The Odd Sock: Another photo potpourri

Walks and other stuff since my last post on June 15th. Both walks and picture taking have been rather haphazard due to several factors including daily maximum temperatures and my window of opportunity before it got too hot for me to handle a walk, lack of subject matter for photos, my patience, a plethora of aches and pains and feeling burdened by a significant amount of work inside and around the house. I'm also trying to squeeze in Dodgers baseball because it's a great escape from all of the terrible problems in the world.

You know what else is a great escape from all of the terrible problems in the world? Kittens. Kittens, with their boundless energy, innocent curiosity, and unadulterated joy in play serve as a simple pleasure in life. If their charm isn't reaching you, it's not a reflection of a deficit in them, but perhaps an indication that you need to explore new avenues for joy, comfort, and connection in your own life.

Kalika's little girl, Junior, June 16th. If you haven't been here before, unless otherwise indicated, these pictures are taken through dirty windows. The kitties are feral and aren't especially inclined to pose for photos. It's getting easier though.

June, 18th

June 19th, Junior hunts a leaf.

Later that day, a she's big girl atop an old fence. These were taken outside from approximately 30 feet away with a focal length of 300mm. Foreground plant is Salvia canariensis (Canary Island sage).

June 20th thru the 22nd were walk days. The daily maximum temperatures were 80º, 78º and 86º, respectively. For contrast, the max temps from June 15th thru the 18th were, 104º, 101º, 102º and 100º. The morning of the 21st looked like it could've been a fall morning. It was also pleasantly cool at the start of the walk around 9:20 AM. Docken joined me over the phone both Saturday and Sunday. Thank you, Docken. Friday the 20th was a shorter solo neighborhood walk but all totaled I put in a little over 8.5 miles for the three day weekend. Fact is, weekends and weekdays have very little to do with my behavior, they are rather constructs of those around me, as much as I attempt to avoid them.

Photos from my walk on June 21st.

Before I left, and this is significant because this morning marked the last morning I would see mom, Kalika and her kitten, Junior, together for a few days. I have read that feral kittens typically leave their mother when they are weaned, usually around 6 to 8 weeks old. After weaning, kittens may stay with their mother for a while longer to learn how to hunt, avoid danger, and navigate their environment. This has become my experience.

Onto the walk. Sharing that fall-like weather. Can you feel it?

Jacaranda flowers. I'm only posting this because I somehow had neglected the Jacaranda trees flowering this season and it seems I had missed their peak. This is unusual because I generally look forward to seeing them bloom. Maybe the timing was off for me this year? It seems a number of plants were late to bloom. The rainy season was late and abysmal so that was probably a contributing factor.

Two ravens on a lamppost.

Two turkey vultures on a lamppost.

Yes, trust me, there were two.

I have seen these two for a number of years now. While not strictly "territorial" in the sense of actively defending a feeding area from other vultures, turkey vultures demonstrate strong site fidelity to their nesting areas and communal roosts, often reusing them year after year for many years.

There are a number of calves currently in the cow pastures. This young black Angus followed mom for a short stretch before mom slowed down for her calf to take milk.

This is Datura wrightii (Sacred Datura). All parts of the plant are highly toxic. I thought it was growing a little too close to where the cows are. While it is not considered an aggressive invasive species it can spread readily.

June 22nd, I took 36 photos and didn't appreciate any of them.

June 25th. The morning became a little hectic for me when Junior discovered a hole in one of the pickets to the east side neighbor's backyard. I didn't think it was a good idea to maintain this access because they have a dog, a pool and I frankly didn't think it was a necessary place for her to explore. After she first climbed through I was unsure of what to do. As it turned out she came back over after I called her mother's name, Kalika!

What? You called? You saw my mom, or what's the deal? Food? More food?

She always has food and water during the day by the way.

After prepping a cutting from another old picket I waited to make sure Jr. was somewhere in my yard before I secured it over the escape hatch.

Also on June 25th. Vit has been somewhat elusive. I interrupted a late lunch or early dinner for him to snap a couple of pictures.

June 26th, I learned this... Mother cats rely heavily on scent to identify their kittens, and a short separation can lead to a weakened scent recognition, making it harder for them to identify their young. While visual cues and vocalizations are also factors, a mother cat may not immediately recognize her kittens after a few days away, but will likely be able to identify them by scent upon reunion. This was a little over four days since I had seen them together. Kalika was eating on the patio when she realized Jr. was coming up from under the fence less than 20' feet behind her. Note the puffed up tail and raised fur on Kalika's back. She was at those dishes under the patio table eating breakfast. This image is a zoomed in frame grab from the trail camera on the patio.

Once Kalika got close enough to smell Jr everything was back to normal. However, over the past three days I have not seen mom and kitten together again.

And yes, the patio is a mess. These shots were between 6:14 and around 6:22 AM. The patio is surrounded by ancient 16+ foot tall ficus trees dumping pollen and flower debris 24/7. I clean the patio as often as twice a day. So there.

June 28th.

This was another breakthrough day of sorts for me and Jr. This was the first day where she actually moved slightly closer to me and "posed" for pictures. At closest I'm about 15' away standing on the patio. Kalika permits me to be as close as arm's length plus about 3" now but only when there's food involved. The only pictures I have of this are from video off the trail camera and I think I've always been in my underwear, so... not happening here.

Finally (whew!) from yesterday's walk, also June 28th. Here are a few photos.

These two monarch butterflies are both female I don't think it's the same one but it might be. The plant is Asclepias curassavica, commonly known as tropical milkweed. This should be cut back in the fall and I'm not sure if it is. I'm gonna ask the curator of the campus arboretum if and when I see him. Most of the milkweed on campus is native.

I was a little tardy for the action on these agave flowers but to be honest they're really tall, always in blazing sun and I'm not inclined to spend a bunch of time in the position I need to be in to take pictures. Plus, both bees and Selasphorus rufus hummingbirds seem aggressively competitive over the flowers despite the abundance making tracking them with my head cranked back very uncomfortable.