First Blush

Sunrise 6:16: Scooped by my spouse - a new blog

2009-08-05T08:40:00.002-07:00

At the suggestion of a number of people - and for a number of reasons both practical and therapeutic, the female Dawn Jogger has morped into one half of the Dual Gs (gimpy and grumpy) and has started a new blog, Gimpy and Grumpy. She was still working on some of the rough edges and not quite 'ready for prime time' when she was outed by her spouse yesterday over at gulker.com. She's thinking in terms of keeping it up until one or the other of them stops being gimpy, grumpy or both

Sunset 8:25 pm: In search of one last blush

2009-07-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

It was something the female Dawn Jogger (now one-half of the Two Gimps) took for granted, she thought today, on the evening before she goes under the knife to repair all-things-gone-wrong with her Achilles tendon (but thankfully not a dreaded rupture).

For over 25 years, she's risen at dawn and jogged. Never very fast (8.5 minutes a mile may have been her best and that is oh-so-slow) and never very far (13 miles the longest at a jogging pace but one walk that ended at mile 20). It was the predictability that soothed the soul. She recalls only one long stretch that kept her on the sidelines - a bout of plantar fascitis that began when the Giants played their first World Series game since 1989 (that would be 2002) and extended to after Valentines Day the following year. It seemed like a long time - but it ended.

Earlier this year something more long-lasting occurred. She started feeling a pinch of pain on the right side of her left foot sometime in March. It was a morning "gotcha" that disappeared as she jogged. But it got worse. It started cropping up - and enduring - at anytime during her morning outing. She thought, "If it's still there when I get back from France, I'll do something about it." And yep, it was still there.

So she made an appointment with the "go-to-guy" sports podiatrist. Diagnosis: "Severe tendon deterioration and partial tear." Explorations into alternatives to surgery proved elusive. So tomorrow is the day.

Maybe the biggest surprise to the female DJ is that she's actually survived and adjusted to what she still refers to as the "dreaded elliptical." It's not as awful as she imagined but, at the same time, she thinks she discovered listening to books on tape "in the nick of time." The stories mask the boredom of the workout task.

There is no doubt that, in her mind, it's still "bye-bye gym" in an instant and back out in the fresh air that's dawn.

So what to do about a blog devoted to two Dawn Joggers that ran at dawn, reduced to one Dawn Jogger (following the male DJ's glioma diagnosis in October 2006), reduced to zero?

A more community-minded blog, In Menlo, has proved to be a diversion - and one with intriguing possibilities. But it's observational in even a more detached way than the female DJ's musings. Might something more personal emerge? Or more esoteric?

Future unknown. But the end of First Blush. If only the sun had managed a spectacular sunset this evening...

Sunrise 6:02: Grace is a water baby

2009-07-19T20:16:00.001-07:00

Nothing is a better cheer up for the Two Gimps than a visit by 20-month-old granddaughter Grace, who continues to show her proclivity for all things water, much as her father did. (The female Gimp isn't sure whether she loved the water from birth or quickly learned to love it as her mother was bound and determined not to pass on the fear of water she took into adulthood.) The payoff for Grace's ride over from the East Bay today was a new kiddie pool set up in the Gimp's backyard. Even Dad throwing a bucket of cold water on her didn't dampen her enthusiasm...

Sunrise 6:02: Going Wyeth again

2009-07-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

She's really not that despondent, but the female half of the Two Gimps, found herself in one of those Wyeth moments again, as she snapped the other Gimp just as he finished climbing to the top of the small knoll at Baylands this morning. They did a good loop and admired the many white pelicans who'd taken up residence since they were last there. This will probably be their last walk together for a while, as the female TG is having surgery on her Achilles tendon on Friday to 'clean it up' and repair a tear. One of the earlier Wyeth moments happened at Baylands while the other was on the Coast...

Sunrise 5:57: Glimpse of the dawn

2009-07-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

She almost felt like a Dawn Jogger again when she awoke early this morning and looked out her window to see the Bay Bridge framed by the early morning sunlight. The Two Gimps hotel room overlooks the Bay and they're in agreement that it's just fun to sit and watch - the people below as the City comes alive, the cargo ships headed out to sea, the Alameda/Oakland ferry making its way back and forth. While they were eating breakfast a car caught fire on Bridge making for big bellowing clouds of black smoke. Hopefully the male DJ will post it - and a fabulous shot of a rainbow behind the Giants scoreboard last night - later today. Now it's on to the Richard Avedon exhibit...

Sunrise 5:57: Return to a favorite walk

2009-07-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

The Two Gimps (formerly known as the Dawn Joggers) set off this morning for a pick-me-up break in the City that started with one of their very favorite walks along the Embarcadero from Mission Street to the ballpark. The male TG, discouraged by a loss of mobility recounted discussed in a blog post, felt pleased at the pace he kept up; the female TG's tendon felt as good as it has in months. The clouds were every changing; Perry's is now opened so one can get a decent Ramos Fizz; the 7th floor deck near the hotel room overlooks the Bay and was a great place for a little sunbathing. All in all a nice day along the waterfront. Now if the Giants can win after the thrill of the last night's no hitter...

Sunrise 5:53: Walking the parade route

2009-07-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers decided to combine some walking exercise, traveling from downtown Menlo to Burgess Park and back, with their 4th of July assignment to cover the community activities for the new hyperlocal blog, InMenlo, launched a couple of weeks back. As the female DJ has noted in previous 4th of July posts, this holiday was once a jammed packed sequence of dawn-to-darkness events when their son John was growing up in South Pasadena, anchored by a multi-block party at Eddy Park just down the street from their home. But they've been less community focused since arriving in Menlo 20 years ago, not having young children. So it was good to get in the local swing of things, viewing and then walking along with the parade of youngsters and dogs (and a couple of sheep and goats!) all decorated in patriotic colors down Santa Cruz Avenue and watching the kids (not the goats) take advantage of the various inflatable carnival rides and activities that had been set up at the park. Yes, that's the male DJ in photo vest and blue cap on backwards, photog like, in the right corner of the photo...

Sunrise 5:49: In need of a botanist

2009-06-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

With challenges in the gimpiness department, the Dawn Joggers headed out this morning nevertheless on a walk to the San Mateo bike bridge and back. (The female DJ just couldn't take another day on the elliptical but she's not going to be [too] foolish.) It was already warm when they came upon some plant that appeared to have been dropped from outer space. It had low to the ground large green foliage and blooms three or four feet long that featured yellow flowers and, for lack of better words, downy-like fur. They'd never seen anything like it...

Sunrise 5:48: Grace's Giant debut

2009-06-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Father's Day festivities included a visit from Grace, who found one of the female DJ's many Giants ball caps and made her fan debut under the glowing gaze of proud Papa. The gathered group shared a delicious barbecue meal overseen by the man of honor, the male DJ. If the female DJ was still a dawn jogger, she'd be noting that the sun rose a minute later today than yesterday...

