Calavera Preserve This Week

We have been working hard on our flooring project, lately, but still manage to get out for a short hike over at the Calavera Reserve on most days.  Spring has come early, with temps in the low 80's the norm.

Blooming Yuccas

 Dodder

Spring Flowers 

 Cholla-like Cactus

 Gopher Snake #1

 Gopher Snake #2

Gopher Snake #2

 Osprey Eating a Fish

Birthday Fun

On Monday, we drove east just past Escondido to hike a stretch of the San Dieguito River Trail, also known as the Coast to Crest Trail.  It starts on the coast and stretches 55 miles inland to the top of Volcan Mountain.

We "discovered" an old dump down the hill from the trail and had fun pulling up old bottles, bikes, lawnmowers, etc.

 This would have been a classic!

 We stopped for lunch on this rock, one of the few shady spots on this 88 degree day.

 

Can you spot the large animal in this tree?  Gail did, while we sat on the rock eating lunch.  In the upper middle is a Great Horned Owl, about 30 feet away.  As we became more interested in it, the owl got nervous, puffing up, widening its eyes, and rocking back and forth. We promptly left so as not to upset it further.

 This is the view up the San Pasqual Valley.

This succulent growing off a rock face was the size of a dinner plate.

We thought this would be a wonderful backyard feature.

 Gail also spotted this Red-shouldered Hawk that was missing its left eye.  It appeared to be healthy otherwise.

An unlucky chair!

Under the shade of some oaks was this squash that looked like a personal watermelon.

 This vine had climbed the tree, dangling two more.  Are they wild?

 Typical San Diego trail signs.

Well, it was sure nice stopping in at the Stone Brewery on the way home.  We had the "Stinky Cheese Platter" and house made hummus.  The day was also made even more special by calls from close family members - thanks!

Super Bowl Sunday

On Sunday, Nick and I went for a hike out at the sloughs southwest of  Napa.  It was unusually warm and calm, and we took our time looking for wildlife.

 There is a hay barn that I always like to take a look in.  There were two Great Horned Owls up in the rafters.

 The marshes are a combination of sloughs, old salt ponds, agricultural land, and levees.  It is an open and usually quiet area considering its proximity to the urban Bay Area.

 There were hawks galore, like these two Red-tailed Hawks cavorting on a wind machine.  We also saw several Northern Harriers cruising low to the ground.

 Red-tailed Hawk

 A pair of Buffleheads.

 A flock of Northern Pintail ducks resting.

 Nick checking out an upturned root ball of a tree.

 Northern Pintails and a shorebird.

 A pair of Commmon Goldeneyes.

 A pair of Northern Pintails

 A Northern Shoveler.

 Be careful, hawk!

 This Turkey Vulture liked resting on railroad tracks.

 This is the famed Carneros wine region of Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

A sandpiper of some sort rounds out this post. As usual, exploring with Nick was good fun.

Andria Speaks in the Bay Area

The past few days, Andria had four speaking engagements in the San Francisco Bay Area to share (promote) her debut novel The Longest Night. I drove up to be apart of these exciting times for the family.

 This is the section of our local Barnes and Noble with Andria's book top and center.

 The first engagement was at the annual "The Authors Forum" in Napa, which hosts noted women authors.  Proceeds and donations go to scholarships for high school and college girls and women.  The seated authors from left to right are Novella Carpenter (who seems to double as a stand up comedian), Jan Ellison, Andria, and Gail Tsukiyama.

 There were 145 people in attendance, and each of the four authors spoke for about  20 minutes or so.  Andria, I must say, was as funny and interesting as any of them!

 Andria here with one of her high school English teachers, Hillary Zunin.  That's long time good friend of the family Judy Boyle behind Andria.  Andria's first and second grade teachers also came, as well as childhood friends.

 Andria shared a table with famous author Gail Tsukiyama.

 On Friday, Andria and I drove to Oakland where she shared her book at a senior living facility overlooking Lake Merritt.  The seniors asked very good questions, and two or three had been published writers themselves.

 The activity director is Ryan Wilcox, brother to Andria's good friend Erin.  Ryan has his seniors teaching English in his ESL program to folks in the community.

 Two women from Sudan were there to hear Andria and to take the ESL class.

 This 90 year old lady was very sharp, and had written children's books.

 A couple more fans, possibly an ESL student and a staff member.  In the evening, 3 book clubs converged at Elaine's home to hear more from Andria.

 Saturday, we drove down to Book Passage in Corte Madera to hear Andria do a book reading.  That's Nick on the right and his friend Eddy.

 After Andria spoke, Sunil Yapa shared his debut novel based on the World Trade Organization protests of 1999 in Seattle.  His parents are Sri Lankan and Japanese, which helped to make him empathetic to the various participants in the protests.

 Andria with proud father - we both bought Sunil's book.

Andria seeing Nick's place, the former Tillin home.  It has been about 8 years since Andria has been back to see Napa, and she definitely got a big dose over four days.