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| Bison Shawl |
I was surprised yesterday morning to almost get taken out while in a crosswalk, by a parking enforcement officer driving one of those SFMTA golf-cart things. The driver seemed angry with me because I'd been walking in a blind spot caused by his side mirror, but maybe his self-justifying attitude and lack of apology for rolling past a stop sign and almost hitting me were really about being angry with himself for exhibiting such poor driving technique.
It's a jungle out there, and it's far from the first time a driver has failed to see me as I was crossing a street. It's just the first time a driver has acted like such an ass (granted, he might not have been acting).
Anyway, the morning didn't bring the forecasted rain or drizzle, and it had warmed up a bit since Sunday. The wind died down and the sun came out even here on the west side of the city. It was another beautiful day to be outside.
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| Bison Bliss |
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| These two bison were feeling frisky. The one on the right had mounted the one on the left, who shook him off. Then they both trotted down a hill into the flat meadow where they came to a stop to plot their next big adventure. |
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| Speaking of the urban jungle, this raven is right at home no matter where he is, and happy to have what appears to be a fat piece of muffin to eat. |
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| Beach Dune |
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| Just arriving from its previous port call in Victoria, Canada, the Malta-flagged Celebrity Summit cruise ship heads into the Golden Gate. |
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| Welcome to San Francisco |
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| The U.S.-flagged chemical and oil products tanker Texas Voyager was next in line. |
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| The tide has been creeping higher up the beach around the time I typically show up at the Cliff House. This time the beach sand where the wandering tattlers had been feeding on my last visit was completely underwater. Bird life in the area was fairly quiet in general. A pair of black oystercatchers on Sutro Rock had their orange beaks tucked under their wings for a nap. A few pelicans were resting and preening near the lowest point on Seal Rocks, an area that's usually bare. |
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| Three surfers had the whole place to themselves. |
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| I've been riding past the crowd of gulls in this spot for days, if not weeks, but this time I couldn't resist stopping to check them out. |
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| Every now and then, a bunch of the gulls on the windward edge of the group would rise up and fly around in a circle to land near the group's leeward edge. |
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| Kingsley was back at South Lake. I'm sure I wouldn't have spotted him if not for his distinctive, chittering call. |
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| There were a couple of cabbage whites flittering around the lake's edge as usual, and then I was surprised by the arrival of a western tiger swallowtail, here drinking nectar from blackberry flowers. |
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| Soaking up the sun, with wings showing a lot of wear and tear. Also, the hairs up around the top of its thorax are quite orange instead of lighter yellow. |
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