Saturday March 30th, 2013


One of the bonuses of living on a mountain is waking to the sounds of different birds and seeing things like hawks and Formosan Blue Magpies out the window. Over the past week, a pair of (what may be) Fulvettas have been frolicking in the plants on my balcony. It has been next to impossible to get a picture of the pair, but I will ... soon.


On the downside, sometimes you find things like wasps' nests or spider sacks on the balcony. Fortunately, I caught this wasp's nest in time, unlike the spider sack that went unnoticed until I saw (what seemed like) thousands of tiny spiders all over the inside of my kitchen and balcony. Since then, I've been very careful to keep my eyes open for things that shouldn't be on the balcony ... like this mama and her nest.

Mountain living = good times!

Friday March 22nd, 2013

Day 13 — Taken with my iPad

The first pot seen here is Cilantro which is one of my favorite herbs; I eat it on just about everything! The second pot is hopefully going to give me some delicious cherry radishes. It's my first time to grow them and I am hoping they will work. Very exciting stuff!

And now some not so exciting stuff:

Ouch — Taken with my iPad

I injured my ankle while hiking on Monday. I went to one doctor for x-rays and started physiotherapy immediately. When the swelling got worse, I decided to go to the hospital for more x-rays and a second opinion. I heard a loud snapping sound when the injury occurred which was a bit worrisome. Thankfully no broken bones but a torn ligament instead.

Damn is all I have to say about that.

Sunday March 10th, 2013

My first attempt at growing Cilantro and Cherry Radishes



Levi basking in the sun

The battle of the boxes ...


1. Move both cat carriers into the living room. A palpable mistake as this immediately alerts the two sleep beauties.

2. Decide to put Boy Cat into one carrier first. He is much stronger and tougher to deal with. Proof to follow.

3. Spend ten minutes chasing Boy Cat out of spots he cannot be reached.

4. Catch him. The struggle begins and he wins the first round.

5. Lock Boy Cat in my bedroom so there is absolutely NO escape.

6. Struggle and begin to break a sweat. I enclose my body over him so there is nowhere to go except inside the box. He is clawing at my shirt, my pants, the outside of the box, anything within reach. Feisty boy puts up a good fight. Keep in mind while all this is happening, he is screaming as if I am ripping each of his nails out one by one. Anyone outside would surely think I was causing my cat a slow and painful death.

7. Success! Boy Cat is in the box but he is still ear splittingly loud.

8. Girl Cat who normally trusts me and usually allows me to put her into the carrier at any time is now hesitant due to Boy Cat's distress.

9. Girl Cat puts up a fight. Perhaps putting Girl Cat in the cat carrier first would have been a better plan.

10. Boy Cat has now taken to consistently gripping the hard plastic grid on the bottom of the carrier and picking it up and dropping it, making a terribly loud sound to show his dismay.

11. Sweat begins dripping off my face as Girl Cat gets away.

12. I pursue Girl Cat only to find her rolling happily on the floor, obviously satisfied by her escape.

13. My patience is wearing thin.

14. Boy Cat is still banging and screaming.

15. One more attempt of getting Girl Cat into the box fails with all of Boy Cat's distractions. She strategically spreads all four paws around the outside of the carrier making it next to impossible for me to shove her in.

16. Decide to leave Girl Cat behind. I rush Boy Cat out of the house and as the door closes, Girl Cat can be heard crying inside the apartment. She seems upset that the two of us actually left her behind.

17. I am reminded why it is that I have never taken my cats to see the vet at the same time.