Today's walk report: Did it to do it

 I got out 35 minutes later today than I did yesterday. That was 35 minutes of me engaged in an internal dialogue about my really wanting to go for a walk this morning. Or not. Yesterday I wrote notes to myself about both the physical benefits of getting out for a walk--the active therapy for a compressed lower lumbar and also the psychological decompression of a photo walk and focusing on the circumstances, that which stands around… looking for an interesting or pretty picture and not thinking about—this hurts, that hurts. The creative focus acts like a circuit interrupter for pain pathways. And yeah, I was hurting this morning but I definitely felt better after the walk.

Today's walk was slightly longer than yesterday's, it was 2.25 miles and it was mostly people-free. Keeping the walk relatively short was me knowing my limits. Here are some photos I took along the way. 

Sunday, May 7th.

This Gaura lindheimeri inside a fenced in "staging" area. I know the school at least used to get a lot of plants donated to them. There was a wonderful nursery, Sperling Nursery, in nearby Calabasas, that used to donate a lot to the school. Sperling is now a car dealership. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone? Anyway, over the past few years, I have noticed stuff not moving from this staging area and dying off inside. These are all in #5 containers. There are about 20. I really like these plants; please don't let them waste away. 

 
Yesterday I posted an image of a blue agapanthus, but my photo of a white one had a little too much background noise. So today I focused on some of the white blooms. Back in, I believe, 2012, my sister gave me a bag of agapanthus rhizomes. They were white and are currently flowering in front of the house but are a wee bit ahead of these. Personally, I like the white flowers better. I grew 13 plants from seeds a couple of years ago, and so far they are all blue. There are various shades of blue, and apparently there are pink and purple varieties, but I don't believe I have ever seen those.

 This is a western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis). There is something that is really bothering me about this photo and I'm not quite ready to make a stink about it until I know some additional facts. Hint: it has to do with that lumber.

 The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus).

 Yep, it's gone interdimensional. If you saw yesterday's post then you know about the chronoships built by the ravens so the mockingbirds would take off into other dimensions and leave the ravens alone.

 The pomegranates are filling out and ripening. When I was a kid pomegranates were for writing on the sidewalk. However... Pomegranates are antioxidant powerhouses, packed with polyphenols that help fight cellular damage and lower system-wide inflammation. They are a fantastic dietary ally for structural health, as research shows they can block the specific enzymes known to damage joints and cartilage. On top of that, they give a major boost to heart and circulatory health by protecting nitric oxide in the body, which dilates blood vessels and keeps blood pressure moving in the right direction.

I might be swiping some pomegranates soon. Otherwise they'll just be all over the ground. I could use some polyphenols.

 Matilija poppy.

 Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura).

 I went back to the flame bottletree (Brachychiton acerifolius) to see if I could find my way around to get some close-ups of the flowers. Sure enough.

 Correa pulchella (Pink Australian Fuchsia).

Leaving the botanical garden, I walked part of my usual loop west on campus. There are two spots, like the proverbial fork in the road, where I make decisions to extend my walk. I skipped on those. Meanwhile, some of the Sunday ancient car worshipers were out in the largest parking lot on campus. In glancing across the lot, I gotta say it was a rather pathetic showing, but then I'm not particularly interested in automobiles at this stage of my life.

This was the last song while heading back to my car. 

Not all roads, not all roads lead to here... 

 

Book of Saturday

Today's walk report. It was a fine walk, mostly okay. Wait... what can I complain about this week? The only thing is... I cut the walk short because of students, too many students. Granted, I was on a college campus, but you know, they have some nerve going to school on a Saturday. There's also quite a bit of construction going on. I guess those guys aren't union. If they are, it was a premium pay day. Anyway, I made a lot of detours to stay clear of both students and construction folks, and that cut at least 7/10 of a mile from where my original intentions were. The walk turned out to be 2.15 miles. Temperatures ranged from 65º to 70º F.  The high today was 83º.

Here are some pictures taken along the way. 

Saturday, June 6th.

Bauhinia Blakeana. Because the Southern California climate mimics their native subtropical environment, they can bloom sporadically throughout the entire year. Lovely tree. 

 Aristea ecklonii, AKA, blue stars. 

Euphorbia milii, common name is crown of thorns. It is a woody, succulent shrub native to Madagascar. It is considered mildly toxic to both humans and pets. So watch it!

