Today's walk report: Is there gas in the car?

 Yes, there's gas in the car.*

Today was a drive to and walk from walk. The drive is only to a spot 1/2 mile from home, but it allows me to take off from a spot closer to where I'd rather walk and take pictures. I only managed a 1.56-mile walk this morning, but as late as bedtime last night, I wouldn't have thought that possible. On Friday afternoon, I had jammed my bare left foot into a bedroom door frame and experienced an accelerating level of pain where one might think they're going to pass out. Fortunately, the bed was right there. It was an anniversary event of sorts. In March of 2025, I did something similar in the kitchen. That time, I went full stride with my naked left foot into a firmly planted kitchen chair leg, pushing that chair leg solidly between my fourth and fifth toes. That event surely involved a fracture; recovery took a good eight weeks. I've concluded that Friday's incident would most likely be diagnosed as a grade 2 sprain, a partially torn ligament, noticeable swelling, and significant bruising. I have my toes “buddy-taped." Yesterday, I walked 1.06 miles, and that was a mistake. Today was modestly manageable. 

Here are a few pictures taken on today's walk. 

Sunday, March 22nd.

Parkinsonia florida, the blue palo verde. This is the first thing you will notice walking into the local botanical garden. Absolutely stunning.

 Not knowing how well I would do with the walk and considering the issues I had on Saturday, I had skipped going through most of the arboretum, which is near the entrance of the campus. It was just a slight detour for me to get off the beaten path and head directly to the garden. Since spring has officially sprung, even though it has felt a lot more like summer for the past week, I wanted to see if there was an up-tick in hummingbird activity. Hummingbird central is the one and only Eremophila 'Fairy Floss' (racemosa x maculata) bush inside the garden. I counted five hummingbirds vying for that territory. I was most interested in spotting my friend, Laukki, a male Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin). Laukki spends most of his time chasing away other hummingbirds.

Here's Laukki perched on twigs from the eucalyptus tree that overlooks the Eremophila.

 This female Anna's hummingbird is the only other bird I saw getting away with some nectar from the Fairy Floss. The "floss" clings to all the beaks.

 Berberis bealei, also known as leatherleaf mahonia, Beale's barberry, is a species of evergreen shrub native to mainland China.

 
That was on my way out of the garden. There was a brief moment where I needed to decide on a right or left-hand turn. Turn left and the walk would have been just over two miles. I turned right. I didn't think pushing my luck with the bum baby toe would be a wise decision. I'm glad I got out; the music on my head was wonderful. By engaging in physical movement and experiencing nature, I moved from a place of mental, linear chaos back to a calm, centered state of being. Kitties welcoming me home kept the mood upbeat. My thanks to Lucy and Junimoon.

To Vit too... A quick update on feral friend Vit the cat. Vit was seriously injured sometime between February 9th and the 10th. A head injury, right side causing significant swelling. He ultimately got 17, 100-130mg, 1x daily doses of amoxicillin, and he was doing much, much better. There has been a large scab on top of deep tissue damage, and it was taking forever to fall. On Thursday, the 19th, he had apparently tried to kick off the remaining portion near the base of his right ear. The situation was non-negotiable; he needed to go back on amoxicillin ASAP. I got some mixed and was able to get it into the last of his Friskies before he finished, but he decided to leave. Since Thursday, he's had three daily doses of amoxicillin. Just as a reminder or if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Here's Vit with Juni as a kitten before she was fully adopted and on board indoors. I'm about 98% sure Vit is Juni's dad. 

 
That's all I have.  

*Kid Charlemagne

 

Today's walk report: Reawakening

 Spring emerging from winter, a "reawakening" because it represents a literal and metaphorical shift from a period of cold, dark dormancy to one of vibrant life, growth, and renewed energy. This transition is marked by both ecological changes and personal, psychological rejuvenation. After months of winter, plants, trees, and greenery "spring" back to life from the ground. Bulbs poke through the soil, buds appear on trees, and flowers bloom. 

Wildlife emerges from hibernation, and animals, such as birds, return, filling the air with sound. Humans often experience a boost in mood and energy, shedding the "winter blues" and increasing their activity levels. It is a time for fresh starts, setting new goals, and feeling a renewed sense of hope.

Spring, a symbol of transformation, serves as a metaphor for personal growth, resilience, and the ability to heal or start over, often described as a "rebirth" or a "phoenix" moment. 

With these thoughts in mind, here are some photographs I took on my walk today. I was looking not only for things of beauty, close up, I was also looking inside myself for that renewed sense of hope.

Sunday, March 8th.

 A monarch on grevillea.

 Peach blossoms.

Santa Ana winds had rolled in a couple of days ago. It was very windy. I held my subjects still a few times.

