MaggieMoose: Goggle-licious Creativity & Food

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting."

Edward de Bono

  Lunch at Google's San Francisco office was great! Although Google is dog friendly work place on this trip Maggie stayed home. Maggie's human sib and I started our tour with a bang in the parking garage  How many ELFs do you know? Then up to the 4th floor to the main lobby. After the Google lobby, photos were limited per their photo policy. We obliged. Darn! The mental movie of the Google cafeteria will have to stay in my mind and replay over and over.

True confessions here: I've loved Google since it first came out. Inquiring minds need to know! Google gets me to 'my need to know' information. Onto the lunch... There was an awesome view from the cafeteria. I was allowed to take photos outside on the balcony.

The highlight came when we were just about to leave Google. We met Willa, the Weimaraner. I think my enthusiasm took her by surprise. She was a little shy. I guess I'm use to Maggie, my English Springer Spaniel who will meet & greet till the cows come home. Willa's owner gave me permission to take photos of her. Unfortunately, Willa wanted to look anywhere but at the camera. She wouldn't hold still either. Blurry images filled the camera screen. The aftermath was my photos weren't able to display Willa's true beauty and poise. In the future, if Willa's owner wants me to post one of his photos of this beautiful girl Willa, I'm happy to oblige.

We left Google thinking our Google SFO tour was over. We were wrong. Across town when we were climbing the hills of San Francisco our Subbie car was behind a Google Self Driving car! 

 Amazing what creativity can do! You GO GOOGLE! Our life in San Francisco was made more interesting thanks to Google SFO! 

PS. Yes, it's a true story, the Google cafeteria rocks! YUM and I'm still full!

The Tribe Has Spoken: Junco Wins Immunity!

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"For me, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man, or flowers or beast or bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly and perfectly alive."

Al Purdy

Male, Dark-eyed Junco "Oregon"

  A few weeks ago Maggie and I were trying to identify a mysterious blue bird's nest in our yard. We wrote about it in our posting The Elusive And Mysterious Two Birds Blue. Yesterday we discovered it was a Stellar's Jay! Maggie and I finally were able to see its crown and body a little closer up. It was because of our curiosity on Google that we stumbled upon the ProjectFeederWatch. This project counts birds that feed at one's bird feeder during the winter months (November-April). We purchased a bird feeder, filled it with some good wild bird seed and waited. The Dark-eyed Junco "Oregon" bird (male) was the first to come try it out. He brought along a buddy. Yeah, two birds! We continued to watch our feeder before officially counting to get an idea how often do birds come to a bird feeder? Maggie would see the bird(s) at the feeder from the living room. She'd stroll over and look through the floor length window at the birds. We started taking photos. Little did we know that our favorite television show Survivor would play out in our yard! The competition for immunity took place at the bird feeder. First, two Purple finches or Cassin's Finches arrived at the bird feeder (we are still working on our bird identification skills). We were thrilled! I was going to take their photos, but before I could go click, the Junco darted out of nowhere, gave them a screech and scared them away. He looked pretty smug on that landing.

I said to Maggie "We are a tribe." We had to announce him as the winner in the bird feeder immunity challenge- that we didn't know we were holding. JUNCO WINS IMMUNITY! The tribe has spoken..... Junco flew the scene of the immunity challenge supremely triumphant. 

Shivering Snakes....tomato tomahto

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug."

Mark Twain

baby rattlesnake

  The song that comes to mind is Let's Call The Whole Thing Off by George and Ira Gershwin. Shivering snakes...tomato tomahto; a snake crossed our path. Maggie and I paused out of range to let this creature cross our path. iPhone intact; I took some photos. In hindsight, maybe not the brightest idea of mine since I thought it was a harmless garden snake. 

What do I know? 

Lightening or lightening bug? It took a suggested text from my offspring "might be a rattlesnake." Holy lightening! My favorite mentor Google to the rescue. Jumpin' jehosafats! It is was a baby rattlesnake. Although a baby rattlenake, I've since learned baby rattlesnakes do bite, they do have venom from birth (uncontrolled amount of venom), and they don't have the usual warning rattle sound like the adults. DANGER DANGER. I say to Maggie; let's call the whole thing off! 

coiled baby rattlesnake

*No creature was harmed from taking these photos. iPhone zoom setting used.

Maggie and Me