Sunrise 5:47: Saturday morning takes a different turn

2009-06-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

For a long time after the male DJ was diagnosed, Saturday morning was a source of pain for the DJs. This had been the time for them to share a long run together, and in the first year, the female DJ had to set out on her own. Then sometime last year after the male DJ increased his walking mileage, they did a successful adaption of sharing outdoor time on Saturday. They'd go to the same place and the female DJ would jog while the male DJ would walk, and they'd top it off with breakfast out. The "bad foot" has now interfered with this satisfying arranged. The female DJ headed out for another boring session on the elliptical because she can't walk, while the male DJ set out on foot for the two mile walk to the shopping center to buy provisions for the Father's Day barbecue to be held later this afternoon (given some conflicts tomorrow). The female DJ picked him up and they did share a good brunch together...

Sunrise 5:47: Drive by shooting - #6

2009-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Pure and unadulterated envy. That's what the female Dawn Jogger felt when she stopped at the gate to the Big Dish area this morning and encountered a runner on her way up. But it was off the Y and the end of this silly drive by series. Maybe her ankle feels the teeniest, tiniest better, but not much...

Sunrise 5:47: Drive by shooting - #5

2009-06-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

When the radio alarm went off this morning, the female Dawn Jogger heard that temperatures were can to warm up today and for the next few days. So it wasn't surprising to encounter a cloudless sky when she stopped at the gate to the Big Dish area. The result was a long shadow. Almost the end of this silly series but a new venture begins...

Sunrise 5:47: Drive by shooting - #4

2009-06-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today it was all about the clouds - again. But still too late for dawn...

Sunrise 5:47: Drive by shooting - #3

2009-06-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

The early morning sky, while not cloud free, was clearer than it's been over the past week, when the weather has been unseasonably cool (although when asked every local remembers just how cool June can be). This morning the female DJ liked the pinkness of the clouds in juxtaposition to the golden hillsides. The shot is looking south, not west...

Sunrise 5:47: Drive by shooting - #2

2009-06-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger was about three hours earlier today than when she took a similar shot at the edge of the Big Dish area on Saturday - but still too late for actual sunrise, which had occurred about 30 minutes earlier. And this morning she really was behind the fence looking in - whoever was responsible for unlocking the gate into the area hadn't done so. Just down the road, a bunch of walkers/runners were waiting outside the gate near Stanford Avenue...

Sunrise 5:47: Sunday morning surprise

2009-06-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers were eating breakfast this morning when they saw a car drive by very, very slowly with the passenger looking intently at their house. The reason for the interest became apparent when they got a knock on the front door a few minutes later. The couple explained that the woman - Paula Romie (maiden name) - had lived in the house in the late 50s (1956-1961 to be exact). She now lived in Southern California but was north with her husband for their son's graduation from UC Santa Cruz. She was particularly interested in seeing the grove of Redwood and cedar trees her father had planted on the corner of the lot. The DJs had understood that they had bought their house from the original owners (the DePuys) so were surprised when Paula told them that it was her family who had bought from the original owners (the Hales). Stick around on a Sunday morning and get surprised...

Sunrise 5:47: Looking longingly over the fence

2009-06-13T18:25:00.001-07:00

Just to add to the torture of not jogging at sunrise, the female Dawn Jogger has to drive by the entrance to the Big Dish every day on her way to the gym for her appointment with the elliptical machine - but from the "wrong" side of the fence. The next week will feature the longest hours of daylight of the year, so she's decided to do a little experiment and shoot the same scene when she passes by. Today's shot was taken three hours after sunrise, no need to get up and out on a Saturday. She misses being outdoors and seeing the textures of earth and sky...

Sunrise 5:47: Drive by shooting

2009-06-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger is still pondering the fate of First Blush, a blog about jogging at dawn when the jogging part is off the table, even if rising at dawn is not. Maybe time for new direction, new focus. Meanwhile the time soon after sunrise when she travels to and from the local Y presents the opportunity for an occasional drive by shooting, such snapping a photo of the construction ramp up at Oak Knoll School now that the kids are home for the summer. The scaffolding for the new multipurpose room went up while the DJs were in Ohio. The crew this morning was busy putting up murals to shield the construction site. Nothing stays the same...

Sunrise 5:52: Farewell to Ohio

2009-06-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers were treated to near perfect late spring weekend in Ohio - with temperatures warm enough for shirt sleeves but without much humidity - and lots of great catch up visiting with classmates, friends and faculty. (The male DJ promises a picture page.) The sunset was particularly pretty on Saturday night from the Memorial Garden (which was rimmed with peonies at their peak) on the Western Reserve Academy campus. Back to the realities of more regular activities now...

Sunrise 5:53: Morning in Hudson

2009-06-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger has been coming to Hudson, Ohio, to attend the male DJ's reunions at Western Reserve Academy every five years for their entire married life. That's given her a chance not only to get to know his classmates but also the charming town of Hudson, a somewhat New England looking place, thanks to its history as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. At her first reunion 25 years ago, she discovered what is one of her favorite boutiques anywhere in the world, the Grey Colt. She later learned that the store was originally co-owned by the couple who had been so influential in the male DJ's life while he has at Reserve, Pris and Ash Graham. (This weekend they're staying in town with daughter, Timmie.) After a workout at the WRA gym, it was time for the female DJ to make her pilgrimage to the Grey Colt, where she's always found something unique and fun to buy, as she did today. It was also an opportunity to catch up with current owner Katie Coulton (daughter of original co-owners Patty and Stewart Coulton) and do some reminiscing about what a grand lady Pris was - and how much she is missed. The year the Grey Colt celebrates it 50th anniversary in business...

Sunrise 5:54: Back to Western Reserve

2009-06-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers are in Hudson, OH, to attend the male DJ's reunion at Western Reserve Academy. They spent a fun evening catching up with friends and classmates (and all the gossip that small town/small school brings)last night. This morning the male DJ met with school art master Alan Doe who is being good enough to facilitate a retrospective of the male DJs' photographs from the 80s in the Moos Galley. As a teacher Bill Moos had a significant impact on the male DJ...

Sunrise 5:48: Grounded - indefinitely

2009-06-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

The clouds were pretty about a half hour after sunrise this morning. But most of the female Dawn Jogger's view was through the car windshield on the drive to the Page Mill Y for her elliptical workout. It was so hard for her to start running again at dawn without the male DJ after his diagnosis almost three years ago. It's just as hard to be forced to give it up herself. She thought about this especially today, as Wednesdays are the day of her usual mid-week Dish run. All she could do was stop the car at the gate and snap a quick photo. And wish she was there...