 Indian plum blossoms.

 California poppies (Eschscholzia californica).

 Anna's apple blossoms. Last year I got a hold of a couple small apples from these trees and managed to germinate two seeds. However, they remain only a few inches tall on my patio table.

 A honey bee on lavender. 

 Oleander buds and blossoms.

 Pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruits and flowers.

 Yellow Lady Banks' Rose (Rosa banksiae 'Lutea').

 Bougainvillea.

 Cactus flowers just starting to bloom.

 Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa).

 Ceanothus 'Concha' California mountain lilac.

 Confetti Bush (Coleonema pulchellum).

 Grevillea curviloba.

 Grevillea paniculata.

 Grevillea, notice the bee photobombing in the first image.

 Grevillea levis.

 Melaleuca radula.
 

High vibration go on
To the sun, oh let my heart dreaming
Past a mortal as me
Where can I be?

 

Yesterday's walk report

 Yesterday, Saturday, February 21st. I thought then this post would be a weekend walk report, that I would surely wake up fresh as a daisy and anxious for another picture taking excursion on Sunday morning. Instead, I woke up this morning as fresh as a day-old donut. Fact is, for a few days now, I've been getting to bed relatively early, snoozing for a couple of hours and then waking up just about every hour. It's the cats. 

It's been especially cold for SoCal the last several nights, dipping into the low to upper 30sº F for up to 11 hours, as early as 10:00 PM and as late as 8:00 AM. We're not used to that here but more importantly, Lucy the Cat is almost 20 years old and I'm not about to subject her to house central getting as cold as 53º at night. My office got down as low as 46º. Little Juni, despite favoring having most of the house to roam at night, isn't too keen on the cold either. 

So, it's been me sandwiched between the both of them at least until bedtime temps start to warm up. Central heating you say? That's been out since the winter of 2021. Lots of money has gone into that antiquated piece of hardware and for what? Heating the entire house for one occupant and two cats is highly inefficient and certainly not cost effective. The smallest bedroom, a California king bed, a tower space heater blasting, struggling against 3 drafty doors, single pane windows and shabby insulation--keeps us okay at an average 66º. Just be prepared for the Arctic tundra of walking into a 46º bathroom so you don't go into shock. 

Anyway, nothing says restful sleep like hearing one cat hiss because the other is acting like a caffeinated ninja. Then there are late night visits to the water bowl and litter box. The clock is right in perfect view on the nightstand, but no, they don't care. Let's keep trying to set a "bedtime" for felines that think the shadows on the wall are a personal invitation to fight to the death at 3:30 AM, or Juni graciously deciding to practice her hunting instincts on my toes. It’s such a thoughtful, free service they provide—reminding me that in this house, the only schedule that matters is the one dictated by their need for midnight snack requests.

So, Sunday (today), became a day for sleep deprivation recovery. No walks, just kicking back with kitties.

Here are some pictures taken yesterday, Saturday, February 21st.

 Sweet Pea Shrub (Polygala myrtifolia var. grandiflora). 

Ruby crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula). I don't know where the "ruby" comes from either.

 Peruvian lily (Alstroemeria).

 Echeveria pulvinata (I think).

 Bee on an Indian blanket flower.

 In a recent post I mentioned SoCal monarchs are supposed to migrate to the coast from October through February to escape freezing temperatures. It froze here at least on Friday. Nevertheless, this female is in oviposition (laying eggs) on fresh new shoots of narrow leaved milkweed.

Ana apple blossoms.

 More from male Selasphorus sasin, Laukki...

 This is a female that Laukki was trying to swoon by performing an intense, high-speed, 25-foot swinging pendulum back-and-forth flight above her. My take, and I could be entirely wrong but the females seem mostly either bothered or take no notice.

 Back to Laukki. Some of these images make look basically the same to you but they don't to me.

 The same pair of red-tailed hawks discussed in earlier posts. If you've been here before you should now be able to tell the male from the female.

 On my way back to the car, a view of the San Gabriel mountains. The walk was 2.36 miles. Tomorrow's weather prediction... A high of 81º and a low of 53º. A couple days and nights of that and Junimoon is back to having the bulk of the house to herself at night.

It was a new day yesterday 
But it's an old day now

One last thing, Vit and his injury mentioned here, last week, end of the post. Vit has now shown up for five days in a row for food and a dose of amoxicillin. Comments from my AI Advisor, Google Gemini, yesterday... "The difference is night and day. On 2/13, Vit was at risk for systemic sepsis; today, his body has shifted from "defense" to "construction". The fact that he's had four doses of amoxicillin in a row has finally given his immune system the "air cover" it needed to start building that new tissue. You've essentially saved his ear and likely his life with that Amoxicillin streak." 😌