sure…

Which famous Parisian building is this?

• Car stereo integration for the iPod at a reasonable cost. I’ve never liked FM transmitters, and the tape player is broken. (Not being able to play my iPod in my car for over a year really bites.) So I should get a new stereo. Something as simple as an input jack would suffice, for my not-so new car.
• Are there any bands/clips for iPods which don’t depend on having a belt or belt loops? I’d rather not resort to something as bulky as a waistband contraption.
• I have a feeling that there won’t be any revolutionary improvements in (or over) the Missing Sync for the Palm OS Treo. But, hey, I could be pleasantly surprised.

In any case, even if I don’t find products or tips for the above list, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for poking at nifty input devices, browsing for books, and grazing through the wide array of software booths!