Weekend Walk Report

 Walks for Saturday, November 11th and Sunday, November 12th.

Not a heck of a lot on the photo front. For both days I was trying to get decent walks in and basically survive the effort. Docken joined me over the phone for each walk and that provided a wonderful distraction from aches and pains and also mental motivation to keep going when the going got tough. Thank you, Docky!

Here are some "snapshots" from Saturday, which was also the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) Los Angeles City Section, Cross Country Championships. When I ran cross country at this same location in High School the course was two miles. Kicking up a bunch of dirt, usually behind several other people kicking up a bunch of dirt, there's nothing enjoyable about the sport. 

Famous male Calypte anna hummingbird Dusty was way up in the Caesalpinia cacalaco and I wasn't too keen on any pictures of him but, here you go.

To be honest, the lighting in the morning when temps are still cool and conducive for walks, is pretty awful for the most part. I'll enjoy scheduling my walks later in the day once more of the day offers cooler climes. You say it's almost mid-November and what are you talking about? I'm talking about mid-80ºs before noon and I don't find that comfortable. Fall is coming though, it won't be long now!

Here, more crappy lighting on this mockingbird. Same Caesalpinia cacalaco shrub.

 I didn't hang out. I started in on the walk. I only went 1.9 miles, not even the distance these kids were running.

Two things I noticed that were very different from when I ran cross country a million years ago. One, there are girls in there running with the boys. There were no girls in cross country back when I was in High School and there was no offering for a girls only team. Two, in this next image... that's a bunch of parents hanging out cheering their kids on. I never saw parents come to a cross country meet. I can't imagine my mother schlepping up a dirt trail to watch a minute or two of running.

I kept walking. I didn't go much past the horses. This raven was certainly making a lot of noise and I got the feeling the horse was not in the mood. See the horse looking my way as if to say, would you please rid me of this annoying bird?

The horse finally got fed up and walked away.

Sunday, November 12th, that's still today.  

Another brief visit with Dusty, again too high up in the Caesalpinia cacalaco for much of a picture.

This is not Dusty. It appeared to be a younger male Calypte anna. It could be the bird Dusty seemed to tolerate in this post.

 I'm pretty sure this is the same mockingbird as yesterday. The finches seemed to be cramping its style so it took off.

Onto the walk. I'm not sure what this was but I think maybe I should've applied.

That's it, all I got. Today's walk was a little better on distance at 2.29 miles and it was also a tad worse for aches, pains and mental distress. Oh well. Again, my thanks to Docken, she made the journey a lot easier than it would have been alone.

Today's walk report: Bonus Butterfly Edition

  The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
~Albert Einstein 

We messed with the clocks again last night! However, I was still on PDT and out the door at 6:25 PST. Docken ringy-dingy-ed me on the way out. Thank you for the walk and talk, Docky. One thing that was a little different. I sort of forgot to take pictures. It was about 47º when I got out of the car and headed for the garden. Our intrepid friend, male Calypte anna hummingbird Dusty, was nowhere to be seen, probably because it was cold and maybe he was just coming out of torpor. I didn't especially feel like hanging out so I got to walking. I also wanted to get a walk in and get back home because dear feral cat Stan apparently had honored the time change and slept in. Whatever the story, he hadn't shown up for breakfast before I headed out. Sure enough, he was in his house patiently waiting when I got home.

Here are the only pictures I took.

When I saw this California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) with two acorns in its beak, I thought of scrub jay Bowie. I still miss that girl. She was special.

Then looking down from the hilltop I glanced at my donkey friends grazing on the hillside below. This was the only one marginally within camera range. The walk was a mere 1.97 miles.

I had already decided I needed to review butterfly images taken in my backyard on November the 2nd and some others on the 4th and could fill any gap on the photo front for today. I've been really busy with household tasks and chores for the last several days and these images hadn't been looked at until this afternoon.

Thursday, November 2nd. I was delighted to see this lovely monarch hanging out on the butterfly bushes.

Saturday November 4th, yes, that would be yesterday, a slightly tattered gulf fritillary was enjoying the last few remaining Tithonia rotundifolia flowers in the yard.

Good morning, Stan!

Time.

Today's walk report: Proof of Life

 Besides a desire to get a decent walk accomplished, another goal today was provide my old (!) friend Trey proof of life on male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty. Back on Sunday, October 22nd Dusty and I had a close encounter with a red-tailed hawk. That story is here. In retrospect, I've decided that the participant most surprised was the hawk. I realized later that the hawk probably couldn't see me until it was right on top of my position. I was too close to surrounding shrubbery and too low for the bird to see until it was almost directly above my location. Dusty was several feet above me. I'm wondering now if that's the reason it appeared as though the hawk crashed in the palo verde tree above and behind both Dusty and myself. Anyway, Trey insisted on proof of life, so here you go.

We were yakking it up, Dusty and I.

Although a little less prominent than it has been in weeks past, the white dot under Dusty's right eye is further evidence that this is indeed Dusty boy.

 

I was going for a long version of my typical loop around the lower campus but there were too many events going on (YMCA Family Fun Run, The 1st Annual Horticulture Day and Plant sale and a Petting Zoo) so I cut the walk short at 1.66 miles. A few 100 yards before turning around to head back to my car these goats saw me approaching and came trotting over from mid-field to this fence to greet me. I'd swear, they wanted to be my friends.

More to come, hopefully tomorrow, the time moving back to PST might make for a quieter campus and Sundays are almost always best. Special thanks to Docken for hanging out and jabbering with me over the phone 😘.

Later, Dusty.

Goat Polo, featuring a Tuvan throat singing group from Mongolia.

Today's Butterfly

 Female, Checkered White (Pontia protodice). Taken today, November 2, between 12:47 and 12:55 PM. These are in the order they were taken, pretty sure, it's been a very busy day.

I was feeling part of the scenery.