What can I say? Shit happens. The last walk to or around and nearby our botanical garden hang was on June 16, 2018. While the excuse for the most part is horribly hot days there was also that near death experience. I won't get into the details. Suffice it to say, I'm much better now. Anyway, we did a drive and walk today and even though the walking part was only a mere 2 miles it was kind of a big deal. Now I know, had the car been removed from the equation, I think I could have managed the extra 2 miles driving afforded us. So, next time. Meanwhile, it was a beautiful morning and despite the garden having suffered miserably from this summer's heat there were some photos to be had...
Male, lesser goldfinch, Spinus psaltria.
The same bird on Salvia darcyi.
Cactus flower.
Male Calypte anna hummingbird.
Female Selasphorus rufus hummingbird in a palo verde tree.
The same bird in a different part of the same tree.
Some type of agave flowering.
The same stalk as above in a portion with flowers open.
You've heard of the Fool on The Hill, here are a couple of asses on a hill.
Another ass hanging with some goats.
There were two of these black cats playing together. They were really big. I thought almost frighteningly big.
We saw several red tailed hawks. This is the same bird in different locations.
That's all, thanks for coming along. As side note trivia and something I learned today. The line that starts out this walk report, It's been a long time since I did the stroll, is from Led Zeppelin's song Rock and Roll. I can't even imagine how many times in my life I've heard that song but only today I found out that it's the Stroll and the Stroll is a dance from the 50s-60s that goes like this...
I'm a little more partial to the tune, that goes like this... It's got a good beat and I can dance to it!
than yesterday's post? This one will make the grade.
I almost called the walk on account of left foot issues. This problem was noted yesterday. Typically I can transcend foot pain (I ALWAYS have some) but there are times when aggravating a problem is going to compound it further. This is almost always when my running shoes have given up the fight and need to be replaced. I think it's way early on the current pair. I'm going to try an alternate pair of shoes tomorrow.
You see how this is going?
Aside from this same as yesterday foot pain. Also same as yesterday I got a late start. But I wasn't apathetic like I was yesterday. I was looking forward to transcending the foot pain pain (that happened about 1 km into the walk), enjoying my walk and listening to music... That ended about 3 km in. The battery on my iPod gave out. Damn! I finished that street and started heading back. Without music the foot pain came back to the forefront too. I hate that. I have a bad habit of not charging my iPod and this particular iPod is only good for a little over 3 hours on a charge nowadays. It' a relic from 2004. I wrote some nonsense about iPods way back in May here.
Having over analyzed yesterday's walk I know I cut precisely 1 km off of that for a total walk today of 4.71 km. It is what it is, sorry the story is so dull.
By the way, the iPod quit right after the final chord of this...
For the most part a very dynamic, powerful and pleasant walk.
This was the highlight... Com'on how many people do you see walking a goat and a pony in Los Angeles County?
However, last 1 km or so I was pulled back into a rewind of my pre-walk day...
When I walked in the door coming home this appropriately came up on the iPod. I let it go, washed dishes and put my lentil soup on the burner.
In some cultures eating lentils is supposed to bring good fortune. Of course that's typically for the new year... Then again, we're only 6 days outside of Rosh Hashanah. I'll take whatever I can get.