Sunrise 5:49: Gym rats

2009-06-01T08:43:00.001-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger remains firm that experiencing the first blush of dawn is just not the same inside the walls of gym (although she wouldn't be complaining as much if this was during those months she ran in the dark). But she headed off first thing with the male DJ soon after sunrise this morning nevertheless. Their positions were not unlike their jogging patterns from years past - the male DJ always in front, now on the treadmill while she uses an elliptical machine. No, there won't be photo after photo of one of the other of them at the Y, way too boring...

Sunrise 5:49: Quiet Otters this year

2009-05-31T10:04:00.001-07:00

The Dawn Joggers have longer known what the first Sunday in June (but early this year) brings - blaring wake up music around 7:30, followed by an hour of a woman screaming through a bull horn to cheer on participants of the annual Oak Knoll School Otter Run. They were there once - parents of a child 10 or under - and know well how grade school activities can take over a neighborhood. But they're patience had been sorely tried a few years back when some enthusiastic organizers had imprinted the finish line instructions, using permanent paint not chalk, right in front of their house. They went to bed last night bracing themselves for the onslaught, so they were surprised somewhat at the silence this morning - maybe, the female DJ suggested, the run was starting later this year. They were even more surprised when they made their way out to the kitchen and saw the first of the 5K participants blaze by on the first of their two loops. And yes, there was someone cheering them on, but she'd thankfully left the bull horn in mothballs. Now they're thinking, what a great community event...

Sunrise 5:50: Banished indoors - but together

2009-05-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

The male Dawn Jogger was all set this morning for a nice three to four mile walk like he had been enjoying near daily in Ameugny. But, with the female DJ currently outdoing him in the 'gimpy factor,' they headed off to the Page Mill Y instead, at least doing their workouts together. The reason the female likes running at dawn so much is that it's outside - working out inside has just never made sense to her. But hungry for any significant exercise, the elliptical trainer filled the gap - a cardio workout without significant weight bearing. She's is a holding pattern on rehabbing the injury until she see the doctor on Tuesday...

Sunrise 5:50: Sign that says it all

2009-05-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger decided to a try a little walk this morning going down one side of the creek and back the other side through Oak Creek apartments. Along the way she spied a bumper sticker proclaiming "Cancers Sucks." What can she say...

Sunrise 5:52: Day at Fairyland with Grace

2009-05-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Given that the female Dawn Jogger remains gimpy, it's a bit of an overstatement to say that she had a spring in her step this morning as she headed over to Oakland for a delayed Mother's Day celebration with Grace, Julie and John. It was warm enough that they decided to visit Fairyland, a place that didn't have quite the prominence of the Academy of Sciences in the female DJ's childhood - the visits were much less frequent - but remains a fond memory nevertheless. (And she is, in retrospect, much appreciative of any of her older cousins who accompanied her visits decades ago.) Fairyland today, after a great restoration effort, was actually sweeter than she remembered and Grace loved it - not so much this first time for the nursery rhyme-themed exhibits like the Old Woman in a Shoe - but for all the fun things to do, like riding the little train, crawling through tiny tunnels, sliding down age-appropriate slides and trying to catch bubbles. On her way home from Oakland, she picked up the male DJ, who isn't any happier about being home than she was...

Sunrise 5:53: Looking and listening in Menlo Park

2009-05-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

After listening via Skype to the male Dawn Jogger rave about his closing sessions with the Taize brothers - one on his favorite topic of science and faith - the female DJ took off for a walk to breakfast on a brisk May morning (the fog bank over the western hills was very heavy). Her goal was to listen to some recordings on her iPod while remaining aware of the sights around her, seeking the rewards of an observant eye. Lumio couldn't quite capture the eccentricity and variety of one front yard that was simultaneously alive with poppies, roses and a mini vineyard. It was all packed in quite compactly...

Sunrise 5:54: Scenes in the neighborhood

2009-05-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger has been battling a cranky foot but she got up and out for a walk around the neighborhood this morning. She took more photos of all the roses in bloom but also spotted an amusing pole decked out in Cal colors and a cat who was checking out the now debris-strewn lot where once its neighbor's house stood. Starting to see a few more "sold" signs around time, finally...

Sunrise 5:56: Checking out the neighborhood

2009-05-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger did the Menlo loop today, checking out what's new in the neighborhood. Houses remain on the market and gardens are in bloom. The recent heat waves seem to have made the roses happy - they're blooms are plentiful. She really misses the early morning walks to Taize...

Sunrise 5:57: What a surprise - ducklings!

2009-05-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger continues to wake up before sunrise, so got up thinking she'd see the dawn (at this time of the year, it's usually has happened before she heads out). There was one pretty band of light spotted between the first and second fairway of the golf course. But the big surprise of the morning was finding ducklings in the one tiny pond of water that's left of what sometimes is Lake Lagunita. She didn't think there would be any broods this year due to the low water levels. Know she'll worry about the water drying up before they're old enough to fly...

Sunrise 5:57: Back on home turf

2009-05-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger noticed that the hills were no longer green on her way home from the airport yestesday, so she wasn't surprised at the golden color of the grass surrounding the Big Dish this morning, where she jogged shortly after dawn. (She was thrilled to have slept to 5:30, given the time change!) The mid-Peninsula is in middle of another heat wave, and it was surprisingly warm, given the hour, on top of the Dish. She's thinking it was smart to get up and out early...

Sunrire 6:06: Last look at Taize

2009-05-16T19:02:00.001-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger wasn't planning on running this morning, what with the early drive down to Lyon to catch her flight home. But she woke up and thought, let's give the countryside one last look. So she headed toward Taize, down through the actual village and then back up the main road past the Church of the Reconciliation just in time to capture a splash of sunlight behind one of the spires. It was actually jarring to her all of the Americans on her flight home...

Sunrise 6:08: Charolais in the Burgundy countryside

2009-05-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

It was raining when the Dawn Joggers woke up this morning but with ample weather gear, they set out anyway on their pre-Taize service walk, shortened a bit due to the inclement conditions (they admit). The female DJ snapped some photos of their neighbors (anyone within a three mile radius) who are mainly Charolais cattle. By the afternoon, the rain had stopped and they set out again, just to keep their mileage up. That's when the female DJ took the photo that says (to her anyway) "this is where I've been living the past two weeks and this is where I'd like to stay." The reality is she gets on the airplane tomorrow morning...

Sunrise 6:09: Just in time for the bells

2009-05-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

It was raining fairly hard when the Dawn Joggers woke up around sunrise this morning. But, as in the American Midwest, just wait ten minutes. By the time they'd dressed and we're headed out on the "extra long route" to morning services at Taize, it had stopped and the sun was dramatically poking through - at least in two places. Living on a ridge top, they can often see the weather roll in from the west and move out to the east. But it is so localized that it can be pouring where they are yet they can see a roaring fire - well tended by a local farmer - in the not so far distance. This morning the weather held firm and the Taize bells chimed as they walked under them. Two brothers will be visiting this evening for supper...

