Camp Tipsy 2017

Doc, Jon, and I just got back from Camp Tipsy. We were up there since Thursday and it was very very hot – but it wasn’t so bad because it was a very dry heat (and also we had a lake to jump in).

Camp Tipsy 2017
“Applause”

 

Camp Tipsy 2017
Doc and Jon at Sunset
Camp Tipsy 2017
“Queen Ladoga – it floats”
Jon swimming to the boat
Jon swimming up to the boat
Camp Tipsy 2017 Killed My Sleeping Pad
It got so hot that my sleeping pad started expanding and started popping all its quilting, and now there’s permanently a huge weird blister on it so it is dead now and I need to buy a new one, but I had this for 10 years now so it is time
Camp Tipsy 2017
There is apparently such a thing as a soft tick, and it looks like this
Camp Tipsy 2017
Fire at sunset

Native Bee Talk

Native bee talk in Marin today
Native bee talk!

Today, Doc and I went to the native bee talk at Heiðrún Meadery, up in West Marin today. It was great, we got to learn a lot about native bees, and then we got to walk around and look at native bees and catch them to look at them (and then release them, of course). Doc even caught a cuckoo bee!

Native bee talk in Marin today
The cuckoo bee that Doc caught

Everybody looked around a lot for bumblebees, because supposedly it is the season for there to be lots of them, but we did not see any bumblebees (surprising, too, because at my office in Marin I see bumblebees all the time). Oh, well. We saw at least 5 other species of native bees, though!

Native bee talk in Marin today
The meadery’s hives for European honeybees (not California native bees, but still fun)

The lecture also coincided with oyster Sunday at the meadery, so we got to have oysters and mead as well.

Native bee talk in Marin today
Doc drinking mead

Mount Diablo

After seeing all the photos of Mount Diablo with snow on it last weekend, Doc and I decided to go on a 12-mile loop starting and ending at the  Mitchell Visitor Center / Parking lot. Well, there is no longer any snow there whatsoever. What a difference a week makes! It was almost hot, even.

Doc near meadow grass on My Diablo

But, at least everything was lush and green from all the rainfall we’ve been getting!

Mt Diablo

We had to do a lot of hustling, because yet again we slept in and got to the trailhead late in the day (12PM) but we made it! And we didn’t even get benighted.