Tree Climber

 

Raccoon Climbing Monterey Cypress, Golden Gate Park

I've been re-reading The Secret Language of Cells by Jon Lieff, M.D. (and it's still information overload the second time around). In "The World of Neurons" chapter, Lieff writes, "Despite a tremendous amount of research, there are many challenges in understanding neuronal networks. No one knows yet how a unified subjective mental experience arises from these vast neuronal connections.... Thus far, a center for unified subjective experience has not been found."

When I read that, my first thought was, "Maybe it doesn't exist." I mean, we obviously have an ego that gives us a unified subjective experience, but that ego isn't a material "thing" the way our bodies are. Like the Buddhists say, our subjective experience is mostly habits of thought which we treat as if they had actual substance, when in fact thoughts are more like diaphanous specters which we can dispassionately observe, alter, clarify, judge, and so on. 

Electromagnetic photons pinging cells in our eyes and zapping signals to cells in the brain -- heck, it sort of sounds like a pinball machine. And really, all the trillions of cells in our bodies do their thing on their own, instinctually, keeping our digestion going, our heart pumping, our immune system functioning, and so on. It's all completely materialistic biochemistry. Yet somehow a dance of molecules has turned itself into plants and butterflies and birds and raccoons and Olympic athletes. Is consciousness a result of biochemistry, or is it the other way around?

Anyway, let me know if you figure it out.

Meanwhile, three days after my recent Sun Dog post, which referred to a coyote, we saw an actual sundog (parhelion) out our back window, a fairly rare sight for San Francisco since ice crystals are required for the sun to pull one off.

Sutro & Sundog

The resting raccoon could have just stayed put and I'd have mosied along after snapping a photo, but it got spooked after a couple passed by with a dog (which seemed not to notice the raccoon).

Problem Solved

Tree-climbing Raccoon

Cabbage White Butterfly Among Sourgrass Flowers

California Towhee

The towhee flew into the tree as I approached on the trail, then soon flew back down to continue eating what I assume to be flour spilled to mark a walking or running route.

This was a first for me at Mallard Lake.

Golden-crowned Sparrow in Red-flowering Currant

I stopped by the big Salvia gesnerifolia (which apparently has no common name) near Elk Glen Lake. The Anna's and Allen's hummingbirds had staked out opposite sides of the bushes and spent more time chasing each other than feeding on the tubular scarlet flowers.

Stern Hummer

Meanwhile, an orange-crowned warbler feasted unmolested. I wonder why it was nibbling at the base of the flowers. Maybe that's where the bugs hang out? Could they extract nectar from the outside?

Although they do eat nectar and fruit at times, insects make up more than 90 percent of their diet.

There were actually two Allen's hummingbirds using the Salvia bush (and nearby red-flowering currant). This one took a break from the action to get its feathers sorted out.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Yosemite High Country Yesterday

Cloud Drama at Mt. Shasta Yesterday

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Hairy's Spider

 

Hairy Woodpecker Nabs A Spider, Golden Gate Park

Well, it was 41 degrees when I began my walk this morning. A light breeze likely put the wind chill at around 39. Definitely one of the coldest mornings I've experienced here. Nevertheless, it felt great to be out and about after enduring a week of frequent rain and howling winds. 

I'd left the house on Thursday only to greatly shorten my route when I saw a dark band of rain clouds that stretched across the whole horizon. I knew there would be no escape from that thing, and I was glad to have at least gotten in a short walk while making it home with five minutes to spare.

I'd briefly flirted with the idea of going up to Yosemite to be in the snow, but it's just as well that I nixed the idea. Rangers closed the gates on Thursday afternoon and required visitors who were still there today to leave.

It was great to get out and do my usual thing today anyway. Encounters that made my day were a singing house sparrow in the Haight, a mating pair of red-shouldered hawks near the Fuchsia Dell, the return of the Bison Paddock's Allen's hummingbird, and encounters with a flock of feasting robins (with no cedar waxwings joining them), a Hutton's vireo, and both a hairy and a downy woodpecker.

House Sparrow Goes Full Urban Jungle, Haight Ashbury

At first I ignored the red-shouldered hawk squawking in a nearby tree, but when I finally looked up I saw that there were two of them and they had just copulated. The female is on the right.

