Yes, the kitties enjoy the view from the windows. They spend a lot of time there watching the world go by. The only view out of the old apartment window was a busy street. They like it much better here.
Tito bird watching at the windowJenny was watching the birds from the screen doorTitanescu was watching and wishing he could chase the birdsPepi wasn’t watching out the window. She was enjoying her chewie.
I’m always posting pics of the fur kids bird at the window bird watching. I thought I might share some of what they’re watching.
While I’m not thrilled about the pruned shrub (it will grow back), we have had a variety of birds come visit and sit on the fence. We’re still having storms rolling through, so we’re finding it harder to get out. As a result, I’m quite enjoying watching the birds along with the fur kids.
SparrowHummingbird viewed from the screen doorThis not-a-bird was perched on the fence earlierPretty California Towhee
I’ll keep watch for any different birds that might show up.
What a difference a few storms made at the Markham arboretum, now wearing its vibrant Spring blues, greens and reds from blade of grass to treetop. The Galindo Creek meandering through the gardens remains a few feet at its deepest, hummingbirds have begun their courtships, but the countdown to summer has already begun.
Markham Arboretum
The following photos were all taken yesterday during the course of a single walk through, taking advantage of the blooms we waited months to see. There were over twenty of them, so we decided to arrange them in a slide show for convenience. Below, that, you’ll find a short video of Anna’s hummingbirds courting.
The female hummingbird perched at the very top of a tree, is being buzzed by a male. The chirping sound you hear as he passes by is made by fanning out his tail feathers.
We missed Caturday again. Life gets strange. We’re making up for it this time, with kitties, dog, sunset AND a beautiful bird. Aside from still adjusting to graveyard shifts, we’re prepping for a short move. For whatever reason, to be designated as an RV park (as opposed to a trailer park), no one can stay beyond 6 mos. without moving out for a day (two nights). It’s a bit of a PITA, but our little abode will be towed out to the street behind the park for that time, after which we’ll return for another 6 mos. It’s worth it.
I can’t believe that it’s been almost 6 mos. already. We haven’t killed each other living in such a small space. In fact, we’re adapting well. I’m still getting rid of stuff. I avoid buying anything new (other than food stuffs) without seriously thinking about it first. I’ve done odd things like dump my two pyrex measuring cups and replace them with a plastic 2-cup measuring cup. Enough little things like that and it really lightens the load. I think the only glass or ceramic items we have left are our coffee cups, the Melitta coffee pot, and the cat food dishes. We no longer buy in bulk, except for the canned cat food. Both of us are still MUCH happier than we were before.
The kitties are happier too. In spite of adding a dog to the mix, they have adapted and learned to relax a lot more than before. Even though trailer walls are anything but soundproof, it’s much more quiet here. They like that. Speaking of kitties, here they are. Miss Jenny’s pics are a short series. They aren’t perfect photos, but we thought they were funny.
Tito: Yes, I’m slowly shredding the window dressings. Is it a problem?
Miss Jenny Hmmm?
What?Noooooo, you don’t sayHAHAHAHAHA!Thath thillyTitanescu: Hungry eyes. I would say evil eyes, but he wasn’t on nip at the time.Miss Pepita: Gimme the cookie! Gimme the cookie!
After sleeping and listening to some rain off and on, we went off to watch the sunset last night.
The nearby hills were aglowBeautiful color
While watching the sunset, we saw a pair of birds hunting. They were not as large as the hawks I’m used to watching and their color was different. However, they are incredibly beautiful and manage a very graceful hover before diving on their prey. I didn’t know what they were so I asked some friends on FB and was told that they were White-tailed Kites.
White-tailed Kite
I went off to find a vid that would show the beautiful hovering and found two videos by a local documentary maker named Alex Burke. Both were filmed in the East Bay hills and are a joy to watch. Both vids end with the Kite eating its kill, so if that bothers you just avoid the very end. 🙂
Given the construction, we avoid leaving the kitties alone when the workers are doing their thing. Instead, we left very early and went to the park at sunrise. The last time we were there, we got to watch ducks, geese and robins. This time, it was very quiet.
