Book of Saturday

Today's walk report. It was a fine walk, mostly okay. Wait... what can I complain about this week? The only thing is... I cut the walk short because of students, too many students. Granted, I was on a college campus, but you know, they have some nerve going to school on a Saturday. There's also quite a bit of construction going on. I guess those guys aren't union. If they are, it was a premium pay day. Anyway, I made a lot of detours to stay clear of both students and construction folks, and that cut at least 7/10 of a mile from where my original intentions were. The walk turned out to be 2.15 miles. Temperatures ranged from 65º to 70º F.  The high today was 83º.

Here are some pictures taken along the way. 

Saturday, June 6th.

Bauhinia Blakeana. Because the Southern California climate mimics their native subtropical environment, they can bloom sporadically throughout the entire year. Lovely tree. 

 Aristea ecklonii, AKA, blue stars. 

Euphorbia milii, common name is crown of thorns. It is a woody, succulent shrub native to Madagascar. It is considered mildly toxic to both humans and pets. So watch it!

 Verbesina encelioides is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names include golden crownbeard, cowpen daisy, goldweed, wild sunflower, butter daisy, crown-beard, American dogweed, and the Spanish Añil del Muerto ("indigo of the dead"). Why Añil del Muerto? Apparently, the plant thrives in recently disturbed or uncultivated soils. It frequently colonizes vacant lots, roadsides, and old graveyards. Also, when crushed, the plant releases a very strong, somewhat fetid odor, traditionally associated with the earthiness of a grave. It's a traditional folk name given to the plant by descendants of Spanish explorers and settlers in the American Southwest. I suspect someone was having a bad day.

 Agapanthus. The name is derived from Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, meaning "love", and ἄνθος, meaning "flower." Spanish explorer descendants please take note. 

 Lacecap hydrangea.

 A pair of mockingbirds. I missed all of the action. There were at least three birds either mating, fighting or a combination of both. Beneath them is their spaceship. It's actually a vessel designed for interdimensional travel. 

 Common raven (Corvus corax). Also one of two. I believe this is the female. The ravens, in fact, built the chronoships for the mockingbirds so they would leave them alone. 

 Male Calypte anna hummingbird. This is a young bird molting into adult plumage. The full process takes one year. The first shrub is Caesalpinia cacalaco and the tree below is Pistacia chinensis.

 Dasylirion longissimum (Mexican Grass Tree).

 The Flame Bottletree (Brachychiton acerifolius). I don't believe I ever saw this flowering before.

 On my way back to my car. I swear, I thought this dude was gonna lunge at me and go for the jugular. I went a little wide,

 This song came up while I was writing and since it's Saturday and because I love this song, here ya go.

Because I liked the album cover so much ever since it came out in 1973 and I wanted to make a t-shirt in 2006, I drew this in Adobe Illustrator.