Kepler's Uncles - Kepler's Uncles

Balloon Festival

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:37:11 -0700

We went up in a balloon. To see pictures, click here.

Clear Lake from Wayne's

Wed, 7 Sep 2005 20:27:09 -0700

I took this picture while on horseback at the top of one of the hills at Wayne's family's 3,000 acre ranch.

Our 2nd Anniversary

Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:35:24 -0700

Happy Anniversary to us! Many of you witnessed our wedding two years ago in our backyard. The trees you gave us as wedding gifts are very tall now. Where the dance floor was, there is now a cottage garden with fruit trees and wildflowers.

When will we be able to legally wed? Things are looking good in the California courts but bad everywhere else. The Attorney General has appealed the recent ruling that denying marriage licenses based on sex is unconstitutional. The Religious Freedam and Defense of Civil Marriage Act (which would have allowed us to marry legally) was defeated by 1 vote in the California Assembly.

2005 Russian River Rodeo - 18

Mon, 6 Jun 2005 19:41:27 -0700

Jessie took us to the Russian River Rodeo this weekend. Here's some bulldogging. We also saw bull riding, roping, saddle bronc, bareback and barrels.

Fairie Dust

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:37:58 -0700

I won 2nd prize in the Angel Island photo contest. I get $50 coupon towards purcahse of a Tamron lens. I think I'll get the 90mm macro lens. The minimum distance on the 90mm lens is 11 inches, whereas the 180mm is 18 inches. The advantage of the 90mm is that it weighs half as much, so I'll be more likely to have it with me.

I don't know what this is a picture of. I took the picture with a 180mm macro lens. Whatever this is, it is about the size of the end of a pensil eraser. I had no idea it was so beautiful (or even that it was there) until I looked through the lens.

Bo and Robin on Vacation

Sun, 24 Apr 2005 18:37:28 -0700

We spent the first week of April 2005 on a cruise to the Eastern Carribean. It was loads of fun. We got tan and relaxed. We went snorkling 3 times. Bo loves snorkling. We took over 350 pictures, but only added about 40 of them to the website.

New Camera

Mon, 6 Jun 2005 20:05:46 -0700

I'm very excited about my new Digital Rebel XT. This picture is just one example of the kind of photograph you can't take with a point-and-shoot camera. Visit the March 2005 gallery for lots of photos.

Stephen Adly Guirgis "Last Days of Judas Iscariot"

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 14:27:41 -0800

Bo's cousin Stephen has a new play in production in New York. "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" is directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and staged by LAByrinth Theatre Company. Stephen's previous plays, "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train," "In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings," and "Our Lady of 121st Street" have already made him "a playwright to reckon with" (New York TImes).

Robin's garden

Sun, 6 Mar 2005 13:13:51 -0800

We visited Western Hills Nursery Coleman Road in Occidental. Maggie has run the place for 25 years, and she propagates many rare plants. Her garden is a wonder to visit, and she’s happy to spend time with amateurs like us. She has lots of 4” pots, which make things economical.

We discussed our garden with Maggie, and she told us to finish killing kikuyu grass and amending soil before investing in her plants. But we realized that the little space that Robin amended last year, surrounding the small Japanese maple on the NE side of the office, was ready for planting.

Broccoli and Leeks Tobanjan

Sat, 26 Feb 2005 09:37:44 -0800

Tobanjan is a Chinese flavoring that is most commonly used in Japan to make Ma Po Tofu (ground pork in spicy sauce with tofu). You should be able to get it at many Asian stores. It’s made with red pepper, broad bean paste, soy sauce, chili oil, and sake lees.

1 bunch of broccoli
1-2 leeks
2 T tobanjan
1/4 cup rice vinegar

Wash broccoli, cut flowers from stems. Remove tough, woody layer from stems and slice them into bits about 1/2 thick. Chop flowers into similar size. Wash leeks, remove tough upper part, and slice into 1 inch bits.

Robin, Scout and George Bunny Rabbit

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 13:18:51 -0800

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Wed, 9 Feb 2005 10:27:23 -0800

Little Bunny Foo Foo
Hopping through the front yard
Said, "Please take me inside"
And now he lives with us

Out came the dog Scouty and she said,
"Little Bunny Foo Foo
I just want to play with you
I promise not to eat you
but I'd like to lick your head.
I'll let you live in our house
but you can not sleep in our bed."

Little Bunny Foo Foo
Hopping through the office
Eating all the lettuce
and sitting in my lap

Planting Time - Grapes, Kiwi, Blueberry

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:41:26 -0800

Last Sunday we planted table grapes, kiwi, a blueberry (to replace one that had died), artichokes, collards, and leeks. We planted these in our cottage garden (between our office and our well house), which we had covered with cardboard and composted horse manure in the fall. The soil is now delightful to work with. Simply stick the garden fork right through the wet cardboard and turn over beautiful soil.

Today we bought lots of seeds to plant perennials and self-seeding annuals in the cottage garden. We'll start the seeds indoors and put them out in 6 weeks or so. We're also looking forward

Bye Bye Pigs

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:28:34 -0800

On January 12, we said goodbye to this year's pigs. We'll get four big boxes of pork and so will Jessie. We let the pigs get much bigger this year than last time. They were over 200 pounds each.

Because it is rainy season, we had to have the slaughter in the front yard. The ground is too wet to drive a truck into the back. Martin did the butchering again, then took them over to Bud's Meats for cutting, smoking and wrapping.

We got the pink pig on August 29 or thereabouts. We got the black pig a few weeks later. Then Jessie brought over some other pigs, but he sold or traded these within a few weeks. My best guess is that our pigs were about 6 months old when we had them slaughtered.

How the Democrats Can Win

Thu, 6 Jan 2005 09:32:55 -0800

We saw this video last night at the Democracy for America MeetUp. You've got to see it. Buy several copies and give them to your friends.