Sea elephants!

I may have mentioned, I went to California? And driving down the coast there, Big Sur, we completely didn't have time to stop at San Simeon but we did find time to stop at the beach below and applaud the elephant seals, simply for existing...




Check out the complete Flickr set here.

Ash Sunday

So I have this theory, and you are not to disabuse me, please, because it pleases me.

I was at the house of shewhomust and durham_rambler, to eat cassoulet and drink wines and celebrate Jean's birthday in the company of friends; and it was all lovely, except that samarcand had to borrow my inhaler on account of feeling wheezy. And I, whose asthma is totally under control, I who carry an inhaler everywhere for old times' sake but barely use it from one month to the next - I have used it half a dozen times today and am constantly tight in the chest, constantly wheezing, I feel like it's doing me no good at all.

And it's been raining, just a little, much of the day; and my theory is that the rain is bringing that damn volcanic ash down with it, and that's what we've been breathing, and it's no wonder that our lungs don't like it. *nods*