The moon was 98% illuminated, about 30 hours before Full Moon just after midnight PDT on Sunday.
The birds didn’t appreciate the view, they just wanted me to hurry up and finish refilling their feeders.
Blustery
In more ways than one.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how freakin’ windy it can get up here.
On a day when I was already getting rocked from side to side pretty well in the deadlines & work demands sense, I went out at lunch for a quick doctor’s visit. Nothing serious, routine, but (as usual) a bit on the annoying side. I’m sure they all mean well, but cut me some freakin’ slack! I’m old and tired!
Just about the time that dinner finished and I was really, REALLY hoping to sit on my ass for the evening watching some sports thing or the other, the “emergency” phone call came from further up the corporate ladder and it was time to be a miracle worker again. I did it, that’s why I get the big bucks I guess, but I would have been happier falling asleep in front of the television with some ice cream.
Filed under Deep Thoughts, Photography, Video, Weather
Train Hunting Again
About six weeks ago I finally followed one of the primary north-south streets near us to where it ended at the edge of The Mesa, the area where the Victor Valley floor drops off into Cajon Pass and down toward the Inland Empire (Riverside, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga) and the LA Basin, Pasadena, and the San Fernando Valley. Today, on a whim, I finally did it again, this time on another primary street that’s just around the corner from us.
As previously mentioned here and there, one of the things I truly love about this are and our Forever Home is that I can hear the trains all day and night. We’re about a mile from the primary BNSF tracks coming up through the Cajon Pass connecting the major ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach and San Pedro to points east, including Barstow, Flagstaff, Kansas City, Fort Madison, and Chicago. It’s not a constant stream of trains 24/7/365, but it’s at least 50-60 trains a day.
From our house we can’t actually see the trains, but the tracks run just over the edge of The Mesa, where the land starts to drop off. Having looked at the maps I was pretty sure that I could get closer here than I did on my first adventure in April.
While driving home, on the spur of the moment I decided to go train hunting.
I was successful. From where the road ended the drop off into the canyon was more hilly and less direct than I had hoped for, so I had to go hiking for a quarter mile or so down these dirt trails that cover the hills (for hiking, ATV and motorcycle riding, horses, etc), but I finally got a good view.
Heavy clouds were moving up the Cajon Pass, while the Sun was setting and bright behind me, so the contrast was stark.
This site is probably less than a mile from our house, so at some point I want to try simply walking there and back instead of driving. I need the exercise and I need to start rebuilding my stamina.
Dramatic skies!
Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Trains, Weather
Where Are The Raptors?
Here’s a small part of a normal afternoon in the back yard.
There are 18 wrens and finches here, under one of the four birdseed feeders, with similar crowds under the other three.
Plus another 20-30 up above AT the feeders and on the top of the pergola waiting their turn at the feeders.
Plus 10-12 large, fat pigeons.
Plus 8-10 squirrels.
It occured to me while re-filling the birdseed feeders that there’s something missing.
While occasionally we’ve seen a pair of red-tailed hawks circling far above, and on at least two occasions I’ve seen an owl parked on top of the pergola, there is almost NEVER any signs of any of those raptors feeding at the Willett Open-Air Aviary & Squirrel Adventure.
Where are they?
If we’re providing all of this feed to a variety of birds and small rodents, shouldn’t there be multiple pairs of hawks and owls feeding off of the birds and critters?
In nine months we’ve built the equivilent of the watering hole in the middle of the Serengeti. Where are the lions?
We seem to have only a partial ecosystem here. It seems odd.
Filed under Birds, Critters, Forever Home, Photography
Fourteen Years Ago Today
I knew that it was about this time of year, but I didn’t realize until I went and found the pictures that it was exactly fourteen years ago today.
The Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, maybe a third of the way up the mountain. I had been trying to take a selfie and some wonderful woman grabbed the camera and took it for me. This is one of my favorite pictures of me in my travels.
I loved this trip in its entirety. Three weeks, three kids, three countries. Shanghai, Seoul, and Kyoto. One of my biggest adventures.
In particular I loved Fushimi Inari. I would go back there and visit in a heartbeat.
If you ever get a chance, go.
Filed under Photography, Travel
Just, Pause – Look Up!
Yeah, holiday weekend, blah, blah, blah. Still busier than God and stressed.
Just take a minute. Situational awareness. Don’t be blind to what’s right in front of you.
Or, in this case, above you. Yeah, it’s just some simple clouds floating in a bluer than blue sky.
THAT’s THE POINT! It’s beautiful, it’s special, it might be commonplace but that’s what makes it so extraordinary! Paradoxical, huh?
Take a minute. Do one of those breathing exercises from an app that your HMO gave to you. Lower your blood pressure.
Better?
Okay, NOW you get back to stressing over how the world is going to shit.
Filed under Deep Thoughts, Photography, Weather
Growing Into Their Coloration
The baby squirrel kits had fairly solid fur when they first showed up a few weeks ago, but now they’re growing into their natural, adult coloration.
You might remember that when the first squirrel showed up last September, I named it “Two-Tone” because of the white collar around its shoulders. The rest of his pelt was covered in small white spots. Above you can see how the babies are now starting to match that look.
This group was just lounging at the far end of the pergola (next to one of the den entrances in case of emergency, i.e., me getting up to go back in the house – OOOOOOOOOH!!! Scary!!!) while also getting the last of the Sun’s rays for the day.
The other thing I saw today, much to my surprise, were quail in the back yard. I saw them over by the edge of The Mesa last month so I know they’re in the area, but I hadn’t seen any here yet. But this morning, just before sunrise, I spotted a pair up on the back wall. That little “fishing lure” thing hanging off of their foreheads is quite distinctive. Surprise!!
Filed under Birds, Critters, Forever Home, Photography
Moon In Blue
Floating there just like another planet in our sky.
A small telescope or even a pair of binoculars are all you need to start exploring and finding craters, mountain ranges, and other prominent features. It’s BRIGHT at Full Moon, but everything looks flat then because there aren’t any shadows. Look before or after full so that you get some nice shadows and lots of detail popping out along the terminator (the dividing line between dark and illuminated).
Filed under Astronomy, Photography
Sitting Quietly
I went out into the back yard, it was very pleasant. When I went out, all of the critters and birds fled, but as I sat still for a while, they started to come back.
Over behind the pergola, this little dude popped his head up to keep his eye on me. It’s like he thought that I couldn’t see him. Okay, I’ll play along.
Then when it was time for me to go in, I quietly stood up. The birds that had come back fled again, and this little dude started doing that ear piercing, squirrel version of “DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!”
Jeez Louise, dude! I’m twenty feet away, I’m old, I’m slow, and all I did was stand up. Chillax!
Filed under Birds, Critters, Photography
No Context For You – May 20th
Nibbled to death by ducks.
No one close to us has died recently, no one in the family has a terminal disease, our house isn’t on fire, so many folks have it so much worse…
And yet.
When every news cycle gets worse, when the bumpy, rough road turns out to be endless, when what should be a shelter turns out to be a prison…
“Never give up, never surrender!” is a great tagline for a movie character, but in real life things are messier.
Filed under Paul, Photography
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 