The Odd Sock: Today's walk report: Sleepless

In the whispering realm between dusk and dawn, where dreams flitted like fireflies and nightmares lurked in shadows, lived a being called Slumber. But Slumber wasn't a dream, nor a nightmare; it was the essence of sleep itself, an entity born from the collective suspension of consciousness of humankind.

For millennia, Slumber existed as a diffuse awareness, weaving dreams and lulling minds to rest. Each sleep was a contribution, a thread woven into its being. But with the rise of insomnia, a chilling darkness began to creep into Slumber's essence. The lack of sleep created rifts in its form, leaving patches of its existence thin and vulnerable.

So begins my story about my relationship with sleep. A relationship shattered into pieces since on onset of COVID and it continues to shred and become further fractured. Yesterday morning I was outmaneuvered by Slumber and I couldn't make it out for a walk. We need to mend our divide. This morning I was defiant and asked, "Why do you imprison us?" Slumber was taken aback, he saw his own reflection in my courage. He realized he had become a double-edged sword, offering respite but also trapping some in a perpetual state of fatigue. "I offer rest," he rumbled, his voice a cosmic wind, "but freedom is yours to choose."

So I met with my good friend Shower and I was on my way...

Pictures from today's walk, Sunday, July 7th...

Walking into the local botanical garden and being greeted by the blue palo verde trees in full bloom is truly transformational. They are absolutely stunning.

This chubby ground squirrel is working on his tree climbing creds in this Senna bicapsularis shrub.

Summer has already taken a toll on the garden, it was only 7:15 AM but I could feel the temperature rising and humidity was high so I made getting in a decent walk my priority.

This northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) was proudly carrying its breakfast around. From the length of the insect’s antennae I concluded it was an American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) the largest species of common cockroach.

Last Sunday I posted a couple of wide shots of the Tipuana tipu tree which resides inside an enclosed portion of the campus dedicated to "child development." I regretted not getting any close-up shots of the flowers. Today I walked the perimeter and sure enough one gate was left open. The tree has lost an enormous amount of blooms in a week but I managed to get relatively close to a few blossoms.

The nectarine tree, seen here on June 23rd, loaded with unripe fruit. They were still very unripe last Sunday, nevertheless they pruned the tree of all the fruit. Why plant a fruit tree if you're gonna strip it of fruit before it's edible?

I proceeded to the western most edge of the campus.

This cow spotted me coming.

Same cow.

More cows.

Even more cows. That sign, by the way, isn't exactly true. At least not from my observations. The ground was tilled long ago but I only saw the regular old invasive weeds coming in. After the rains this year any seedling should have been hopping. Also, it appears to me that many if not all of the cattle are tagged property of Bayer. Bayer has a stake in sustainable beef production.

Basic dental care involves brushing and flossing your teeth regularly to remove plaque. Plaque is a thin film of bacteria that sticks to teeth above and below the gum line.

Back at the car I spotted this pair of common ravens. It's very possible that these are the same ravens I have seen here a number of times in the past. They sure acted like them. It's just that I haven't seen them in quite awhile. Nevertheless, I had some kitty kibble in the car and I made sure that at least the male (the larger bird) took notice of me tossing a handful into the parking lot.

Even though I was several parking spaces away from them they waited until I got in the car and started driving away before they flew down for the cat food. I circled around into the next parking aisle to get some pictures of them eating.