 Verbesina encelioides is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names include golden crownbeard, cowpen daisy, goldweed, wild sunflower, butter daisy, crown-beard, American dogweed, and the Spanish Añil del Muerto ("indigo of the dead"). Why Añil del Muerto? Apparently, the plant thrives in recently disturbed or uncultivated soils. It frequently colonizes vacant lots, roadsides, and old graveyards. Also, when crushed, the plant releases a very strong, somewhat fetid odor, traditionally associated with the earthiness of a grave. It's a traditional folk name given to the plant by descendants of Spanish explorers and settlers in the American Southwest. I suspect someone was having a bad day.

 Agapanthus. The name is derived from Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, meaning "love", and ἄνθος, meaning "flower." Spanish explorer descendants please take note. 

 Lacecap hydrangea.

 A pair of mockingbirds. I missed all of the action. There were at least three birds either mating, fighting or a combination of both. Beneath them is their spaceship. It's actually a vessel designed for interdimensional travel. 

 Common raven (Corvus corax). Also one of two. I believe this is the female. The ravens, in fact, built the chronoships for the mockingbirds so they would leave them alone. 

 Male Calypte anna hummingbird. This is a young bird molting into adult plumage. The full process takes one year. The first shrub is Caesalpinia cacalaco and the tree below is Pistacia chinensis.

 Dasylirion longissimum (Mexican Grass Tree).

 The Flame Bottletree (Brachychiton acerifolius). I don't believe I ever saw this flowering before.

 On my way back to my car. I swear, I thought this dude was gonna lunge at me and go for the jugular. I went a little wide,

 This song came up while I was writing and since it's Saturday and because I love this song, here ya go.

Because I liked the album cover so much ever since it came out in 1973 and I wanted to make a t-shirt in 2006, I drew this in Adobe Illustrator.

 

Today's walk report: The Colors Changed

 I had a lot to do today, and most of it is left undone, but I have direction, and I feel great today (let's exclude the waking hour). I mean, I really have no complaints (other than my right hand/wrist are still under repair). Seriously, today has been an exceptional day on the feeling groovy side. I was going to do a weekend walk report, but after saving 32 images taken today and reflecting on all that's left to do from today's plans, I thought it might be best to leave tomorrow's walk in question, at least on the photo front.

Meanwhile, I was absolutely determined to get some hummingbird photos today. The light was a little on the harsh side, but it also brought out some gorgeous colors in some of my backgrounds. Light is not just a one-way path from a source, it's a dynamic cycle.

Here are some images taken today.

Saturday, May 30th.

Hesperoyucca whipplei. 

Melaleuca elliptica, commonly known as the granite bottlebrush. This was me surveying where hummingbirds might hang out. 

 

 

 
Female Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin). This grevillea is right in front of that Melaleuca.
 

A very cooperative flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata). And some of the colors I mentioned beaming in the background.

This ground squirrel was tripping on how many pictures I was taking of the dragonfly.  

This male Anna's hummingbird came and went quickly. He looks young. I tried to get him from the other side, but he took off. This garden is barely a couple of acres, but I don't see Calypte anna on this side much. The garden is basically divided into a California Natives side and an Australian side. I went to the CA Natives side first until my nose detected a dead animal. It happens.

 Bewick's wren (Thryomanes bewickii). It was yakking and yakking...

 A California scrub jay ((Aphelocoma californica) was watching from above. I had a reasonably long relationship with a female scrub jay, story here and here and here. I miss ya Bowie.

The reason I first saw the female Allen's hummingbird was because this guy was engaged in a courtship dive to impress her. I'm almost positive this is Laukki. I just haven't seen him be still for awhile and I didn't get much time with him today. 

 Sceloporus occidentalis, a western fence lizard. 

 The little female Allen's moved midway, right between the two garden sections, and hung out on this desert willow for awhile.

And in closing, all three of my felines. 

This picture of feral friend Vit was taken through my dirty office windows on Thursday. Vit is still healing somewhat from an injury I first encountered on February 13th. It was pretty serious and it got serious again near the end of March when he kicked off a huge scab behind his right ear and opened things back up. He was treated first round with 17 doses of amoxicillin in his food and he got 8 additional doses after reopening the wound. Google's Gemini AI used the term, “ in risk of sepsis,” both times. Vit is very probably the feline dad of Juni. Juni was a feral kitten and now she's honestly the sweetest cat I've ever met.

 Here's Lucy at 20 years, 7 weeks and 3 days young, getting brushed in my lap, also taken on Thursday. Those 501 Jeans, I think they're about 20 years old too. Lucy has a freckle on her lower kitty lip. 

And finally here's Junimoon, taken about an hour and a half ago. That was Lucy's cat tree, it's also close to 20 years old. Juni has a little bird and squirrel theater going on outside of those windows. Wildly entertaining.

Colors please grow for me, paint my world rosily
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