Dewy Mornings

 

Jeweled Orb on Tomales Point Trail
(9/2/11)

Setting Moon from Grandview Park

(9/30/12)

It's been fairly warm and damp the last couple of mornings, without much breeze even on the exposed hilltop at Grandview Park which I circumnavigate in the dark these days. No point bringing the phone camera. We'll be hiking on Mt. Tam this morning, hoping to beat the return of smoke which the weather forecaster warned about.

As for Point Reyes, it looks like the Woodward Fire is close to 100% contained. The new General Management Plan Final EIS is also out, and it's not looking good for seeing our national park prioritized for nature and wildlife instead of cattle ranching.

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Bird's Eye View

 

Even on a beautiful day, basking in the sun on a sandy beach, these whimbrels do not let their guards down. They are predators who don't want to fall prey to a speeding peregrine.

I wonder if marbled godwits ever fall prey to conspiracy theories the way so many people seem to these days. It's kind of shocking when people you know suddenly seem to disappear into the dimly gaslit atmosphere of outlandish tales from an unreal world.

I think such people could benefit by spending more time in nature, more time watching the flight of sanderlings, more time just letting nature heal minds that have been engrossed too long in a venomous sea of emotional manipulation.

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Welcome Visitors

 

I was sitting in the back yard the other day when a Cabbage White butterfly fluttered down to nosh on the nectar of our lantana flowers. We've had the lantana for years, but this was the first time I'd caught a butterfly taking advantage of them. I chalk that up to the fact that I'm spending more time in the back yard these days than when I had to work downtown.

I didn't have even my phone camera on me when the butterfly landed, but these shots are the same species, shot on another September day nearly ten years ago. Of course I'd really like to see a Green Hairstreak come streaking down to partake of our flower garden. There is a "Green Hairstreak Corridor" just a block or so away, but the only place I've actually seen one is Lobos Dunes, way on the north side of town.

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