Not a cloud in the sky as Karl The Fog was on a short vacaion. Photo by LastechStow LakeOnly a couple of quiet ducks were outDuck and ripplesEven with no clouds, the colors were prettyThe spires of St. Ignatius
Since a couple of ducks were the only wildlife we found at Stow Lake, we wandered off to another lake for a walk.
Eucalyptus in bloomCloseup of the Eucalyptus blooms
It had been a very quiet morning, all things considered. While slighty disappointed that we didn’t see more wildlife, we were very happy with the sunrise and eucalyptus and lack of other humans. In other words, it was peaceful. It didn’t last. Our peace and quiet was abruptly shattered.
We headed off around the next curve in the trail and came face to face with the rare and elusive Golden Gate Bawk-Bawk.
Here you can see them investigating the noms that some human left for themThis Bawk-Bawk stopped long enough to pose for meAbandoning the noms left by humans, they can be seen scratching in the grass
Our very quiet morning turned into a rare event and will be much remembered. As we left, the Bawk-Bawks were safely roosting in the nearby shrubbery.
My last post was from Stow Lake at dawn. This time we went in the late afternoon, before the fog rolled back in. The geese posed nicely and the water was reflections were pretty.
Blue sky with wisps of fog over Stow LakeYoung Canada GooseAdult Canada GeeseAnother young Canada Goose
We paused to sit at a table and enjoy a cup of coffee. We had a visitor who sat at the other end of the table watching.
SeagullSeagull feets
After our coffee we went for a walk around the lake.
A pair of hawks hunting for nomsLady ducky showing off her feets and checking to see if we had noms.Another pretty female duck with a Brewer’s Blackbird lurking behind
And here is my ultimate goal. In my last post I had a pic of a young girl ducky who was molting. I had taken pics of her and her siblings, but that was the only one that came out clear. I got lucky and got a cute pic of all three together.
We went to Stow Lake at dawn to see what critters were lurking in the fog. It’s very peaceful, but not exactly quiet. The birds were noisy.
No boaters on the lake this earlyThe Chinese Pavillion and mist on the waterHummingbirdFlappity flappitySteller’s Jay and mateAmerican RobinRobin with noms Feed meh!This little ducky is almost a big girl now. She’s molting.
And now for the bonus pic from Lastech. This was also taken at dawn, so it fits the theme. 🙂
Now that Lastech is working days and has to get up early, we rise before the roosters on his days off to go adventuring. Sunday was no exception. We headed out around 0530. First we went out to Treasure Island. The new east span of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge just opened. The view from the island won’t be pretty during the day until the old span is removed, which is supposed to take about 3 years. It looks lovely in the dark though.
I love it. You can just see a bit of the old span in the background.
These past couple of days have been frustrating, thanks to business providers. In order to put me back in a good mood, Lastech took me to the park and then the beach. We saw many birds and here are are some of them.
I call these parking lot birds. They are either brown headed cowbirds or Brewer’s blackbirds. I’m not certain. They’re everywhere.Sanderlings? I’m not sure. I just know that the lead bird had the noms and the other two wanted them.I love empty beaches. Ok, not quite empty as there were plenty of birds. That haze is sand as it was a tad windy.These teeny weeny birds were fun to watch. Sanderlings, I think.synchronized nom huntingSea gull has nomsWTF?? No, not even sea gull noms. These were too big. Lastech decided I needed some good Zen this morning, so we went to the Japanese Tea Garden. I love the KoiSea gulls having an argument over noms. The gull on the lower left has the crab in question. Photo by LastechYou got the noms? No I don’t have the noms! They’re over there! Damn! (photo by Lastech)Ha Ha! I got the noms! Photo by LastechBird butts in triplicateGulls on the beachSynchronized bird butts
Note to self: Do NOT go to Ocean Beach when the wind is blowing. I’m still finding sand in my ears and other assorted nether regions. Baker Beach is safer in the wind. Yes, we knew it was bad when Lastech turned on the fan in the car and sand was blowing out of the vents.
That was the pleasant part of our adventure for the day.
The San Francisco Bay area never ceases to surprise me. We had to make a trip to down Burlingame and we stopped at Bayfront Park in Millbrae. It’s a small park that sits adjacent to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). It made for some great plane AND bird watching.
Bayfront Park with SFO and San Bruno Mountain in the background
