sirielizabeth's Journal

a pleasant surprise to find a little turkey family amongst the brush and eucalyptus at the marin headlands center for the arts. i didn't have my big camera so kept trying to get closer to get a better photo with my iphone. but the youngster looked a bit freaked out as my crackly steps approached, so i left. got to get a telephoto lens and always bring my camera!

found the jackrabbit flattened on campus dr outside the apt - sad. perhaps the same one i saw running across the road last month? hopefully not because that wd mean there might be others living here also. campus dr is no place for a little jackrabbit.

downstairs neighbor upset about the seed hulls so switched to hulled seed. these birds are really getting the deluxe treatment now! o saw another hawk land briefly on the balcony - perhaps he has his eyes on the little birds?

home grown chard just about ready to harvest, yum.

whoever fixed my locations so they show up in google, thanks & happy 4th!

ok it was really blazing hot at russian ridge today. somehow the moon guide was wrong or we made a mistake as well...wrong turn led to scorching uphill hike through endless meadow...but lots of beautiful wildflowers. thanks to the unending rain this winter i guess...the trail was parched absolutely dry so the soil must have a lot of water in it still under all that grass. plus encounter with several snakes and many lizards, and enchanting little blue butterflies plus many other butterflies too swift for my camera. not very many birds - interesting. was it too hot for them too?

It had been raining and I'd taken the feeder in to clean it with bleach, but then we didn't have any bleach, and I got busy -- end result, no bird feeder for two days. We were sitting on the sofa by the big windows watching the French Open and who breaks my concentration as I watch a match point but the jay. I swear, he flew over near me on the balcony and looked straight at me and squawked that demanding jay squawk. I ignored him and he came back. So...dumped some seed on the balcony floor. No more tennis interruptions!

Hmm. I am tempted to try to make friends with the jay. He's now confident about alighting on the feeder, despite its being basically too small for him - no more embarrassing crashes to the nearby abutilon. The feeder was a compromise with my family - I wanted a bird, they want a dog. But...no. Still haven't gotten over helping O with his book report about Jane Goodall. Didn't say anything to O of course, but honestly, I was appalled. I think she drove those chimps mad! Something about the free bananas on such a large scale...something tells me it might not be good to mix interaction with feeding. So I will just watch the jay, much as I'd like to have a bird friend.

I'm wondering, can I post photos of birds at my home feeder, or is this just for creatures observed in the wild?

I really enjoy watching the birds station themselves nearby the balcony feeder, waiting for an opportunity. The Stellar's Jay fascinates me. He is incredibly sensitive - if I walk past, he's off, even if I have the glass door closed. If I stand there with my camera stock still, he forgets about me and chows down - until he hears the shutter - through the glass! (Dratted noisy DSLR). I wonder if he will ever get used to me.