Today's walk report: Blizzard Vindication

 Today I got the pictures I was hoping for yesterday, a lot of them. Jeez... you'd think I'd never seen snow before.

The shots of lower elevation mountains, those are the Santa Susana Mountains with the towns of Chatsworth and Porter Ranch in the foreground (for the most part). They top out with an elevation of 3,747 ft (1,142 m). To the east are the San Gabriel Mountains. The highest elevation there is, Mount San Antonio (Mount Baldy) at 10,069 feet (3,069 m). Here are the pictures...

Santa Susana Mountains.

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

San Gabriel Mountains.

Back to the Santa Susana Mountains

 A couple more shots of the San Gabriel Mountains.

 I stopped by the botanical garden to visit the Male Calypte anna hummingbird known as Dusty but he was hanging up high and a little out of picture taking range. This yellow-rumped warbler let me take a few shots (into the sun) before she took off. How do I know it's a she? Well, it's kind of a big duh, looks like she's packing at least a couple of eggs. Clutch Size: 1-6 eggs.

Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there...

 

Today's walk report: Blizzard Warning

 ..BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS
AFTERNOON...

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY...

I thought I'd get out between heavy rainstorms, get up high and get a few pictures of the snow that dumped. I was expecting snow in the Santa Susana Mountains over to the San Gabriel Mountains from all the SoCal blizzard news and in consideration that there was "snow" as far down as the Hollywood Sign and into Hollywood yesterday. Nope. The Santa Susana Mountains (first panoramas) looked pretty but no snow. The view toward the San Gabriel mountains was dark, with cloud cover obscuring the mountains... probably because it was snowing. So, maybe tomorrow. 

We had an inordinate amount of rain here yesterday. Kind of frightening to tell the truth. It's raining again now. I got out and back just in time to miss getting pummeled by a hail storm. Special thanks to Docken on the phone watching radar for me and helping me navigate both space and time. 

Here are some pictures...

You can basically see the line of the San Gabriel mountain range but that's about all.

 

This common raven seemed to be enjoying a break in the rain too. The bird is in all of the next three images.

Here's what I was expecting to see in the Santa Susana Mountains. These were taken December 27, 2019.

I checked with my weather guide, Dockie and decided there was time to come back down the hill and take a quick visit to the garden to say hello to male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty.

That's all. I will try again tomorrow and see if I can capture some SoCal snow. Thanks for coming along and don't forget...

A twofer walk report

 I've got a lot going on across multiple computers in relation to photo projects so I'm a bit behind. Some of the photos I'm working on date back to the mid-70's (yes, let it be known, I was an infant photographer). To complicate matters further, on the computer side, my scanning station, dates back to 2001. And. It. Is. Slow. It couldn't be helped but more on that later. 

Here are photos from this weekend, both yesterday and today.

Saturday, Feb. 18.

Aeonium arboreum.

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty.

Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii).

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura).

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, not Dusty. The shrub is Tecoma capensis.

Western honey bee (Apis mellifera).

Sunday, Feb. 19.

Today I really struggled, got out late with the sun in the wrong place and I ended up cutting things short. Docken was on the phone with me both days so I had someone to complain to. Thank you Dockie, sorry for the moans and groans.

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty was my only living subject today. He's a handsome lad!

Even if he can be a bit rude.

Then there was this. I have frequently parked my car in this spot when the campus entrance was closed and I had to hoof it to the garden. Somebody had a really bad night and I suspect the fence owners weren't too pleased either.

Though I have to say, I was impressed after reading the low wattage requirements on the head of the LED street lamp.

Today's walk report: 021223

 Super Bowl Sunday, always a wonderful day to go for a nice peaceful walk. Just make sure to do so before the beer guzzling starts in your time zone.

This was another physical therapy walk for me. Walking is the best for my lumbago. Sitting in this chair is counterproductive, so I'm gonna be brief in my banter. Here are some pictures...

 First of all, it's a gorgeous day.

This is male Calypte hummingbird, Dusty.

This is not Dusty.

Up on the hill, I had a difficult time with the lighting. It is what it is. The first two images are a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) and the next four are a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

That's it! Again, the point was to get out, get my circulation going and help out my lower lumbar--on that level the walk was a total success. Special, super-duper thanks to Docken for coming along over the phone. 

Is there gas in the car?
Yes, there's gas in the car.