I could tell that wildfire smoke had drifted in overnight by the blood-orange color of the rising sun, and I debated with myself for about two seconds as to whether I should ride up to Mt. Tam despite the poor air quality. On the way out of the city I couldn't tell what was smoke and what was fog.
I stopped at the Good Earth grocery store in Tam Junction to pick up a bite to eat and noticed the temperature was a pleasant 70 degrees. Heading up the mountain, the smell of smoke finally broke through after I gained enough altitude to really be in the thick of it. By the time I reached Rock Spring and unwrapped my breakfast burrito at a picnic table there, the temperature was 89 degrees. It would be 91.2 by the time I left an hour or so later.
The first thing I noticed when I hiked out to the trail camera was a large blue dragonfly zipping back and forth directly in front of the camera. Sure enough, the camera had recorded two or three gazillion captures of blue streaks. I considered moving the camera to a new pool, but when I checked the card I saw that a bobcat had come by to drink that very morning, so I left the camera in place. While I was fiddling with the set-up I heard a red-breasted nuthatch whistling right behind me. The cute little fella gingerly made its way down for a drink just a few feet away, showing off its bravado to other nearby nuthatches that cheered from the branches far above.
Smoky San Francisco Skyline
Lines of Hills and Smoke
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Flicker Feather & Bay Leaves
Time, Temperature & Turkey Feather
Early Morning Bobcat
Coming In For A Drink
Tam Cam Clips in Chron Order (Late Aug. to Early Sep.)