Sunrise 6:10: Fog creeps up the hillside

2009-05-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Many mornings the female Dawn Jogger has awakened to see fog in the valleys to the east and west of the two or so mile ridge that houses the side by side villages of Taize and Ameungy. This morning, though, it was thick enough at dawn to have crept up the hillside.
The female DJ chose to extend her route a bit (anything to work off the fromage!) with an extra loop at a jogging pace while the male DJ headed off to do the western loop, disappearing into the mist. Visibility was only 50 yards or so - better for the close up work of taking photos of the great spider webs woven into the hedge rows. The sun was trying hard to poke through as they headed up the hillside to Taize...

Sunrise 6:12: Other dawn companions

2009-05-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

When the residents of the Abbaye des Locos rose very early this morning to bid one member "adieu," they all noticed that the cars looked like it had rained mud - a puzzling development as no one heard hard rain overnight and the cars are parked on grass, so splattering is unlikely. But whatever happened, the Dawn Joggers noticed it had brought out every slug in the countryside (they're tiny here, not like California banana slugs) and quite a few very prettily marked snails. They were forced to watch their step on the three plus mile loop walk to Taize (the second of their dawn outings together). The proximity of the snails to their very good local restaurant down the hill, which serves them on the menu, has the female DJ a bit uneasy...

Sunrise 6:12: Companion at dawn

2009-05-11T06:03:00.001-07:00

The Dawn Jogger's will celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary later this week. On most mornings for the first 25 years they jogged together at dawn. That lovely ritual - valued by them both - ended in the fall of 2006 when the male DJ was diagnosed with glioma. The female DJ learned to run solo, the dawn scenes still a marvel but never quite as pretty when studied alone. This morning, they once again shared that long-time ritual, rising shortly after dawn and setting out to walk (the pace is not important) the Ameungy loop together (with a 45 minute stop for the 8:15 Taize service). There's about 15 hours of daylight in southern Burgundy at this time of year...

Sunrise 6:14: Les temps changeants

2009-05-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Deciding to get a jump on the day - and with Sunday services not starting until 10:00 - the female Dawn Jogger came close to fulfilling her name, doing her four plus mile loop about an hour after dawn. By her newly struck weather indicator - fog in the valleys on either side of their hillside village of Ameugny equaled sunny skies to follow - it looked like it was going to be a glorious day. But by the time the group from the Abbaye des Locos left the service at Taize, it was clouding over and by the time the DJs headed out to lunch it was misting followed by a light but steady rain. The way the weather changes here, the sun may emerge just in time for une coupe de champagne from their terrace...

Sunrise 6:15: Light and shadows in the village

2009-05-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers headed out early this morning to the weekly market in nearby Cluny, hoping to avoid the crowds they encountered last weekend. It gave them more time to browse the stalls and pick out the ingredients for what the male DJ is cooking tonight (poulet nicoise). They came back and did their circuit around Ameungy, with the female DJ extending her mileage a bit by coming back through Taize, where a new group of young people have gathered (although not in the numbers seen last weekend). Just a few doors down from the house where they're staying is a large property (marked "prive") with a tower that was casting interesting light across a double door, captured in photo by the male DJ. There's a series of Ameugny photos linked from the male DJ's blog...

Sunrise 6:16: Morning gathering at Taize

2009-05-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers have fallen into a pleasant rhythm here that usually starts (unless the female DJ has gone for a very early morning jog) with the slightly more than 1/2 mile walk to the 8:15 service at Taize. Unlike the weekends, when the throngs of young people are present, the weekday services - at least at this time of year - are far less crowded.
(Cleverly, the brothers have built their church so that it expands - or contracts - with the day's congregation. After the service, there is the equally pleasant walk back followed by breakfast at the house. This morning [l to r], David, Simone and Chris poised for a photo...

Sunrise 6:18: Walk through forest and field

2009-05-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

It's a long time since from dawn, in fact the Dawn Joggers have just been watching a nighttime thunderstorm from the porch of the house they're staying at in Ameungy. But earlier today, they enjoyed a four mile walk across the varied terrain of southern Burgundy - vines, meadows, and forest starting and ending in Chapaize, yet another pretty little village. And this village also featured a good place to have lunch (Restaurant St. Martin) at the end of their jaunt...

Sunrise 6:20: From dawn to dusk in Ameugny

2009-05-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

It was one of those days for the Dawn Joggers. Started out on a much less frosty morning than yesterday, and the female Dawn Jogger took advantage of the route that the male DJ had shown her yesterday - very backroads - to take a jog around Ameugny, a village that is bigger in circumference than realized at first inspection. Then after a day's travels about, including a great lunch at Maison Doucet in Charolles, it was back to the same route, this time walked with the male DJ. Taize was glowing the early evening sunlight...

Sunrise 6:21: Purple against the grey skies

2009-05-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

A heavy overcast and cooler temperatures greeted the Dawn Joggers this morning, enough so that the female DJ wished she'd put on gloves to walk to the morning Taize service. The lack of sunshine meant the yellow fields glimmered less but didn't detract from the purple of lilac and iris that adorn many of the village houses in Ameugny. Purple sits well against grey skies, the female DJ thinks...

Sunrise 6:22: Charolais everywhere you look

2009-05-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

As evident from these postings, the area around Cluny and Cormatin, France - which the Dawn Jogger's village of Ameugny is between - is teaming with Charolais cattle, not surprisingly as the breed originated just to the southeast. And while the female Dawn Jogger does take other photos, the females with calves at their side, just personify springtime in this part of Burgundy, along with the fields ablaze with yellow wildflowers. Today the DJs walked around the medieval village St-Gengoux-le-National and its surrounding farms (after the morning service at Taize). And the cattle were, once again, perfectly poising...

Sunrise 6:24: Spectacular walk in the countryside

2009-05-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers headed out this morning on what was supposed to be a four-mile loop max. They both studied the Randonnee map at their departure point, which was just a short distance from the house where they are staying in Ameugny. Sitting on the house porch, they looked out across a valley to another ridge of hills - some planted with rapeseed - and the route appeared to take them down into the valley a bit before looping back through Taize. The route was newly marked, so how could they go wrong? Well they reached the other side of the valley and given that there was no sign of looping back, they retraced their route. They figured that they'd walked six miles, the longest distance the male DJ had traversed in 2 1/2 years, so a notable achievement. (Not to mention the fact that it was over uneven ground on up and down terrain.) All in all, a spectacular walk in the countryside on a very pretty spring day...

