 |
| Placid Mallard Lake, Golden Gate Park |
I love a rainy day, but I'm not too crazy about those "showery" periods where there isn't enough rain to show up on the weather radar, but there's plenty to make you wet if you decide to go for a walk. It seemed like a new radar-invisible shower would roll in every time I got ready to go out this morning, so I finally gave up on a long walk and instead put on my rain gear to go out and experience the wind and rain at nearby Grandview Park.
The past several days haven't been very photo- or blog-inspiring. The Mallard Lake scene above is from Tuesday. Yesterday I was surprised to see a couple of band-tailed pigeons with their telltale white-striped necks in a street tree in Forest Hill, but they were mostly obscured by branches. I'm used to seeing bandies on Mt. Tam and don't think I've ever seen them before in the city.
Though I wasn't able to photograph it, a scene from yesterday that stood out was watching a red-shouldered hawk fly over the JFK Promenade (north of the De Young Museum) with a large, forked, lichen-tassled branch in its beak. It lost its grip just before reaching a landing spot on a eucalyptus tree, and the branch fell like a spear. Fortunately, it landed in some plants instead of on top of someone's head.
 |
| One of the band-tailed pigeons appeared to be sitting on a nest, but it might just have been a bunch of sticks. |
 |
| A couple of mourning doves were hunkered down at Grandview Park this morning. They often hang out on the staircase railings, or even on the stairs, but it might have been too windy for that today. |
 |
| Fluffed Feathers After The Rain |
 |
| While I was trying to hold the camera steady enough to photograph the doves, this tiny powerhouse flew onto a nearby perch. Gusting winds drove it to several other perches before it zoomed away. |
 |
| Footsteps of Spring |
 |
| The sparrows were very jumpy and keeping to concealment until it started to rain. Then they all came out. Unfortunately, I had to lower my shutter speed due to the darkened sky, and I soon decided to leave when the rain began to fall in earnest. |
 |
After the Rain
|
Wind Clips From Grandview Park
 |
| Screen grab of the Mt. Shasta sunrise from last Saturday. |
 |
| Another grab from Tuesday. |
* * *
