Best selling author, aspiring actors – all in a mornings work

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

rainy morning in March
The Dawn Jogger made a special point of packing one of the male DJ’s good compact cameras this morning, figuring there would be some good photo ops. She had decided to walk to Cafe Borrone this morning where she was to meet best-selling thriller writer Barry Eisler for an InMenlo interview at 8:00 am (so impossible to get Wednesday Dish run done in advance). It’s not helpful then to not take a photo. She was focused on the words and knew recent InMenlo photo recruit Scott R. Kline was there to do the shooting (cool shot, which will debut on InMenlo next week.) She did snap a shot of the M-A freshman cast members of 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee, cute kids she’d interviewed last week. All the buzz and glamour of Cafe life and she comes home to Ms. Robin hopping around the patio umbrella. This post is like a link farm…

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Ducklings and lights at dawn

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

Lake LagunitaThere were news reports that the Japanese earthquake/tsunami had altered time. The Dawn Jogger wishes she’d read the story. Her altered time is the result of the start of daylight savings time and the incredibly late date of Easter this year. The former means that the automatic lights were still on at Lake Lagunita when she circled this morning, even though it was well after 7:00 am. She’s also pretty sure she spotted ducklings, not little babies but something between newborn and “teenage.” Unfortunately she couldn’t get close enough to confirm, but it struck her as early in the year for ducklings. But then she remember in other years, Easter falls as early as March 22. This year, of course, Easter is on the second to latest date possible…

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Glorious start to the week – when the sun finally came up

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

cattle grazing near Big Dish

Yes, it’s the same thing the Dawn Jogger whines about every year, particularly since the start of daylight savings time was moved to March. The spring forward of the clocks means it’s very dark at the DJ’s normal get up time of around 6:00 am. This morning she didn’t even attempt it, instead setting out around 7:00 (which is, of course, 6:00), still well before the sun rose. Her thought: why not be able to see the glorious green of the Dish land glowing in the sunlight? They golden hue of the early morning light can’t be beat…

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Farmers market, then Sharon Park with a new friend

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

at play in Sharon ParkGrace was disappointed yesterday morning when she was served eggs instead of waffles, but the Dawn Jogger had a plan in mind – waffles at Borrone before the farmers market. Of all the things the DJ and Grace do together, the market remains a hit. We ran into a few neighbors today and they presumed, by the look on her face, that she was not happy to be there. But that was a look of determination, as she made her way from vendor to vendor The big prize today – a bunch of Red Dragon carrots. And she loved the Hillview Jazz Band – she could have sat there all morning.

After a stop at home, it was off to Sharon Park where they met up with Marilyn and Lily for a walk around the lake. The big hit – and maybe the hit of the weekend! – was meeting Malea in the adjoining playground. Grace is not normally talkative with kids she meets in playgrounds – or at least she hasn’t been when the DJ has taken her – but from the moment the 4 1/2 year old walked in they were talking and going down the slide together either in tandem or side by side holding hands. Hopefully there will be more meetings, email addresses were exchanged…

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Big day at Happy Hollow with Grace

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

It was awake a dawn if not jogging at dawn today. Grace appeared unexpectedly in the Dawn Jogger’s bedroom at 6:30 am this morning, much earlier than she usually rises. She was coaxed into hopping in for another hour but then it was “let’s get going.” The day’s activity was a trip to Happy Hollow Farm and Zoo in San Jose, a first visit for both. The popular family park completed a renovation a year ago and has a mix animals to look at, animals to touch, puppet theater, kiddie rides and various climbing structures – one that extends upward amidst redwood trees.

Grace was most excited by the roller coaster – she clapped in glee as it started up its short climb – but she spent the most time on the big climbing structure, learning how to navigate across roped bridges and sliding down big slides. As they were leaving she posed with her loot – a stuffed owl and a stick. Her attraction to stick mimics that of a typical boy…

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Second look changes everything

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

Couple atop hill near Big Dish

As the Dawn Jogger made her way around the top of the Big Dish land, a solitary figure appeared “offroad” looking east. Her initial reaction, “some weirdo.” But as she drew closer and got a look from a different angle, one person became two and she thought, “how romantic.” First impressions fail again…

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On the day Chris would have turned 60

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

Chris Gulker at demonstration late 70s/early 80s

Chris Gulker January 2009The Dawn Jogger is under pressure to be profound on the day spouse Chris Gulker would have turned 60 years old. It was a milestone that the DJs talked a lot about, both together and with their friends. There would be a bash of some kind – a celebration of not just age but outliving the four-year life expectancy given when his glioma was first diagnosed.

But, of course, it was not to be. He died right “on schedule” on October 27, almost four years to the day of initial diagnosis. He was, as he related on gulker.com and told the many visitors who came to see him, “ready to go.” Mobility was becoming ever more challenging and a host of other irritating issues, though not painful, greatly diminished quality of life.

The male DJ didn’t give up. He just recognized his time had come and accepted death with courage and grace. Those of us who are left behind miss him and continue to feel his presence even in his physical absence.

So this morning she got up and jogged the one route that they, along with great dog Cassie, jogged the most frequently – a five mile loop of the Stanford campus. Not knowing what else to say or do, the female Dawn Jogger decided to try to say it in photos – the contrast of the wild young man she feel in love with (well sort of, he’d added a beard by the time they met in 1980 and thankfully chucked the awful shirt and glasses) and the mature man she continued to love. How fitting that there is a camera in his hands in both photos…

Photo of mature Chris taken by Anne Knudsen.

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On bovines and ornithoids looking very Western

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

cattle grazing on Big Dish land

Crows on dead tree near Big DishOn what will be the last post sunrise Wednesday Dish run (plunging into darkness starting Sunday for another month, thanks to Daylight Savings Time), it was all about other things that breathe this morning. Limitations of the blog format meant eliminating resident Snowy egret – already well chronicled and still posing – and the hawk perched at the end of an oak branch. The Dawn Jogger liked the way the herd was dotting the hillside and how crows in the dead tree looked like something from a Western movie set. All spotted in spring like conditions…

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New bike to add to the tethered bike posts

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

bike tethered on the banks of Lake Lagunita

Bikes with unknown owners have been mainstay fodder for the Dawn Joggers. There was one bike that stayed mysteriously tethered to a post at the corner of Sand Hill Rd and Oak Avenue for years. Other bikes on the Stanford campus would appear and then disappear. The criteria for all mystery bikes is that they aren’t in bike racks – and that they are parked where one would normally park a bike. They get extra points for having a jaunty design. When the female DJ spotted a particularly sporty bike – notice the lacework! – at Lake Lagunita this morning, she realized she hadn’t seen a random bike in quite some time. But finally one appears…

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Just another Big Dish day

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Linda Hubbard

Impossible to top yesterday morning, so it was back to the routine of Monday up and over Big Dish. Pretty, sunny morning. Then home to final garage clean out/clean up. It’s off the list now…

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