Tammy!

Peregrine Falcons!

Did you know that a pair of peregrine falcons are nesting at the city hall building in downtown San Jose? These birds, dubbed Jose and Clara by the locals, successfully incubated 3 eggs that hatched around the end of April. Thanks to the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG), a nest cam was set up so you can watch these adorable angry fuzzy puffballs hang out in the nest and greedily chomp down the pigeon parts their parents bring them.

As if that isn't cool enough, a friend of mine happens to be the city hall employee who was instrumental in getting these birds protection and attention by the Predatory Bird Research Group as well as the city of San Jose. And last week she commissioned some artwork from me for their cafepress store -- twist my arm! BABY FALCONS!

That's Jose on the left and Clara on the right, with their three offspring. Falcon chicks are called "eyases".

The proceeds from the sale of items at the San Jose Peregrine store will be donated to the SCPBRG as well as other organizations helping raptors. The SCPBRG have already made such a huge contribution -- they were one of the groups responsible for bringing the peregrine falcon back from the brink of extinction. It CAN happen! I am so proud that my artwork is being used to help such a worthy cause. So far, my image is being used on tshirts and sweatshirts, decorative tiles, and tile boxes. Soon to come -- posters and prints.

Follow what's up with the falcons at the San Jose Peregrine site. The three eyases should be fledging within the next two to three weeks, if they continue to do as well as they've been doing! Go peregrines go!

T n T rock Wildflower triathlons

We're back from a crazy triathlon weekend, and pretty exhausted, but we're both feeling really accomplished. I'll be putting up a bunch of tri photos on flickr in the next day or two, and I'll post a more extensive race report once we get some of those cool official photos. For now, here's a couple great photos from after our respective races:

Even though Todd had just completed a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run, look how great he looks! It's amazing!
And that's me soaking my legs in the lake after my olympic distance triathlon on Sunday. This is definitely the toughest course of all the different races I've done, and this year it was even hotter than last year! All I wanted to do for the entire run was what I was doing in that picture.



And another thing...
Before leaving for the triathlon weekend on Friday, i completed an little illustration assignment for the UCB school of journalism's publication. It was for an article about communal living in Berkeley...


Here's a thumbnail, full image behind the cut!