Today's walk report: 123022

 This was another lumbar spine therapy walk and I'm not going to write much because, on that front the walk was very successful and the chair I'm currently sitting in is rather counterproductive to any of the lingering benefits.

It was drizzling. Weather dot com was not at all helpful in planning this excursion. For the most part, my camera was tied up in a plastic grocery bag hanging from my left shoulder down to my right hip via a Black Rapid camera sling. That's not an endorsement.

After some careful investigation I'm about 92% sure this is the male Calypte anna hummingbird known as Dusty. The thing is, I didn't spend much time with him and he was somewhat outside of his normal hang. This is also an area where I have frequented his nemesis, perched on this very Caesalpinia gilliesii shrub about 30 yards north of Dusty's typical hangout. Notice the tiny drizzle drops falling in the pictures.

From this point I put most of my effort into walking; briskly. This is the windshield on my car shot from the interior once I made it back to the parking lot.

This is another angle, slightly out of focus with a modest gradient overlay.

Chance of rain was supposed to be 4%.

On the way out of the parking lot I spotted this red-tailed hawk on a lamppost in the road median. It was dark and gloomy. I tried.

Right now, I wish it would rain down, down on me...

Today's walk report: 122822

Yesterday and last night was mostly rain and that meant not doing much outside, aside from getting out early and doing some weeding. Weeding is a tricky task this time of year. I have two dominant weeds, Erodium cicutarium, also known as common stork's-bill and Malva neglecta also known as common mallow. Tightly interspersed, I also have young wildflower plants, mostly Dimorphotheca sinuata and arroyo lupine (the backyard is another story). It's real delicate removing stork's-bill and mallow without collateral damage. Think of dealing with something akin to a karesansui garden, except I don't have that level of discipline.

To illustrate, this image has everything listed above plus, Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, I see some Stellaria media, chickweed, also a dandelion plant or two, and Clarkia unguiculata, common name, elegant clarkia. There's one more weed in here I've been unable to identify, it puts out a not unattractive yellow flower kind of late in the game. Now, imagine this over (very) roughly 1,500 square feet. Now imagine plucking some of the undesirable weeds to allow the wildflowers grow room. Sure, "Zen" you say but it's also back breaking.

And as such, the lead-in for today's walk. Nothing is better for my aching back than a nice walk, just as long as I can get far enough along for the walk to take effect (usually okay at about the 1/2 mile mark).

Once again Docken came along via telephone communication and for this I'm thankful. Here are some pictures taken along the way.  

We've seen these two red-tailed hawks before The most recent image of the female was taken on Thanksgiving day. The larger bird with the damaged left wing is the female. 

Look! An odd sock! It's the sock that created the matching odd sock probably in someone's sock drawer by now. They're looking... where's the other sock?! But they won't throw it away, no, no, no.

No stairs today, I drove up the hill. I brought a bag of dry cat food and these two crows clearly watched me throw it down. They circled quite close above my head while I was doing it. My bet is they waited for some workers nearby to leave and then came back to munch.

It was a lovely day and it was nice to get out. My back remains much better than it was in the morning. More rain is coming this weekend and while school is out for winter break I might take advantage and work in another campus walk or two before the week closes out.

Oh baby...

 

Today's walk report: Christmas 2022

It was a wonderful, beautiful walk with Docken. The walk began right around 3:00 and it was 84ºF here in sunny southern California while much of the US is suffering under some extremely severe weather conditions. 

Here are some pictures...

I have to admit I laughed. So did Docken.

Male Calypte anna hummingbird Dusty, just hanging out.

There's always a mockingbird.

Docken and I braved the stairs to the top of the hill. These stairs have often been compared to the steps that run alongside the Niesen mountain railway in Switzerland.

Near the top, here's a shot of the world famous, Elephant Mountain off in the distance.

Cassin's kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans)

This school was nicknamed "Moo U" long ago, here's why...

And here's a dear long-time friend. There are 3 donkeys, (Equus asinus) on the campus. Donkeys may live up to 40 years.

Merry Christmas.

Special thanks to Docken for walking with me these past few days. Her company has been an extraordinary, extra special, delight.

Today's walk report: 122422

 A Public Health Service announcement: A major benefit of walking is improved digestion. It stimulates your digestive tract to contract, allowing the passage of food through your intestines.

Docken and I have engaged in some serious pagan solstice over consumption (we ordered Chinese for Christmas Eve--a lot). We thought it might be a good idea to get out and walk, so we did.

The walk was short, only about one mile, it was close to sunset and we needed to get back home so we could eat some more. Here are some pictures...

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, AKA, Dusty, showed up to wish us a Merry Christmas.

 On the way out of the campus we saw what I believe, once again, are the same two common ravens that tend to hang out around one of the parking lots. (See yesterday's post)

As I bid you farewell, here is another one of my favorite Christmas songs. I am perhaps the only one who calls this a Christmas song but hey, listen carefully and see if you agree.

Today's walk report: Dinosaurs in the Valley

December, 23, AKA, almost Christmas.

Live and in person, Docken and I went for a walk together today. That's right, you heard right, the secret words for tonight are, walkin' with Docken. It was the same basic, yet somewhat abbreviated walk as of late but today we were together again. 

Not to bum out much of the US but... it was sunny and about 75ºF for most of this. This grab from weather dot com was snatched a couple of hours post the walk.

There weren't a lot of photo ops. This common raven, I would bet money this is the raven I first photographed here. 

We walked around a bunch and mostly commented on how many things had changed on the campus. Then we drove up the hill and walked around a bit more. It was mostly fun being together.

Dinosaurs in the Valley. Um, I thought I would be able to avoid this word but I can't. We were outside the perimeter but our general impression was, this is pathetic. Especially considering the ticket price is $24.99 (Kids under 2, military and Vets are free). You decide.

What is that? Barney Rubble's workbench?

That's all. Time for company. 

I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones.