31/365: Chillaxin' Lion Style

31/365: Chillaxin' Lion Style, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Just in case you are thinking you could sprint across the veldt and escape a lion by climbing a tree, you should know that they can climb better than you can. And they are very comfortable hanging out in trees and dropping on unsuspecting prey. On our last day in Africa, we were able to observe these two lionesses hanging out, African style.

30/365: Tanzanian School Visit

30/365: Tanzanian School Visit, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

A magical visit to a Tanzanian school to end our safari. The children were shy until I started taking their pictures and showing them the shots in the viewfinder. That quickly evolved into seeing how many silly faces we could get in one shot.

The story here:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/30/cultural-hits-and-misses/

29/365: Day of the Jackal

29/365: Day of the Jackal, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

One of the surprises of our African safari was seeing jackals up close and personal. I'd always had negative impressions of jackals, but I think I had them mixed up with Hyenas. In reality, they are really cute -- sort of like bushy tailed terriers -- they have cute little yips and they mate for life. I'm a new fan of jackals and I'm sure Oscar and Lucy would welcome one into the pack.

28/365: King of Beasts

28/365: King of Beasts, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

On our safari, we came across a pride of lions who were relaxing and snacking on a large Cape Buffalo kill. This guy was clearly the top cat -- with a harem of 6 lionesses, some cubs and a few juvenile males. They had eaten their fill and were relaxing by the carcass under a tree for a nap. But his guy was prowling around -- not more than 20 yards from where our Land Rover stopped so we could observe them. Mr. King couldn't have been less concerned. The end of his tail had been bitten mostly off, so clearly he was a veteran of combat. But on this day, he was pretty sure no one could touch him.

27/365: Daktari Frank

27/365: Daktari Frank, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Came down with a massive case of Shaka Zulu's Revenge and spent 8 hours in a local clinic being rehydrated with an IV drip. Luckily it was a quite famous clinic run by the inestimable Daktari Frank.

The story here:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/27/daktari/

26/365: Maasai Bonfire

26/365: Maasai Bonfire, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

At one of our safari camps, the Maasai who guard the place made a bonfire for us using traditional methods. Which involve only a stick, some dried grass and elephant dung and the point of a spear.

Frankly, I don't know, at this point, when these pictures were taken. My camera is stamping my pix with a San Francisco date -- which seems to be a day off. Flickr is ignoring that and stamping my pictures as being taken the day they were uploaded. So I'm just punting and guessing that I've got the right picture for the right day for Project365.

25/365: Barack RULES!

25/365: Barack RULES!, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We were hosted for lunch at a designated Cultural Village. This is Tanzania's way to try to get some tourist dollars and economic development to small villages. Villagers had jobs as tour guides as they showed us around their banana plantation and mixed use farms. Then the village women cooked a lunch for us. The tablemats were all celebrating Barack Obama. Which isn't surprising because wherever people see our white faces staring out of the Land Rover, they yell out "Barack Obama" and give us the thumbs up. (Although we did see one curio place with a sign out front that said "Hillary Clinton Shop".) Basically, if Barack wants to run for President of Tanzania, he'll get at least 90% of the vote.

24/365: Angry Elephant

24/365: Angry Elephant, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

This was the largest elephant we saw in a day full of elephants. And, yes, for those of you who are still twelve, he does have a semi-erect penis. For those of you who wonder about such things, it does get bigger and he can use it like a trunk. It's part of the reason he was so mad at us.

The story here:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/24/elephant-encounters/

23/365: Under African Skies

23/365: Under African Skies, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

The African adventure begins:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/23/of-old-soldiers-and-eleph...

22/365: Champagne

22/365: Champagne, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Into our second leg of about a 48 hour flight to Africa. I'm helping my 80 year old mother fulfill her bucket list to go on Safari. I convinced her we should splash out and go First Class/Business Class. My rational was that it would be safer and more comfortable for an octogenarian with two artificial knees. My ulterior motive is that I knew I'd need a lot of alcohol to get my mother through three trips through customs and onto three flights.

The story here: leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/22/queen-of-sheba-packing/

21/365: A Toast!

