In the Neighborhood

I went for a walk around the neighborhood today.

Here's a portion of the community of San Carlos where I live. Mountains in the background from left to right are: Kwaay Paay (1194 ft.), Pyles Peak (1379 ft.) and only part of Cowles Mountain (goes up to 1591 ft.). Don't expect these mountains to be snow-covered at any time, though.

Mission Gorge Road runs between Kwaay Paay and Pyles Peak.

MTRP Trail Guides: Class of 2009

We finally graduated this morning! I'm on the first row on the left. The course instructors are in the back row.

Oak Grove Loop Trail

I had to go on one more required class hike yesterday morning. The form was easy to fill out as we hiked around the Oak Grove Loop Trail at MTRP.

Here is the California Thrasher with its distinctive, curved bill. It's perched in a Laurel Sumac tree.

This Scrub Jay was unusually quiet at this time in the morning.

A Lepidopteran was just emerging from the grass. The wings are almost ready for flight.

This tiny spider was signalling us with its forelegs. Its movements reminded me of a Jumping Spider. It even signalled a biker as he passed by.

Succulents & Cacti

The garden in the front of the house was set up to resemble an underwater reef. Inspiration was taken from the succulent gardens found at the Del Mar Racing Track. I have yet to add any papier mache fish as decorations, though.

This plant (Euphoria flanaganii or Medusa Head) looks like a giant sea star when it grows larger, but I wasn't aware of the little yellow blossoms.

Home Depot was carrying this odd one in their Cacti & Succulent section.

Here I am fooling around with Picasa's Focal B&W Effect.

Focus on the Center

Spring Arrives Earlier in San Diego

This Cymbidium orchid finally bloomed after about 4 or 5 years. It was thrown into a pot and forgotten under some giant philodendron leaves and hibiscus bushes. Actually, the pot wandered around the outside of the house for several years until it was finally thrown under the bushes this year. I think a handful of compost landed in it, too.

But, no, these plants do not "thrive on neglect" like my big pot of Epiphyllum.

If this isn't a sign of the early arrival of Spring, I don't know what is.

Trail Guides in Training

Today, we broke up into several groups and each person did a 10 minute mini guided tour. This was used to see how we presented ourselves.

Since learning a lot about the plants contained in the park, I didn't have a problem finding things to say as I led the hike. In fact, time seemed to run by so fast. Although, my critique was that I kept "talking to the plants" rather than the people! So, now I'll try to remember to look people in the eye as I dispense factoids.

I tried out the "sport" settings on the camera and caught this tiny (but not pygmy) butterfly's wings in the open position.

Here's an underside close up of wing details while they're up.

We spotted a gopher while someone was giving a mini guided tour. This is the type of occurrence you depend upon to make the tour even more interesting. The sun was in its eyes, so it didn't seem to see our group walk up to it.

Trail Shots in MTRP

The mountain lilac bushes are beginning to bloom and appear on the mountain sides. It's a little hard to see here mixed in with a few boulders.

Shooting birds in the wild is very difficult. Once you get your camera in position, they fly off to the other side of the park. Here, clockwise from the left: Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Egret, Anna's Hummingbird and a Hawk eating lunch.

A few of the park's trails are flooded over because of the recent rains.

A view of pink El Capitan on the left and snow-capped Cuyamaca Mountain on the right.