Created 28-Aug-25
Hexagonal crystals of ice, drifting downwards in frozen clouds, refracting Sun’s rays. Sun dog – tied to the Sun, keeping pace in the sky. An auspicious beginning!
Whisps of ice-cold cumulus cloud persist, filling sky as world below warms.
Alert coyote, fully aware of the photographer, prowls the ridge in cool morning light.
Mountain Lion has marked this territory – twice.
Soft slanting sunlight sharpens chaparral bushes across a swale. Oaks thrive toward hilltops. Windy Hill crowns conifer-dense Skyline beyond.
Birds of course, this birding transect day. Acorn Woodpeckers greet Sun from ridge-top granary tree. On another ridge, in another Valley Oak, Red-tailed Hawk scans for prey. Northern Flicker pauses in California Bay. Birders patrol – and check out plants as well.
Deep in the jungle beneath thick stand of fragrant Hayfield Tarweed, busy bees range, flower to flower. They gather pollen and nectar, enjoy each other’s company, and pollinate their hosts. A moth joins in, probing proboscis pulling nectar from below pollen-laden anthers. A flower-laden branch bobs for each arrival and departure.
Here are two galleries: one focused on insects, the other on the rest, from sun dog to acorn. As usual, please leave a comment on any photo to inform or enlighten the rest of us. Enjoy!
Whisps of ice-cold cumulus cloud persist, filling sky as world below warms.
Alert coyote, fully aware of the photographer, prowls the ridge in cool morning light.
Mountain Lion has marked this territory – twice.
Soft slanting sunlight sharpens chaparral bushes across a swale. Oaks thrive toward hilltops. Windy Hill crowns conifer-dense Skyline beyond.
Birds of course, this birding transect day. Acorn Woodpeckers greet Sun from ridge-top granary tree. On another ridge, in another Valley Oak, Red-tailed Hawk scans for prey. Northern Flicker pauses in California Bay. Birders patrol – and check out plants as well.
Deep in the jungle beneath thick stand of fragrant Hayfield Tarweed, busy bees range, flower to flower. They gather pollen and nectar, enjoy each other’s company, and pollinate their hosts. A moth joins in, probing proboscis pulling nectar from below pollen-laden anthers. A flower-laden branch bobs for each arrival and departure.
Here are two galleries: one focused on insects, the other on the rest, from sun dog to acorn. As usual, please leave a comment on any photo to inform or enlighten the rest of us. Enjoy!
8/21/2025 Sun Dog, Coyote, and Hawk
Visitors 64
68 photos
Created 28-Aug-25
Modified 28-Aug-25
8/21/2025 Cryptic Business in Tarweed Jungle
Visitors 15
29 photos
Created 28-Aug-25
Modified 28-Aug-25
Dan Quinn