Tobi's Chickens...

...in their very own tent in the living room. Full disclosure...I took this picture last night when we were at Dan and Tobi's for dinner. Tobi did admit that it was about time for them to go outside to live in the chicken coop, but the weather has been abysmally cold and wintry so she (and all the rest of us) wait in anticipation of an improvement. When the fog rolls in...and for the last couple of weeks it has never really rolled out...they are in the clouds which we could see drifting by as we walked out to our car at the end of the evening.

When we got home, we found Spike sitting on the front porch. Horrified that he was out, and grateful that he had the good sense to wait on the porch for us to return, we discovered that John had left a little used gate open. It's good to know that he's unlikely to do a runner, and that we won't have to test it again. 

The lupins, our version of bluebells, are  usually scattered in profusion across the fields, but this year, the grass is turning brown and I never saw any lupins. We had a lot of rain this year resulting in  grasses that are waist high, probably covering any wildflowers that may have been hiding in them. Now the wildflowers are finished and the grasses are turning brown...the approved word is probably 'golden'...and will have to be cut, probably more than once, before fire season begins. That might be delayed by the amount of rain and damp fog we have had had to call spring. But the hot weather will come and we're being warned to start cutting the grasses now. 

Dana and Jim and Peter went to Berkeley today for the penultimate celebration for Jim's birthday. I recommended a restaurant in our old neighborhood, the Elmwood (the neighborhood, not the restaurant). I couldn't remember the name of it but knew exactly where it is, so they figured out what it was called and have a reservation there for dinner. I confess that I'm slightly envious and hope they like it. Blake is spending the day with us.

We made an exciting discovery this morning...a French boulangerie/bakery quite nearby. Somebody recommended it and we never got around to checking it out, but in search of an elegant dessert for Jim's ultimate birthday celebration tomorrow, which we are cooking, we went there this morning. I should have taken a picture of the lovely little tarts and pastries, flaky croissants and wonderful freshly baked bread, but I was too busy making choices. We didn't stay to try the coffee but I'm sure we will be back.

The rest of the day has passed pleasantly  enough. The grey skies and chilly wind kept us inside reading the Sunday paper, drinking coffee, entertaining the dogs and eating French pastries....