Mostly Flora and Fauna

Erick made a bit more progress on the cradle this week.

End pieces cut out and edges sanded

Recent additions to our orchid family:

A house gift from a colleague of Erick's 

An treat from a Trader Joe's shopping trip

City parks use goats to reduce the chance of grass fires. These were at work at Shepherd Canyon Park:

Lots of tall grass to munch

Electrified fence visible in the right-hand corner 

Lots of variety in coloration

Wish I knew the names of the varieties I saw

Seen on recent walks:

A spiky wildflower from around our neighborhood

A variegated ivy in a nearby yard - it's tree-sized

Neighborhood chicken

At Montclair Park - Yes, duckweed is well-named.

Young male mallards

Turtle to the left of the mallard

Water hyacinth in the pond

Yesterday was a Montclair RR Trail work day.  Erick and I were among the dozen volunteers who worked on clean up projects.

Erick bagging debris from the eucalyptus trees

My broom in a before and after shot taken along the trail

Goldenrod from a spring planting is doing well

Fires north of us (at a distance, not a threat to our area) were evident in the haze we've had this week.

Mt. Diablo obscured by haze

A hazy ring around the full moon

Cradle project progress & a hike in Redwood Park

Erick is making steady progress on the cradle for the grandson we are expecting in early December. Lots of planing, gluing and some routing. Maple and cherry are the woods.

Last Sunday we took a 10 am - noon "Sunday Stroll" with a group that included our friends Kathy & Bob. It was 2 hours long and led by an East Bay Regional Parks guide. The venue was Redwood Park; starting at the Canyon Meadow parking area, and winding along the Bridal (as in horses) Trail returning via the Stream Trail. The weather was perfect for a hike and I had lots of opportunities for photos.

Starting off on the stroll

Redwoods along the Bridal Trail

Bay laurels

Redwood branches and bay laurel

Stump with fungus 

Fern frond with spider webs 

Downed tree "sculpture" 

Ferns

A tagged plant - part of a "Citizen Science"
habitat monitoring project 

Carpet of Redwood sorrel - doing well here

Redwood sorrel - a bit closer view

Redwood sorrel - close up

A quartet of redwoods

Our guide provides background on the local ecology

Bridge over Redwood Creek

Creek with a bit of water

Dry creek bed

Along the trail 

Sun peeks through the trees

Feeding the scrub jays: I finally managed to get photos showing hand feeding of the jays.

This one prefers that we toss it peanuts

This one will come to our hands and take the peanut 

On the way

About to grab the peanut in its beak

Growing around the house:

Finger lime flowers

Finger lime fruit - about 2 inches long now
At harvest time in the fall they'll be about 3 inches

Our succulent planners after pruning

Verbena basket

"Million bells" with a volunteer coriander in the middle

Local scenery:

Late afternoon sun on the trees 

Mt. Diablo and the canyon

Clouds in the bay

Sunset - bay side

Sunset clouds and lights

I wish I had my own photos of the Perseid meteor shower.  I watched between about 10 PM and midnight the night of August 11 and saw a dozen of various brightness - including one with a distinct fireball. I guess I'll have to make do with this link to space.com.