21/365: A Toast!, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Did I mention I'm taking my 80 year old mother to Africa on safari. Well, it's not a safari like you might think of it. It's a safari suitable for an octogenarian with two artificial knees.

Although the most grueling thing I think we'll encounter are my struggles with getting my mother -- who is a very strong willed character with decided ideas about "Darkest Africa" -- to pack light. No matter. Once the champagne starts flowing in the First Class cabin, all is forgiven.

The story here:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/22/queen-of-sheba-packing/

20/365: Cauliflower

20/365: Cauliflower, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I've been slacking off on my winter planting. But I have had a bumper crop of lettuces -- which in hot Sonoma are best as a winter crop. But one winter crop that I have had success with is cauliflower -- which all the gardening books warn should not be attempted by amateurs. I grow all the colored ones, the orange that has beta carotene and the green like this one. I think they taste much better than white, but it might just be that I cook them the day I pick them and, apparently, cauliflower gets stronger day by day after it's picked.

19/365: Frosty Fern

19/365: Frosty Fern, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

And thus begins the long process of catching up on my Project 365 postings. Yes, I was faithful about taking pictures, even if it was just a happy snap with my iPhone. No, I was out of Internet range for more than a month and didn't get much uploaded. This picture was taken during an unseasonable cold snap in Sonoma. While we can get below freezing temps at night, they don't last long and the sun usually melts whatever frost we have by 8AM. This frost hung around and I quickly snapped it thinking it was a one-of. Little did I know we were going to be plagued with storm after storm coming down from Alaska. Seems frosts are becoming commonplace around here.

18/365: The View from Twin Peaks

18/365: The View from Twin Peaks, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Beautiful but cold day in San Francisco. And that meant great views with no fog. Went up to Twin Peaks to look through the telescopes at Mount Diablo -- tallest peak in the Bay Area.

17/365: Lance on Oprah

17/365: Lance on Oprah, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Okay, this is the lamest photo of the day. But seriously, is anyone doing anything else tonight?

16/365: It's a Terrier World

16/365: It's a Terrier World, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

And we just live in it. No need for dog beds. The dogs will take the comfy couch, thank you.

15/365: New Do, Old Camera

15/365: New Do, Old Camera, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Wanted to do something radically different with my hair, so opted for a very short 'do. I took in a picture of Kris Jenner, so now you might say I'm The Blonde Kardashian.

In the process of photographing my hair, I also got a picture of my camera for the Show Us Your Camera Challenge for the 365 Moments 2013 group. Yup, that's my favorite camera, my nokiN or Nikon D90, if you aren't looking at a mirror image. I should carry this camera with me always because I'm a much better photographer with it. But too often I find myself snapping with a point and shoot or my iPhone -- both of which I find harder to use than the Nikon.

14/365: Hello Kitty

14/365: Hello Kitty, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

As I've chronicled, my four year old goddaughter -- despite being a self-professed princess -- is NOT tolerating papparazzi these days. But she realizes the Media is swarming and she's developing creative ways to avoid the camera.

By the way, she tells me her title is Princes Amelia May (daughter of Princess Mommy). You may bow now.

13/365: NOOOO! Go Back!

13/365: NOOOO! Go Back!, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

About a month ago, when my asparagus plants turned brown, I cut them down, mulched them and put them to bed until spring. But in spite of our extended cold snap, these silly little guys are poking their heads up. Go back to bed, you guys. Wait for Spring.

12/365: Trimmed and Ready for Spring

12/365: Trimmed and Ready for Spring, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We divide our time between San Francisco and Sonoma where we have a small vineyard that we jokingly calling Two Terrier Vineyards. There are only two acres under cultivation, but there's always something to do. Here a crew has just been in to cut back the dormant vines since all grapes come from new canes. I wouldn't expect bud break for at least two more months, certainly if our recent spate of extremely cold weather continues. In the meantime, the vines are building up their root systems and getting themselves ready for spring.

11/365: Take That Water!