Sunrise 6:25: Out and about in Southern Burgundy

2009-05-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers started their morning at the weekly market in Cluny - much to the delight of the male DJ who made stops at multiple produce, cheese, and poultry vendors for meals later in the week. This delayed their walking until their afternoon (hence not quite at "first blush"). The started with a walk around the grounds of Chateau Cormatin, where the female DJ spotted a young draft horse of unknown breed and gender at the edge of the property (no, those buildings aren't the chateau). Later, they did another loop around Ameungy/Taize. Of note: people are everywhere this holiday weekend, prompting one to wonder how hard the recession has hit France...

Sunrise 6:27: It's springtime in southern Burgundy

2009-05-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger woke up before sunrise this morning, by her jet-lagged body clock about the time she would be going to bed if she was in California. Rather than try to go back to sleep, she decided to get up and take a jog around the neighborhood. There's a good four or so mile loop from the house in Ameungy (direction Cormatin), then back along the Voie Verte toward Cluny, climbing the hill to pass by Taize before returning to the house. Everywhere she looked something was in bloom, wildflowers in the fields, irises along the country roads. Many of the Charolais (who outnumber humans as neighbors) have fairly young calves by their sides. It is France in its springtime splendor. She was back in time to attend the 8:15 Taize service with Chris and David. OK, so she's going to crash this afternoon...

Sunrise 6:15: Snapping the moment

2009-04-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Joggers sees rabbits - actually usually desert hares - a couple of times a week. She suspects a den near the golf course trail she uses to get over to Lake Lagunita. They just aren't the posing type and run away quickly. But this morning she came upon a whole group of rabbits eating their breakfast on the Alpine side of Big Dish. The were just far enough away to not be bothered by her so she strained the limits of Lumio the camera and took a picture. The result was a recording of the moment, not a real photograph. Later, in a field adjacent to the golf course, a Blue Heron did sort of pose. It was a good morning outing before taking to the skies later today...

Sunrise 6:17: On the move

2009-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

The world seemed on the move to the female Dawn Jogger this morning. Lots of ducks flying in to the lake (such as it is this year). More than the usual number of joggers making their way around the lake's perimeter. There was even a spring version of last fall's prayer guy, although seated in a different place and facing not quite east. When she hit the roadway between the practice golf course and the paddocks, she stumbled upon a good size palm, presumably being transported to a new home on campus. Tomorrow the DJs will be on the move...

Sunrise 6:18: Five miles of unexceptional

2009-04-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger feels like those souvenir t-shirts that say "My grandparents went to New York and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." Her five mile run across the Stanford campus was like that this morning. Gray skies so no pretty sunrise. Not a student in sight (of course). No activity. No interesting leftovers from "Admit Weekend." Had to settle for a mystery woman photographed who knows when or where. Some place on campus, just before or during WWII...

Sunrise 6:20: Chris walks the Dish!

2009-04-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Like last Saturday, another milestone was reached today by the Dawn Joggers. After an absence of close 2 1/2 years, they walked the Dish together, starting from the gate near Junipero Serra and Campus Drive East. The female DJ thinks the loop is somewhere around 2 1/2 miles, but it's not so much the distance as the numerous steep ups and downs. The male DJ (shown taking a photo of the female DJ) feels very accomplished. "This was a big deal to me," he said...

Sunrise 6:22: Construction progress at Oak Knoll

2009-04-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Menlo Park schools have been a big part of the female Dawn Jogger's life. She grew up on Hillview Drive and attended Hillview School when it was a K-8. Now she lives on Oak Knoll near Oak Knoll School. Both of these schools - as well as Encinal - are or will be undergoing major renovations. The Oak Knoll project changes green scape and traffic patterns and features a much larger multi-purpose building, facts that kicked up significant neighborhood dander. Now it's all dust as construction has started in earnest. The female DJ used her morning outing to capture the progress. Menlo Park is known for its excellent schools...

Sunrise 6:23: A week full of skies

2009-04-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a week full of interesting skies and dawn light. This morning both its tones and shape changed throughout the female Dawn Jogger's run around Lake Lagunita (which was surprisingly free of water fowl). Seems there's little chance of ducklings this year...

Sunrise 6:24: Earth Day salute to Booka

2009-04-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger's father - known as Booka, the name his 15-month-old grandson game him - was born this day in 1911. Given his love for and how much he treasured nature's gifts, the female DJ thinks it's perfect that Earth Day is celebrated on his birthday. An ideal run this morning would have been along a Sierra ridge top or to the top of the hill on her cousin's ranch where his ashes were scattered a month ago. But the female DJ made due with the Dish and the blessing of another sunrise. Booka was most at home in the out of doors...

Sunrise 6:25: Wow - what a sky!

2009-04-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger is once again discovering the difference between the moment and the moment captured by camera. When she took today's photograph between the first and second fairway of the golf course this morning, she would have reported that it was "quite light out" and that what caught her eye was the glow of the sun. The camera doesn't show the light but instead captures what she missed - the wonderfully nuanced colors of the clouds, which show off much more dramatically in the camera's eye. This is about the time the male DJ lectures her on brain versus camera processing...

Sunrise 6:27: The brightest front yard in the neighborhood

2009-04-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Adding to the cranky foot, the female Dawn Jogger is working to head off a virus of some kind, so taking it easy today. Given the warm weather, she decided a little sunshine might do her good, so she took a stroll around the neighborhood. As it did last year (and maybe in previous years), this house gets the prize for the brightest front yard. If not the most natural, too...

Sunrise 6:29: Making it to the top - together

2009-04-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger's cranky foot (making walking more sensible than jogging) and the male Dawn Jogger's increasing strength and stamina combined this morning, and the result was a hike to the top of Arastradero Preserve, something they had not done together for well over two years. The victory for the male DJ was not just that he walked a mile or so up - and then down, which is more difficult for him - but that at least half of the trail was on uneven ground, requiring steadiness and dexterity. It was great to share the view and wildflowers...

Sunrise 6:31: Colors of Easter

2009-04-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

No need to dye eggs when the spring tulips are at their show off best in perfect Easter colors. The female Dawn Jogger is enjoying the bright early morning light...

Sunrise 6:32: How does your [whimsical] garden grow

2009-04-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

There's a front yard in Menlo Park that has long displayed many touches of whimsy, including one of the famous cows from Chicago. It's clear that the homeowners are not timid about expanding to the fanciful adornments of copper insects, gnomes and birdhouses. The female Dawn Jogger noticed a proliferation this morning surrounded by spring blooms. Setting off the scene was frost on the roof, unusual for this time of year...

Sunrise 6:34: Another what is it, where is it sighting

2009-04-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

Some of it has to do with the light. The sun is rising early enough that the female Dawn Jogger runs most of her route in fair to good light. That means some structures that she seen in the dark are now illuminated. So, like yesterday's building, she took a photo of a structure that appeared a few months back and sits somewhere on the Stanford campus. Again, she's betting most of her fellow residents of the Mid-Peninsula won't be able to figure out what it is and where it's located. Not sure of merit of this current game - or how long it will last...

