Weekend Walk Report: Cold Suns

 It is springtime in the northern hemisphere, right? This is April 7th in SoCal, my calendar isn't broken, correct? This morning I woke to 37º outside and yesterday morning it was down to 34º. Without central heating parts of the house were quite chilly to say the least but my constant feline companion, Lucy and I did our best to keep our bedroom warm. This week was in celebration of Lucy's 18th birthday. Happy birthday, Lucy! You're as beautiful as ever!

Here are some pictures taken during my walks yesterday, Saturday, April 6th and today, Sunday, April 7th. 

Saturday, April 6th.

Special thanks to Docken for joining me both days over the phone. Having her company helps make the sometimes physical demands of walks, the grunts and groans, a lot easier to transcend. 

This is the male Calypte anna hummingbird known as "not Dusty." Dusty remains AWOL.

 A pair of red-tailed hawks were heard before they were seen.

I took the long road to the western edge of the campus, turned around, came back to my car and drove up the hill. As the crow flies, east to west. the campus is almost exactly one mile wide.

There's still snow on the mountains. Well of course there is, it was upper to low 30ºs down below where I was all night.

I did a short loop around the top of the hill (.45 miles) and headed back to my car for the drive home. This Brewer's blackbird flew right at me as I reached to open the car door as if to bid me farewell.

Sunday, April 7th (today).

As soon as I got out of my car I saw a red-tailed hawk fly into a tall pine tree carrying some sort of rodent to munch. I was too slow with my camera to get a picture. Then I saw its mate hovering around, took some pictures and walked down the road to see if I could spot the first bird in the tree.

 I had wondered about this hawk yesterday. I've taken many pictures of this female red-tailed with the damaged left wing. I spent considerable time last night trying to find a definitive answer on red-tailed hawks (or birds of prey in general) recovering from a lost wing feather (or two) during molt. I'm still very unsure if they do but I just looked back at pictures of this bird from March of 2023. This is she. 

I wandered around under the pine tree but I never spotted the male with his late morning meal.

There was this male Allen's hummingbird nearby.

 Onto the garden...

Once again there was not Dusty and no sign of Dusty.

More shots in another location.

Coleonema pulchellum, commonly known as confetti bush, buchu, diosma or breath of heaven.

Iris pseudacorus, the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae.

A female Calypte anna hummingbird hanging out in the eucalyptus, 'Moon Lagoon.'

I followed her into the sunlight.

Onto my walk...

Nobody told these ancient car worshipers today wasn't a meeting day. The car on the left is a Dodge Viper, I have no clue as to the year. I drove in a Dodge Viper as a brief distraction on my son's fifth birthday party in 1995. It wasn't a good fit. The yellow car is a Ferrari 458 Spider, maybe 2011.

Today's sky panorama.

Turkey vultures in the usual places.

A lady bug on the sidewalk. Ever since I was a kid I generally walk looking downwards.

That's it! And the birthday girl stayed in my lap for the duration! It was a challenge but I love her!