Today's walk report: 050122

 Mayday! Mayday! Oh wait, sorry... May Day, May Day!

What's the difference these days? But, it is indeed a beautiful first day of May, 2022. Currently it's 74º F and during this pseudo-walk it was 62º-64º, sunny with a slight dingy gray haze just to remind me of where I am. Here are some pictures.

Once again the palo verde trees upon entering the local botanical garden are spectacular even though now about 1/2 the flowers we saw back on April 3rd lie withered on plants and the ground below.

I followed this monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) around for some time, or perhaps it was following me. It was kind of hard to tell. In the first image it's on a Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) tree while the second and third shots were taken earlier, back on the blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida) trees.

Before I headed around the bend I noticed the spire on the century plant posted on this spiffy little blog back on April 10th had risen above pretty much everything else in the garden.

Onto the other side...

Verbena, also known as vervain or verveine was becoming a little sparse over the past several years but it appears to be making a comeback. Notice the happy carpenter bee in the second image.

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, affectionately known as Dusty, was once again reliably in his favorite roost. Although, he was a little busier than usual because migrating rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) have arrived and he seemed a little upset over their occupying his domain. So, lots of chasing going on.

This may or may not be a male rufous hummingbird. I was across the pond, about 30' away. It could be a male Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin). The flower is Iris pseudacorus, the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag. It's an invasive species and out-competes native riparian vegetation, including cattails... which have been way out of control in this little pond for several years. Back in 2017 it was Docken's and my understanding that the pond was going to be drained for a makeover. That never happened. Some bad stuff happened we won't get into. Docken was on the phone with me for the walk again today. In case anyone was wondering. Thank you Docken!

On a nearby bench, this western fence lizard was optimizing some direct rays of sunshine.

 

 

 I ended up driving up the hill in search of birds of prey but it was very quiet. All I spotted was this sleepy mourning dove.

Look closely at its eye and you can tell it was trying to sleep.

 

 

 That was it. I headed back home. Way back on March 11th I posted about, among other stuff, 13 Osteospermum plants I grew in a closet from seed and transplanted in front of the house. Just a few days ago I got my first flower. Everything I grow from a seed amazes me every single time--with that I'm like a child. It's like a secret... all those secrets.

Today's walk report: 042422

 Let's put it this way, at least I got out and did some walking.

Here are pictures taken along the way.

This female Calypte anna was being courted by a male. I didn't get a good enough look to determine whether or not it was our friend the male Calypte anna hummingbird known as Dusty.

Okay, I'm just going to pretend to ignore him.

No, wait... where the heck did he go?

As it turned out, Dusty was hanging out in his usual perch once I rounded the bend in the garden.

This male monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) was showing off nicely against the bush sunflowers (Encelia californica).

Over the past week the blue nolina (Nolina nelsonii) went into full bloom.

 That's all. The journey was short and rather rough around the edges. Once again my thanks to Docken for joining me over a cellular network. Meanwhile, this sums up a lot of the past week or so for me. I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.

Today's walk report: 041022

 It can change, it can stay the same...

On the phone again with Docken, thank you Docken. I took the flat route walking the nearby campus today. There was a lot of bending over digging holes and planting seedlings yesterday at home, making a gallant effort to get some plants for summer blooms happening despite the efforts of voracious insects and unseasonable temps. Yesterday made for some physical struggling today but the mental medication of getting out and taking photos more than made up for it.

Here are some pictures.

Echinopsis candicans, still blooming.

Invitation, calling all pollinators.

This is the same female Calypte anna hummingbird that was on this same Cephalocereus senilis cactus last week collecting the hairs which are modified spines protecting the cactus from frost and sun. Nests take around a week to build and are 1" tall by 1.5" in diameter. She's probably making some finishing touches.

The palo verde trees still in bloom but not quite as brillant as they were last week. The past five days, with temperatures in the low to upper 90ºs, really took a toll on a lot of flora. However, today is quite pleasant. As I type the temperature is a comfortable 70ºf, midday. 

Male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty at one of his regular perches. You'd think he could go help with that nest building but nope. 

The flowering spire on this century plant (Agave americana) apparently shot up in the past week. I certainly didn't notice it last week and it's pretty hard to miss.
 

The goats were out doing what goats do best--eating.

From a distance I thought this red-tailed hawk looked to be fully adult but then Docken and I heard it make the weaker kee-eeeee-arr call of a juvenile. When I looked at the images I could clearly see its adult plumage wasn't quite there yet.

I extended the walk a little and picked up the pace just for the sake of walking. I know where the mile mark is and ended up walking just over two miles. My back nagged at me for the return mile and I swore a lot (right, Docken?) but I'm glad I got out and made the effort.

Today's walk report: 040322

 Walkin' and talkin' with Docken.

Let's put it this way... it was good to get out even though I mostly wandered rather aimlessly. Here are a few pictures from what ended up being a short excursion.

Echinopsis candicans

 

For the most part this female Calypte anna hummingbird was obscured behind this Old Man Cactus (Cephalocereus senilis) and it wasn't until I got home that I realized what she was doing, darting in and out behind it. Why of course, she was collecting some fuzzy for her nest.

There's always a mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). I noticed a few days ago, on one of my early morning weekday walks, that I could pick out a mockingbird singing at almost every point throughout the 2 and 1/2 mile journey. As one faded out another faded in.

American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), this was clearly a mating ritual. I didn't get many shots off but noticed that the pair was frequently in sync. The vocalizations were unique to me, courtship calls. My appreciation for crows has grown immensely over the past few years, walks made it happen.

For much of the walk I was gazing into palo verde trees. Stunningly beautiful and teeming with bees.

Peace - An End