Up, Up and Away…

We took Ozzie to the Russian River this morning, but the expedition turned out to be a bust. The River rose so much in December when it rained 15 inches in two or three days, that the whole area was completely trashed. Debris was caught in trees high above our heads,. Fallen trees and  brush had been cut away from the trail but it led to a barren and sullen beach around a muddy lagoon. A man fishing there anyway prevented us from throwing sticks not the water for Ozzie,, so we turned back the way we had come. 

We took a side trail into the undergrowth, hoping it would lead to a part of the river were nobody was fishing, but it proved to be creepy. The once sodden brush and logs were covered with green moss. Most of the branches overhanging the path were devoid of leaves and hung with dead grasses and flotsam left high and dry by  the receding  water.. We did eventually find ourselves at the river again, but it was a steep drop down the riverbank to the water, so we made our way back to the car and drove home.

It was a windless, slightly overcast morning, perfect for the balloons that we frequently see floating over the Sonoma Valley. This morning a flotilla of gallons was rising in the still air. I couldn't get a close-up of all of the together with my telephoto lens, so I concentrated on the lowest one. 

It's Super Sunday today,  a name that has come to define an overhyped football playoff…in today's case, Super Bowl XLIX, the Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots. Not being much of a fan, I interest myself in the weird rituals that have evolved over the 49 years this game has been played …the competition for the best commercials, the disgusting traditional foods, the overblown halftime show, the flyover of Air Force planes. But I'm not one to spoil the fun, so we invited our neighbors Cindy and Bruce to watch the festivities.  Cindy and I can entertain ourselves when we get bored with the game.

We all gorged ourselves on crab mousse, chile-cheese nachos, grilled sausages and chicken saté with peanut sauce, beer, cosmos, and wine. Cindy and I were lured into the TV room for the halftime show with Katy Perry.The Patriots have been declared triumphant, and we are all ready for bed.