Sunrise 6:35: Could this be Menlo Park?

2009-04-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Like one time last week when she took a different route around the Stanford campus, a alternate Menlo Park route this morning presented an unusual scene to the female Dawn Jogger. In fact, she's guessing that most fellow residents wouldn't recognize the buildings as being in the town limits. When she showed the male DJ the photo she'd taken, his response was, "Is that someplace in England?" Making it harder to identify is that most people don't view it from this vantage point. Really no fun in saying what or where the buildings are...

Sunrise 6:36: Just ahead of sunrise

2009-04-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

The sun seems 'full steam' on its path to rising earlier each day - sometimes two minutes ahead of the day before. The female Dawn Jogger is still setting out ahead of the sunrise, but the gap is closing. Another couple of weeks and the sun will have her beaten...

Sunrise 6:38: Surprises of Easter

2009-04-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger headed out for a pre-church run this Easter morning (Grace will be attending - warranting a special edition of First Blush later today) and got surprised. The forces that be at Stanford were allowing the water from another reservoir to flow into Lake Lagunita, which was filling. This was Cassie the Australian Shepherd favorite spot to play and splash - and both DJs had remarked over the last couple of days how much they still miss her. Then when the female DJ descended the steps from the lake levee down to the dorm area, she came upon not one but two Blue Herons hunting for breakfast. Maybe there's a nest in the area...

Sunrise 6:39: A not very nervous herd

2009-04-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

It looked to the female Dawn Jogger that the whole herd of young cattle was gathered around the paved road that leads up from Piers Lane to the Big Dish this morning. And quite a few were in not much of a hurry to move away from their human interlopers, including one guy who was distinctly colored. At least it made for easy pix...

Sunrise 6:41: Look for signs of Easter

2009-04-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger went out around the neighborhood this morning looking for signs of Easter, particularly of the floral kind. And while there are an abundance of flowering trees pretty much at their height, there was no "ah-ha Sunset" moment. As she headed home up the dirt path by the Creek, they clouds were pretty - kind of a good Ascension day photograph. Of course, we're getting ahead of ourselves...

Sunrise 6:42: Good year for poppies

2009-04-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Whatever the factors involved, the Dawn Joggers think there's been a bumper crop of poppies this spring. The multitude of poppy stands amused them for much of their journey from the Bay Area to Potter Valley a couple of weekends ago. There's a good group in teh rocky area adjacent to Lake Lagunita that the female DJ passes by. They have opened yet - need a little more daylight, if not sunshine, for that. Their bright color is nevertheless cheery...

Sunrise 6:44: Showers and a mystery

2009-04-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

The rain was mostly gone when the female Dawn Jogger set out on her Wednesday Big Dish run. As she approached the gate into the Big Dish area - across Junipero Serra from some campus dorms - she saw a young woman dangling a pink jacket, almost like she was mad at it. When she caught up to the woman, she saw that was also carrying a good size shovel on her shoulder. What she was planning to dig up - or bury - will forever remain a mystery. On her decent down the back of the Dish towards Piers Lane, it was easy to track the rain squalls coming in over the western hills. They missed the female DJ. She only got sprinkled on...

Sunrise 6:45: The cheer of a bright sunrise

2009-04-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the presence of some clouds, the sun really lit up the sky this morning, a show that continued for much the female Dawn Jogger's run around the lake this morning. It was a good start to what's going to be a full day...

Sunrise 6:47: Hidden chimes

2009-04-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

For no particular reason other than it was a nice spring morning and it seemed like a good idea, the female Dawn Jogger altered her usual Monday route this morning. As often happens when she does so, she stumbled upon something new, three cylindrical chimes hung from a tree behind The Knoll. She's wondering if they ever get played. Given the right atmospheric conditions, it would be possible to hear them at the DJ's house. They made one sound this morning, thanks to a gently push by the female DJ...

Sunrise 6:48: One with nature

2009-04-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger knows that her weekday runs around Lake Lagunita weekdays are in suboptimal (pre-sunrise) light, but it really hit home this morning, when she did the route a couple hours later. It just seemed nature was everywhere - including a Blue Heron in the adjacent field - and it was all glowing green. She's not sure when the ducks and geese are going to give up on the dwindling water...

Sunrise 6:50: Surprise encounter

2009-04-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Even with a full afternoon ahead (going to see a little preseason baseball) the Dawn Joggers decided to head out to Arastradero Preserve while the grass was still at its greenest and the wildflowers were in bloom. The female DJ does a loop that takes her up and down three times, so its a good workout. After coming down from the loop in one of most southern parts of the preserve (near the main entrance), she was surprised to see the male DJ. He was in the midst of his longest hike since diagnosis, which included two big up and downs. Naturally, he was feeling pretty good about it...

Sunrise 6:51: Catching the sunrise

2009-04-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

The sun first poked over the horizon while the female Dawn Jogger was heading up the hill to the Big Dish this morning but the display held long enough for her to snap a shot looking east from the foot of the radio telescope. The Bay had a nice glimmer, too...

Sunrise 6:52: Ms. Robin is back

2009-04-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

The show was at the beginning and end of the female Dawn Jogger's run this morning - right in the DJ's backyard. A robin - the same one that built two nests last year? - is once again building a nest in their patio umbrella. This year's nest is very eclectic, lots of dangling ribbons and scraps. The male DJ had seen a little bird interfering with the robin's building attempts, and when they'd gotten back from their weekend away and there was no progress, they figured the robin had gone elsewhere. All the progress has been in the past 24 hours. There's another nest on top of the wreath on the front porch...

Sunrise 6:54: In the pink this morning

2009-04-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger went out to get the morning papers (a ritual slated to change if the pundits are correct) and realized that she was missing the full impact of what looked to be a pretty sunrise. Instead of her Wednesday Dish run, the DJs are headed to UCSF for appointments. She could still see the pink glow through the trees, even if not the full panorama...

Sunrise 6:55: Signs of spring on campus

2009-03-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger spotted signs of the silliness and fun of spring all over the Stanford campus this morning. With winter finals behind them, the students appeared to have unpacked - or purchased - things that take full advantage of the recent warm weather. There's little chance that the kayaks (far rear of top photo) will get launched in Lake Lagunita, which is down to a couple of large ponds, which may mean the hammocks get full use. The kid who set up a swimming pool also has a complete barbeque equipment. The female DJ remembers when spring meant the start of 'protest season'...

Sunrise 6:57: Grass cutting time on the farm

2009-03-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

When the Dawn Joggers walked up the road between the vines on her cousin's ranch yesterday morning, they could smell fresh cut grass. It looked like the clumps at the end of each row had just been mowed. It's grass cutting time of year on the Stanford farm, too. The crew this morning was in the eucalyptus grove adjacent to the memorial tombs. Not all of the workers dress in hazard wear...

