Animal Sightings

We have been taking some extended local hikes, lately, and have had our share of fun animal sightings.  We have tried out a few new hikes that are within an hour of home.  Also included are a few backyard shots.

In late June, we had a rare visitor to our yard - a Nuttall's Woodpecker.

We have had a family of Hooded Orioles close to our yard.  They frequently visit our flowers and hummingbird feeder.  This is a plainer female.

Tuesday, we hiked a new trail near San Marcos. We saw two Tiger Whiptails having a territory dispute, and this one appeared to be purposefully leaving his scent in the dirt.

Yesterday, we hiked a fine local trail out of Escondido.  It followed the edge of agricultural San Pasqual Valley.  It was clean, and we hardly saw a soul.

 Gail spotted this California Kingsnake - a real beauty that was about four feet long.

 It was in the grass on the trails edge and I walked right by it.  Dunh!

 A new bird for us, the Brown-crested Flycatcher. Several were darting out for butterflies and other insects.

 A few feet away, Gail spotted a nest.  On closer inspection, she saw a Mourning Dove sitting on it, still as a stone.

Nearby, was this colorful dove.

 I saw a Kestrel fly off to a distant tree.

 A Meadowlark waiting for bugs in a meadow.

 This morning we were hiking in our neighborhood Calavera Hills Preserve and came upon this Southern Pacific Rattlesnake.

He got a little upset with me as I crept in, and sped into the bushes, rattle buzzing.

We also saw three California Gnatcatchers, which are on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife list of threatened and endangered species,  another first for us.

Night Critters

I have been setting the trail cam out behind the back fence the past several days.  I have recorded a possum, a hyperactive rat, and then last night, a couple coyotes.  Even though we haven't heard coyotes lately, they are still out there.

Dos coyotes at 3:18 AM this morning

On the Road to Colorado, Part Two

After leaving Zion, we followed a green valley northward for a couple hours.  We had mixed weather - no Southern California "thermal monotony"!

 Beautiful open country.

 The highway had some dramatic road cuts.

 Rain on the prairie.  We had a change of plans while staying in Grand Junction, Colorado.  Dave thought the highway would be a lot better if we headed south to Arches National Park in Utah before heading east to Durango.

After lunch in Moab, we entered Arches N.P. and were soon blown away by the red sandstone sculptures.

When you look at the car on the left, you get an idea of how big these fins are.

I was excited when we spotted this Tiger Whiptail lizard while looking at the above fins.

 Andria, Dave, and the kids are dwarfed by this arch.

We only saw a part of the park when it was time to hit the road again.

The "Three Amigos" back on the road to Durango Colorado.

 A double rainbow near the entrance to Mesa Verde.

We all stayed two nights in Durango.  During the day on Wednesday, we went to a ski resort for summer fun.

 Soren bravely rode the mechanical bull.

 Then Nick, Nora, Dave, and Soren rode the ski lift up the mountain, and came down on sleds.

 Soren and Dave...

 Nick...

 and lastly, Nora.

Meanwhile, Susanna relished the play house and sand box.

Nick and I went into town in the evening.  We chatted with Jeffery, who was selling Hillary for President buttons.  He was very unique!  The band awarded him a free CD because they liked his hat.

On Thursday, Dave and Nick left at 5:00 A.M. to meet the movers in Colorado Springs.  They had shown up unexpectedly early.  I drove the van with Andria and the kids.  Andria thought it would be fun to stop at "Colorado Gators" out in the middle of nowhere.  It did turn out to be fun and unusual, with an ambiance of the Deep South.

The entrance was a little sketchy.  Would we all come out in one piece?

 Three of my four favorite redheads looking at baby gators.

The place was originally a talapia fish farm. A few alligators were acquired to dispose of dead fish, and then the rest was history.  The place has about 150 rescue alligators in addition to the dozens more.

 Susanna chucking gator chow to the alligators.

 Talapia are still raised here, and the gator ponds are teeming with them.

 A film crew happened to be there, and one of the staff trained them on how to handle a gator.

 The man in blue shirt gamely waded into the muck and helped pull out a gator.

 He was taught how to restrain a gator and hold it.

 It did seem a little like harassment, but the gators otherwise seemed reasonably well cared for.

 The woman filmmaker also got in on the action.

 Not to be outdone, Andria draped herself with a Ball Python...

 as did Nora.  Where did Soren go?

Susanna, meanwhile, thought this tortoise was hilarious!

 Happy gators with all the fish they can eat.

Well, we bade good bye to the gator farm and headed to the new home in Colorado Springs.  We arrived in a torrential thunderstorm, realizing we're not in San Diego anymore.

 On Friday, Nick and I spent a couple hours at Garden of the Gods.  It was a beautiful day - no rain!

Two climbers were going up this spire.  

There was a family of Prairie Falcons that were perching on cliff pockets.  The numerous swallows were trying to drive them off, but swallows are high on the falcon's menu.  We saw a couple eating - probably swallows.

Dave and Andria have a wonderful new house, in excellent condition, with great play areas for the kids.  I'm sure she'll be posting pictures soon.  I'll close with Dave practicing the Zen activity of placing little cars in their carriers.