Home»Gallery»Portola Valley Ranch, Windy Hill, Etc.»3/10/2021 Rain, Sun, Mist, Rain: Sausal Pond and PV Meadowlands»3/10/2021 Wet Raven, Hungry Squirrel, Sparrow Quarrel, and More: Near Sausal Pond

I spent a morning near the parking lot for the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. A huge, wet raven greeted me, posing and fluffing its feathers. A squirrel took its time, dining on the new fresh leaves of the oak there (Black Oak?). A couple of sparrows in a quarrel of sparrows, got into a quarrel. (Yes, I hear that is one possible collective noun for them.) A Red-shouldered Hawk called and called, flew across the pond, and called some more.ayed across the meadow and hillsides beyond.

The Betsy Crowder Trail starts here, climbing up toward the trail for the summit of Windy Hill, lost in the mist for most of the morning. But I stayed in the valley next to the San Andreas Fault, and peeked into the Meadowlands next door.