Tiny Yellow Papaya Flower, Lily Lake

Head-scratching Hummer

This Anna's hummingbird dive-bombed the Allen's a few times but never scared it off its branch.

It looked up when the hummer dove from above, but never really flinched. (Here it's just fluffing its feathers, not responding to the other hummer.)

It's in the same pokeberry bush as last year, but so far the bush remains just a skeleton. Maybe its taproot is waiting for warmer weather to send up a new season's shoots.

Hutton's Vireo Near Murphy Windmill

Vireo Snags A Caterpillar

Pose in Repose

Dozens of robins had descended on this large patch of Persian ivy along MLK Jr. Drive west of Chain of Lakes.

I watched and listened for the sound of cedar waxwings (small flocks of which I've seen around my neighborhood lately), but the robins had the place all to themselves.

Spider Goes Down The Hatch

The pied-billed grebes were back at the nest, adding a few leaves and twigs, and sitting pretty. No eggs yet.

The downy woodpecker was back in the willows near the grebe nest, and this time it gave me a much nicer pose.

Couldn't resist stopping for another look at the buffleheads. The Northern shovelers and ruddy ducks are also still around.

I ride past this loquat tree on 10th Avenue pretty much every day, but today was the first time I'd heard our neighborhood red-masked parakeets in it.

A couple of crows were keeping them company.

This was the view toward Carrizo Plain this morning.

Shasta This Morning

Yosemite Valley This Morning

And three shots from the High Country this morning.

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Sun Dog

 

Coyote Lounging In The Sun, Pioneer Meadow

My wife checked her weather app this morning to help her decide whether to bike to work or take the car. The app said it was unlikely to rain until tonight, so she took the bike. When I left on my walk later on, I didn't give the rain any thought all. It was only 44 degrees, putting the temperature front and center on my mind.

It was cold but manageable with little wind. As I descended into Forest Hill, I spotted a spotted mushroom -- maybe a panther amanita, my first sighting of the species in the city. By the time I reached West Portal's commercial district, the horizon to the west looked suspiciously dark, and sure enough a brief sprinkle soon forced me to duck under an awning for cover. The darkest clouds were north of me, so I figured they were past me since rain usually comes up from the south. 

Usually, but not this morning. Thankfully I was able to duck under a bus shelter when the real rain came. Just a sprinkle at first, but it soon grew into a full-on shower that would have soaked me had I been caught in the open. When it finally let up, I was eager to check up on the nesting hummingbird I first encounterd on Feb. 11. She was still there, still sitting on her nest with no apparent hatchlings. 

The rain didn't start again until about one minute after I got home. I downloaded the morning's pictures and waited for the rain to stop so I could head out on my bike. But the rain kept coming, and maybe an hour later I decided to make lunch and give up on the bike. Then the sun came out, and off I went. 

Near the Bison Paddock I watched a Townsend's warbler and a pygmy nuthatch eagerly feeding in the branches of a couple of pine trees, no doubt making up for lost time during the rain. I checked out the barn owl -- still snoozing peacefully. 

Up near Blue Heron Lake I saw a guy who appeared to be staring at something. I followed his stare and saw a lump near a log, too far away to make out any details. I was just about to get moving again when the lump finally raised its head.

Roadside Amanita

Winter Crow

Tree-trimmers

This hummingbird is one tough cookie, keeping her eggs warm through days of cold and stormy weather. At least the crows were gone from the pine across the street.

Townsend's Warbler & Camellias

Cedar Waxwing, West Portal

Cedar Waxwing, Golden Gate Heights

Townie in the Sun

This pygmy nuthatch looked like it just got out of the bath.

The coyote was in no hurry to run away when it realized it was being watched.

I moved around a bit to try to get a better angle.

Oops, she didn't like the next angle.

She got up and put some distance between herself and her admirers, stopping to scratch, stretch, and yawn.

Then she finally loped off to find a more secret place to rest in the warm sun while it lasts.

Coyote Video

I noticed the pied-billed grebe was off her nest at Blue Heron Lake, with no eggs in sight. I figure the storm was too much to deal with. While I was there, this downy woodpecker flew into the willow.

Yosemite on 2/14/26

Yosemite This Morning

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