11/365: Take That Water!, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We have a little man-made pond in Sonoma that has become a habitat for endangered Western Pond Turtles and the increasingly threatened Western Chorus Frogs. That despite the fact that Oscar loves to stand on a rock in the middle of the pond, bite at the water and bark and bark and bark and bark. I guess the turtles and frogs have figured out that he's harmless. At least if you aren't water.

10/365: Feets Don't Fail Me Now

10/365: Feets Don't Fail Me Now, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

After starting my resolutions early in December, I was doing well on my running program. Then came Christmas and a Mexico trip and I completely fell off the exercise wagon. I finally tied my shoes on nearly 20 days after I last ran. AND did a personal best time -- running faster than I had in years. And I felt great doing it. Hopefully, I'll keep it up now. These are my feet relaxing at Crissy Field with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge after carrying me 5 miles.

9/365: I See You!

9/365: I See You!, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

While we were in Cabo for over a week, our little Fox Terriers stayed in Sonoma with a babysitter. They had a good time, but they seem to have missed us. Even when he's sleeping next to me on the bed, when I move, Oscar immediately opens one eye to make sure I'm not sneaking off somewhere again.

8/365: Not Martha's Tree

8/365: Not Martha's Tree, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Time to take down the tree. And reflect on the fact that we don't decorate like Martha Stewart would. Over the years we've amassed a collection of eccentric one-of-a-kind ornaments like things we've picked up on our travels, hand made ornaments people have given us and various weird finds. A perfect example is this airline sized bottle of gin that someone made into an ornament for us. Again, it's not the way Martha would do it, but we love our tree.

7/365: Glass Slippers

7/365: Glass Slippers, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

My Goddaughter, Amelia May, turned Four today. But she has entered a phase where NO PAPARAZZI WILL BE TOLERATED. That's because Amelia May has become a Princess and she has informed me that "You can't take pictures of Princesses". (However, she did agree to document that glass slippers are, indeed, worn by Princesses.)

She also outlined these important Princess Rules:

1. A Princess doesn't scream.

2. A Princess doesn't fight.

3. A Princess doesn't call firemen.

4. A Princess doesn't put cheese in her pockets.

The story here: leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/08/the-princess-diaries-amel...

6/365: Revenge Through Photography

6/365: Revenge Through Photography, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Just a warning: if you shove in front of a whole line of people at Starbucks, a snarky Englishman will give you nicknames like "Shovey McShoverton" or "Shovey Trollope" and his blogging wife will take your picture and post it on Flickr.

5/365: International Celebrity

5/365: International Celebrity, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

As we endured delay after delay and finally found out our flight home was cancelled, at least we had a celebrity sighting to cheer us. SANTA!!!!!!! Clearly enjoying a vacation in Cabo San Lucas after a tough holiday season.

The story here.

4/365: Water Mimes

4/365: Water Mimes, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

This is Alison and Sarah, our friends' kids whom we've known all their lives. They are in their twenties now and were part of our group on the Cabo San Lucas vacation. They were horsing around in the pool under a little decorative waterfall trying to get out of the almost invisible water box.

Usually I find Mimes quite creepy, but not in this case.

3/365: Cabo Sunset

3/365: Cabo Sunset, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Okay, it had to be done. Actually we tried to find a bit of authentic Mexico in Los Cabos. It's long gone.

More about those adventures here:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/01/03/searching-for-mexico-in-g...

2/365: Bougainvillea in the Sky with Raindrops

2/365: Bougainvillea in the Sky with Raindrops, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I love flowers and these looked particularly appealing right after a brief and light rain came through. I probably should have zoomed in more on the raindrops, but I liked the wrought iron fencing that was "holding back" the sea.

1/365: And the Deep Inner Meaning Is...

01012013: And the Deep Inner Meaning Is..., a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I've been obsessing about my first picture of the year -- given that it will be the one posted to various Project 365 groups. I just knew everyone else would take arty, beautiful, meaningful pictures. I've been running around this vacation villa in Cabo trying out various shots. Finally my friend, Keith, sick of my obsessing, picked up a dead moth and a spent top from a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, slapped them on a windowsill and said, "There's your picture." So here it is. What does it mean? The Widow Cliquot, a dead moth, the grey expanse of the Pacific. Discuss. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!