Sunday, March 17, 2024

Today's walk report: Lather, rinse, repeat.

The route today was basically the same as yesterday only because I knew it was over three miles and I've been trying to get my walks back up over three miles. So then I can target four miles and so on, to infinity and beyond. It wasn't long ago I walked 6-7 miles everyday. Stuff started getting in the way. 

I don't count steps although I recently discovered (because I had never looked at it before a few days ago) that the iPhone "Health" app automatically counts one's steps. Imagine that, I didn't even give it permission and here it was counting steps everyday my phone was in my pants pocket. Just another creepy thing your smartphone knows about you. What I do is I map out my path on Google Earth with the ruler tool. It's pretty darn accurate too, I've even checked it with the lines on a football field. Google also knows a lot of creepy stuff about you. Fun times.

Here are some pictures from today. Lots of thanks to Docken for helping me along over the phone. Docken knows a lot about me too. 

I didn't see male Calypte anna hummingbird Dusty today but I also didn't hang out in his territory for very long. This is his nearby neighbor, not Dusty.



Another shot of the 'Moon Lagoon' eucalyptus. This was specifically taken for Docken.

A female Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin). I have not seen a male in this garden for awhile. I have two males and at least two females frequenting hummingbird feeders at home consistently everyday and all day.


 Oh, speaking of Docken (she'll get it) something compelled me to check out the dirty old pond and look what I found.




Mostly Brewer’s blackbirds in a sycamore tree. There was a plethora of birds everywhere today. Spring is a hop, skip and a jump away!

Onward and upward to the top of the hill...

Yep, a house finch. They're a pretty little bird too. Don't discount the ordinary.  "We are all made of star stuff” ~ Carl Sagan.*


This is a poor picture of a very far away red-tailed hawk but I included it anyway because I haven't seen any hawks for a little over a month and I love falcons and hawks.

I have tried getting a decent picture of this bird, well, not this specific bird (but maybe) a few times in the past but never pulled it off. It's apparently a very common bird in SoCal, I simply don't see them very often or I don't realize their presence mixed in with Brewer’s blackbirds and  common starlings and they do mingle. This is a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).



As you can tell, the red-shoulder isn't always obvious.

Another encounter with a Say's phoebe ( Sayornis saya).



*It's not what you'll possess
It's how you will express
The essence of you



Saturday, March 16, 2024

Today's walk report: It's always something.

 What a beautiful day and it's still happening! So I'm gonna try to not write much and get on with it.

Thanks to Docken for joining me on the phone. Here are some pictures taken along the way...

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty. Good ol' Dusty.


 Good ol' male Calypte anna hummingbird, not Dusty. Yes, his name is officially, "not Dusty."


Last week I mentioned that breeding for common ravens generally takes place from mid-February until late May. I'm pretty sure the large twig in this bird's beak indicates nest building. Males will bring sticks to the nest but females take over the building process from there. 

This time I continued past the horses until the end of the road. I slowed down briefly to say hello to a couple of horses.

I detoured back into the garden on the trek back to my car before driving to the top of the hill, pausing to photograph a couple of yellow-rumped warblers.



I continued the walk up on the hill. Did I mention it's a gorgeous day? By the way, these two panoramas are formatted in a 2.72:1 aspect ratio which is Cinerama. Cinerama was a film format first introduced in 1952 (WAY before my time) and abandoned in 1972. It is my understanding that there is only one theater left in the United States which presently screens real Cinerama, New Neon Movies in Dayton, Ohio. I thought you should know that. The thing is, I always try to format panoramas in some real film aspect ratio. Geeky, no?


A southwestern fence lizard. I've been kind of amazed for some weeks now by how early I've been seeing lizards show up before spring officially arrives.

Mourning dove.

On the way home I spotted this two color crape myrtle tree. I looked pretty carefully, it doesn't appear to be two trees (shrubs) planted together. I've read that crape myrtles are generally propagated in nurseries by cuttings so I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to graft stems together. Here's a National Geographic video of a tree which grows 40 different kinds of fruit. Whatever the deal here, I drove 1/2 a block after passing it and turned around to take this picture.





Sunday, March 10, 2024

Today's walk report: where's the fire?

 Today was mostly about the walk. I managed to take some pictures but the physical side took precedence, plus the weather was mostly kinda gloomy. Also, there was a lot of sameness from yesterday. Anyway here goes...

