We were out recently, a pleasantly foggy dawn, the dogs and I “taking the air” and enjoying the humidity, grateful we do not live in a desert. (When the water is sucked out of the air, it feels to me as if the life is sucked out, too.) When we got out to the misty campground, looking over [...]
Archive for the ‘nature’ Category
Fog and the Flock
Posted in animals, birding, nature, photography, walking on November 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A Big Blow
Posted in gardening, life, nature, photography on October 27, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Mrs. Ombud and I were watching a movie (Little Fish, I think) when the phone rang. We don’t always pick up during a movie, figuring they’ll leave a message if it’s important, but when I heard my next door neighbor’s voice I hit pause and got the phone. He was talking about some large branch that [...]
Where Have All the Pelicans Gone?
Posted in animals, birding, nature, walking on September 29, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Two years ago I used to see large squadrons of pelicans flying along the south shore of Alameda (and thus south along the eastern shore of SF Bay) most morning I went out there. The pelicans congregate starting in late July through September, and I often saw waves of dozens and dozens of them, easily totaling 50 [...]
A Follow-up on Several Fronts
Posted in animals, cooking, e-scrapbook, gardening, nature, pets, photography on September 16, 2009 | 4 Comments »
First, the pears. I’m rather amazed at how reluctant these pears are to ripen. This picture was taken in early September, and you can see how green they remain:
Whither Weather Wear
Posted in culture, nature on September 13, 2009 | 5 Comments »
The wife and I went to a party yesterday. It was supposed to be a pool party in someone’s backyard, sort of a goodbye to summer thing, but we had a surprise thunderstorm here in the Bay Area Saturday morning, so it was overcast, although surprisingly warm for northern California rain.
Looking Out My Backdoor
Posted in birding, gardening, music, nature, photography on July 26, 2009 | 9 Comments »
Do you remember Creedence Clearwater Revival? Have you heard “Looking Out My Backdoor“? I’ve been reminded of the song recently, while out on our back porch.
A hike up a hill
Posted in animals, birding, dogs, nature, pets, travel, walking on June 16, 2009 | 10 Comments »
A few years ago, a friend and coworker of mine told us of a nice place to go for a walk up near Sonora, called Table mountain. Table mountain is a mesa, and just below the ridgeline there is a nice trail, through a pasture.
Off to the Foothills
Posted in animals, dogs, nature, pets, travel, walking on May 30, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The wife, the pups, and I are heading for the Sierra foothills in a few hours. Mostly, when I get my to-do list to-done.
An amphibious interlude
Posted in animals, gardening, nature on May 2, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Remember the spoof on Superman at the beginning of the cartoon show “Underdog”?
“What’s that in the sky!?” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s a frog!”
A frog?
Breakfast Ker-plunk
Posted in animals, birding, dogs, nature, walking on April 4, 2009 | 8 Comments »
We walked out along the bay shore this morning, enjoying the slanting dawn light rising over the east bay hills, casting long tree shadows across the open fields. I heard a splash to my right, and saw a small least tern rise from the rippling water, then noticed another and another.