Sunrise 6:59: Is it a baa or a bleat?

2009-03-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Granddaughter Grace was very clear about the sound the farm animals she met when she went into the Dawn Joggers' cousins' yard yesterday - baa. She spent much of the rest of the afternoon saying "baa" and walking towards the three sheep and one lamb in the hopes (never fulfilled) that they would stand still for her. She was more stalker than shepherd. The sound of "baa" - or was it a "bleat?" - was the first thing the DJs heard this morning in Potter Valley, where the grass is green but spring hasn't quite come. Neither the vines or the oaks have sprouted leaves (good, according to cousin Robin as the chance of frost still exists). It was a gorgeous, cloudless morning and, accompanied by Drake the Labrador retriever, the female DJ jogged up the center road of the vineyard, stopping near the ridge of oaks where they had scattered her father's ashes yesterday afternoon (and where her mother's ashes were scattered five years ago). She was almost back down when encountered the male DJ and dog Molly on their way out - so back up they went. When they returned to the house, a great farm breakfast was waiting...

Sunrise 7:00: Wow - what a fab morning

2009-03-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Sunlight streamed through the windows of their second floor rooms of what was once the commanding officer's home at Fort Baker this morning and the birds were twittering (which was once left solely to birds). Tucked as it is almost under the Golden Gate Bridge, the weather at what is now the Cavallo Point Lodge can be quite foggy, but the lingering high pressure made it gloriously sunny and the Dawn Joggers took full advantage. While the male DJ walked up a short hill to some historical bunkers, the female DJ jogged up a longer hill behind the fort, then back down along the waterfront. The met on the front porch of the dining room (Murray Circle - their dinner last night was excellent and creative!) for breakfast where they could watch the comings and goings of the boats on the bay. It was a really satisfactory way to spend a morning...

Sunrise 7:02: Sun up with the herd

2009-03-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger noticed before she set out for a Friday Dish run that the sun was going to rise shortly after seven o'clock this morning so she figured the timing might be right to see it happen from the top of the ridge. She ended up waiting a minute or so - she could almost feel it pushing itself up over the horizon. About a quarter of the cattle herd was on the eastern portion of their Dish grazing area, and the early rays light of the hillside. Yes, it really is moments like this that give life its blessed fabric...

Sunrise 7:03: Like an Irish spring...

2009-03-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

...but about 30 degree warmer, undoubtedly. That's what the female Dawn Jogger has felt like the past few mornings, now that it's getting lighter and all the greenery can show itself off. The geese have taken over what's left of Lake Lagunita and, like the ducks, don't seem to mind the lack of water. As she was coming back by the horse paddocks, the adjacent field was really glimmering and there were pretty colors in the sky. The resulting photo is pleasingly dramatic but lacking the colors. The male DJ says that's because the dynamic range of the human eye is greater than the sensor in the digital camera and that the brain is superior at enhancing images. From past experience it knows the field is spring green...

Sunrise 7:05: Return of the leaves

2009-03-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger is always startled about how quickly deciduous trees go from bare to leafy. She noticed - even in the predawn light - that her favorite oak that sits just below the Big Dish was all of a sudden green. The entire Dish area is at its most lush with the tall grass...

Sunrise 7:06: More ducks than water

2009-03-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

The rain this past weekend didn't amount to much so the female wasn't surprised that Lake Lagunita hadn't benefit much, if at all, making it increasingly unlikely that there will be boating and ducklings come Easter. The many ducks didn't seem to mind that their temporary home was looking more pond-like daily. As usual they were greeting the dawn with noisy enthusiasm...

Sunrise 7:08: Sentinels take their stand

2009-03-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Cantor Museum at Stanford is running "Passion for Collecting" exhibit. When it began the female Dawn Jogger isn't sure nor was aware that the exhibit was not solely contained within the walls of the museum itself. On her jog across campus this morning, she noticed a sculpture next to the Landau Economics Building and stopped to investigate. Named Bedford Sentinels (after the alumni Peter and Kirsten Bedford who made their donation possible), the trio of bronze works is by American sculptor Beverly Pepper. The intricacies of the shape require further study...

Sunrise 7:09: All about Grace

2009-03-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger's friends know that she's not much into 'grandma stuff' - under the age of 5 that is. But she has to admit, having 16-month-old Grace around for the past 24 hours has been pretty terrific. She's becoming a little person with lots of words, expressions and opinions. Tears come only when she's disappointed or frustrated and she's rarely whiney. She loves to sing and dance. There's an Elmo that does the hokey pokey; the mechanical toy kept announcing "Elmo's pooped!" but Grace wanted to keep dancing. This morning after some play time to herself following breakfast, the DJs took off for a walk to Tinker Playground, which is almost across the street from 1100 Hillview Drive (now on the market - John and Julie plan to take a peak in) and the same tot yard that Grace's father played in as a baby. Swinging was the hands down favorite activity. She does know how to look like a princess when sitting in a Queen Anne chair...

Sunrise 7:11: Clouds are the star today

2009-03-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

Rain is predicated today but when the female Dawn Jogger headed out on her full circuit Big Dish run the sun was still shining brightly. It set off the tall green grass in the fields this year's herd hadn't been grazing in. By the time she'd gone up, down and up again and was ready for the final descent back to Piers Lane, clouds were obscuring the sun - but in a fantastic pattern. Everywhere she looked there was another great scene ready to be photographed. The male DJ like today's selected photo the best..

Sunrise 7:12: New mystery bike

2009-03-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger isn't quite sure when the bike that's been tethered for years to a pole on the corner of Oak and Sand Hill went away. She knows it was in its place for most of last year and appeared first sometime in 2006 when the Sand Hill construction was going on. The mystery is that it seemed always to be in place - who was the rider and when did the bike get ridden? In the last week or so, she's spotted a new mystery bike, this one propped up against a fence adjacent to the bike bridge over San Francisquito Creek at the end of San Mateo Drive. It, too, seems not to move. But maybe its rider claims it later in the morning...

Sunrise 7:14: Lake by moonlight

2009-03-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

It's a spring pleasure to jog around Lake Lagunita when it has enough water to provide temporary housing for ducks and geese. The time change - with the sun rising about the same time the female Dawn Jogger returns home - means viewing isn't optimum but the setting is tranquil (except for all the quacking) nevertheless. The moon was still overhead this morning...

Sunrise 7:15: Moon returns

2009-03-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

The almost full moon was a blessing on the first dark morning that the female Dawn Jogger got up to run after returning from New Orleans following the beginning of daylight savings time. But then it started waning (as moons do in cycles) and has also been hidden by clouds, making for even darker mornings. It was back this morning, providing good light as she scampered across the first and second fairways on the way to her Wednesday Dish run. And it planted itself in good juxtaposition next to the Big Dish itself...