Thanks again to Docken for coming along on the phone and putting up with a hodge-podge of crap I experienced along the way.

Entering the path into the garden. Art or not art? Well, I hate to tell you but at this school, in its art department, this would unfortunately be considered art.


This desert cottontail started to run away as I approached but as soon as I began telling it what a pretty little bunny it was it stopped and starting closing its eyes. Docken said it was probably expecting food. I think it was my Doctor Dolittle-like magnetism. 

 Male hummingbird Dusty was hanging out in his usual territory. I visited briefly but again weather and the related lighting wasn't very conducive to good photography, especially with him staying high up in the Caesalpinia cacalaco tree.

Not Dusty was in his regular spot too on a Caesalpinia gilliesii shrub.

 

Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon' is in bloom.


Yet another male Calypte anna hummingbird over in the Australian natives section of the garden.

Onto the walk.

I believe I have posted in the past about this campus frequently being used for training purposes by the Los Angeles Fire Department. They were at it again today.


This might be the male common raven I posted yesterday. This tree is only 50 yards away from where I photographed that raven and ravens are very territorial, especially during breeding and from my understanding that generally takes place from mid-February until late May.


When I saw these birds off circling a pasture in the distance I thought these were all turkey vultures. I changed my mind after studying the image a little. I believe the three birds to the left side of the image are turkey vultures and the three toward the right side are ravens or crows.

I ended my lower campus walk after visiting a few of the horses. This road extends for about another 1/4 mile beyond the horses, I should've kept going but c'est la vie. 

I wanted to go inside and brush this horse. He looked like he could've used some TLC.


 I think this horse was communicating with a beetle.

Up to the hill for part two of my walk.

Lots of  Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) hanging out.

 


And the worries of the day lie downUnder cover of the fading cloudsThe secrets of the nightCome alive in your eyesYou don't have to hurryYou don't have to tryYou don't have a careYou're walking on air
 

 



Saturday, March 9, 2024

Today's walk report: Dusty, not Dusty

 Male Calypte anna hummingbirds, Dusty and not Dusty were the stars of today's walk. Special thanks to Docken for joining me over the phone.

The campus was the "new" Saturday crowded with too many students milling about. I commented to Docken about when I was in college I would never have considered a class on a Saturday. In fact, I recall one quarter where I crammed a full load into a very long Tuesday and Thursday schedule. Having Monday, Wednesday and Friday off (oh, so many special Fridays) was sheer delight. However, I did go to my biofeedback lab on more than one weekend but those were odd experiments in controlling theta brainwave activity and I was alone. I had a key. Fun times. 

Anyway, I took some pictures today. 

Mourning doves greeted me in the garden.


I was looking for male Calypte anna, Dusty but he wasn't around so I decided to sit awhile on a bench where not Dusty hangs out. He showed up rather quickly in a Caesalpinia gilliesii shrub, just starting to get spring foliage.




He flew off a few times so I went back to look for Dusty and there he was.









On my way to put in a walk and moving back into not Dusty's hang he showed up again for a couple more pictures.


Onto the walk.

I have no clear way of knowing some of the ravens I've met before, at least not visually. If I'm in a well defined territory, of certain birds and I can clearly observe enough behavioral clues, I sometimes have relative confidence I know who is who. On this occasion I was outside of those elements but this male raven sure seemed to be responding to both my presence and my voice. Was he wondering, hey, aren't you that guy with the cat food? His female partner was nearby.

Here's the male.


And here's the female. They were catty corner from one another on opposite sides of the street.


I found it amusing to see this ground squirrel way up on top of a the roof of this building. Of course you can't really tell it's the roof of a building. You'll just have to trust me. You probably won't find it amusing either but I'll tell you, I only see ground squirrels on the ground or in low lying shrubs.

Back to my car, I drove up the hill. 

This is the second biggest pineapple I've ever seen.


Moo.


Signs of spring, however, two days ago I experienced perhaps the most intense hailstorm ever at home. It absolutely pulverized a lot of leaf from the ficus trees around my patio.


A pair of Cassin's kingbirds (Tyrannus vociferans). The bird’s scientific name translates to “vociferous tyrant.” Personally, I've never heard so much as a peep out of them.



Here's a taste of the hailstorm from my patio door.


Oh once in a while
I learn how to smile
Horses shadows and rain on stone