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| Allen's Hummingbird Nectaring On Blackberry Blossoms, SF Botanical Garden |
I made my first post as a retired person on May 29, four years ago. In pretty much every way, it seems like not that long ago. I can still recall the deep sense of release I felt as my wife and I began our hike on Mt. Tam that day, and I continue to cherish the daily freedom to experience the beauty and challenge of nature, from its warmest solace to its coldest indifference.
I've also enjoyed exploring the nature we find right here in San Francisco, but as I recently mentioned, I'm ready to take a break from the blog for awhile. Believe it or not, it isn't unusual to spend eight hours walking, biking, watching, photographing, processing images, and writing up a blog post. It's all good, but I look forward to tackling other projects.
In the meantime, I hope the blog remains a living resource even without new posts. I often enjoy browsing posts from years past, partly to reminisce, but also to compare and contrast what I found then and what I see now.
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| I returned to the Forest Hill hummer nest this morning, but the nervous mama bolted before I could lock focus. When she didn't return after a few minutes I figured I should try again another time so she could get back to brooding her eggs. Before I left I quickly reached up and took a phone snap, only to get home and realize there were no eggs in the nest. It took a second to notice what was in there. |
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| There were still a few pipevine swallowtail caterpillars munching bare stems just north of the new plant nursery. As I feared, the formerly abundant pipevine has been all but extirpated from that area. Despite the many caterpillars I've seen, I have yet to find a chrysalis, but I'll keep looking. |
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| Using Her Feet |
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