Sunrise 7:18: Pretty sunrise

2009-03-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

It's still dark the whole way around Lake Lagunita when the female Dawn Jogger does her loop. Like last week, the she could only hear, not see, the ducks like have taken residence in the rapidly shrinking body of water. It wasn't until she was on her way back home that a pretty sunrise appeared. The fields are all a glimmering green, today in salute of St. Patrick...

Sunrise 7:18: Construction continues

2009-03-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

There's not a lot the female Dawn Jogger can see in the dark but the new fence and construction sign around Crothers was impossible to miss. Stanford is in the "largest construction program in recent memory" Jack Cleary, associate vice president for Academic Projects and Operations told the Stanford Daily. This despite the university suspending $1.3 billion in construction projects. Construction on campus has been constant since the DJs moved north, some due to damage from the 1989 earthquake...

Sunrise 7:20: Inside 1100 Hillview Drive

2009-03-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger got up and out early today, doing a neighborhood jog before church. Magnolias are at their peak. Then after busy morning at church - including the pleasure of hearing another great talk by the Rev. John Kater - the DJs went by the open house at 1100 Hillview Drive. It was the first time they'd been inside the home where the female DJ grew up since her parents sold it. The big changes were some new windows and built ins, granite counters in the kitchen and lots of bright paint. Otherwise it was much the same. A few lumps in her throat were unavoidable...

Sunrise 7:21: Geese have arrived

2009-03-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Joggers headed to Baylands for their Saturday morning walk/jog. The big difference since they were there six weeks ago (other than the absence of the dense fog) was the arrival of the geese - lots and lots of them. Except for the stretch along the Bayshore frontage road, the female could hear geese sounds the whole time she was jogging. And more than once she had to watch her footing owing to the amount of goose poop. The male DJ got a great goose in-flight shot...

Sunrise 7:23: Cold, dark and damp

2009-03-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger is cranky. She can't break out of the spell of the languid pace of New Orleans, of walking and always hearing music somewhere in the distance, of eating more oysters cooked yet another way. Even a semi full Lake Lagunita can't cheer here. She can hear the ducks and geese but it's too dark to see them, the moon hidden by a thick overcast this morning. The male DJ promises a special dinner tonight...

Sunrise 7:24: Fueled by music and moonlight

2009-03-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

It was back to the grind for the female Dawn Jogger this morning - in the darkness albeit one fueled by the light of a full moon. Although she chose to go up and over the Dish in an attempt to burn some calories brought home from New Orleans, she couldn't put the city entirely behind her, keeping her play list on that city's music on her iPod shuffle. Her trusty camera, though, was tuckered out from their travels - the battery had died, so she missed a good shot of the moon shining down on the grazing herd. It really was a good trip...

Sunrise 7:15: Along the mighty MIssissippi

2009-03-11T07:42:00.001-07:00

The fog was only on the river this morning, making for prettier scenes this last morning in New Orleans - and the female Dawn Jogger's last jog on the Mississippi levee. A barge (middle of top photo) is ghostlike in the mist. One of the herd of feral cats that lives under the ferry dock next to Riverwalk agreed to pose (most scamper away). The DJs are heading for breakfast at Stanley followed by beignets at Cafe du Monde...

Sunrise 7:16: Where did the river go?

2009-03-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

The female DJ was awakened just before sunrise with the tweeting, chirping, text messaging sound of the male DJ's iPhone going off frequently, the modern day version of birthday greetings (it's his day). So she decided to head to the levee of the Mississippi for an eye-opening morning jog. But where did the river go? The ground fog was so thick that the river was invisible even though she was only 10 feet away. It did make for a couple of atmospheric photos; the sun reflected in the water was taken as the fog was lifting. The celebration began last night with a great meal at Stella! that included a lengthy visit with the chef explaining his new menu...

Sunrise 7:28: Walking through New Orleans

2009-03-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

The female Dawn Jogger had a literary theme on her mind as the DJs set out for a walk through the streets of New Orleans this morning after a very pleasant breakfast in their courtyard. Their part of the French Quarter is quiet and residential, and just a couple of blocks away on Barracks St. was the home (or was the home) of Nine Lives character Frank Minyard, who was the New Orleans coroner (the female DJ is still in the pre-hurrican part of the book). They checked it out and noted the slave quarters in the back (where Minyard resided) before heading down (actually probably up) to the river.

New Orleans is a city of encounters - the kitchen helper who chatted with the female DJ up while she photographed a colorful locker through the window, the elderly trumpet player/singer who stopped the female DJ and crooned while the male DJ snapped photos, the bar crowd (midday buzz apparent) at the Old Point where they stopped for a beer after walking along the levee in Algiers, reached by ferry across the Mississippi. (Finding great dive bars has always been a favorite pastime of the DJs, albeit one they don't often admit, and the Old Point should be on the historic record of such places - it even had the candy apple red old Lincoln Continental in front.)

If just drinking in the atmosphere wasn't enough to give them a Tennessee Williams feel, they ate lunch at Stanley and plan dinner at Stella! (The exclamation point is part of the name). Both are owned by local celebrity chef Scott Boswell who was using the afternoon at Stanley to work on a future project. It really is fun just to wander around...

Sunrise 7:18: Alive in the city of New Orleans

2009-03-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

It was clear from their first walk through the French Quarter last night on their way to dinner that they'd left the Bay Area far behind. There were voodoo and ghost tours taking place on every street corner, and a cathedral square was rimmed with fortune tellers. Things are done differently in New Orleans as the good book the city, Nine Lives, points out. Reading it all day yesterday primed the female DJ for what she was to see (even though she'd been here before).

Their courtyard room at the Soniat House danced with light this morning, following a brief rain shower. Off they headed to church - Trinity Episcopal in the Garden District - were they were promptly welcomed by its charismatic rector, the Rev. Henry Holt. The church is in the part of New Orleans where change comes gradually (according to Nine Lives) and clearly the DJs were not part of the regulars (the men still wear coats and ties - the users list included one of the names from the book). They walked the Garden District before and after a fun jazz brunch at Commander Palace, and past the house at 2525 St. Charles inhabited (still?) by Nine Lives character Billy Grace. It's an immense, imposing home and no photo can quite show off its grandeur.

They took the streetcar back to Canal Street and walked the 12 or so blocks back to the Soniat House, which is in a quiet part of the French Quarter next to an Ursuline convent. They head out soon for some Cajun music before dinner. Such a busy, on the go schedule wouldn't have been possible a year ago - all credit to the male DJ's hard work...

Sunrise 6:32: NOLA bound

2009-03-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

The Dawn Joggers saw the sunrise together this morning, a big fiery ball coming up over the eastern hills, as they headed to SFO to catch their flight to New Orleans. It's a culinary journey to celebrate the male DJ's birthday. Hoping to catch some of the sounds of the Big Easy as well...