My walks, Saturday, October 14th and today. Sunday, October 15th.
You know, if she could put this thing together for me, I'd find this behavior totally acceptable.
(Yes, she's my baby and she's the ruler of this house).
Saturday, October 14.
Docken joined me via a telecommunications network both days. Thank you, Docky!
There was almost no picture taking on Saturday. I was slightly tardy and the campus was filling up with students and others, collecting to view the annular solar eclipse in groups. So I pretty much chose to keep moving. Male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty, was tough to track in the salvias or was contrary to the light.
On the way out of the garden I spotted this female Allen's hummingbird. A lot of flowering plants seemed to get a second growth spurt post tropical storm Hilary back in late August. I noticed there are more hummingbirds around lately too.
Sunday, October 15th, today.
I got out a little earlier this morning. It was a cool 51º. It's not cool anymore though, right now at 2:30 PM we've got a temperature of 99º.
I'm pretty sure both of these shots were male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty. However, as mentioned above there was a lot of hummingbird activity and I wasn't especially centered on taking pictures. I was feeling kind of antsy about getting a decent walk in and over with to be honest.
This male Calypte anna was definitely not Dusty but he was right smack-dab in Dusty's territory. There was some chasing going on.
The ancient car worshipers were out in mass and were still pouring in as I passed their parking lot. Many of the cars I took a fleeting glance at kind just looked like dilapidated old jalopies to me. "Yeah, I know it looks like a piece of crap, but check under the hood!"
Then there was this guy and his kid (Robin?). One of the first model cars I ever built as a kid was the Batmobile from the 1966 TV series. The 1966 Batmobile was based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car by custom car designer and builder George Barris. I'm certain this is a replica and have no idea what the base car might be. Pretty cool nonetheless.
Starlings. I have a newfound appreciation for European starlings even though their large urban roosts are often considered a nuisance. After seeing them vocalize in captivity on YouTube (rescued birds) I've found them to be rather delightful and I'm also more captivated by the iridescence and variations in their feathers. Out picture taking I don't hear a peep from them. Poops yes, I see poops, peeps no.
Correction (10/16/23): These are not starlings, while I have taken pictures of common starlings on that same rusty wire fence below, these are Brewer's Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus). Apparently not much of a vocalizer at all; more of a rather boring, chirp, chirper. My bad.
Finally, another odd sock. This reads... GO AWAY PLEASE LEAVE. Well, alrighty then.
I debated this song choice for awhile. I ended up reading about the composer, Neal Hefti. He was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for The Odd Couple movie and TV series and for the Batman TV series among many other TV and film productions. He was also a composer and arranger for Count Basie and Harry James. Whoever they were.
I served Adam West at Jack in the Box . He walked up to the window. I asked if he was Batman and he said yes, in a somewhat irritated manner. Dusty has competition from a good looking interloper. There may not be a peaceful resolution. Holy hummingbirds !
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