mosaic Monday...part 2

The light is a little better this afternoon so I went out to practice my hummingbird flight photos again.
It's easier when they sit still :)

mosaic Monday...

The lighting was horrible last night but as I was sitting in the garden the hummers were busy at the feeders. I played with different settings on my camera and finally found some where I could "freeze" the wings - I was hoping for sunshine today to capture them in good light but it is raining this morning so I am hoping it clears soon. I love the photo that reflects the house in her eye :)

It is so fun to watch them guard their personal favorite feeders and attack any other hummer that dares come to it.

rescued...

Yesterday, right before I went outside to take photos of the monarchs I heard a bird crash into the patio door. I looked out and didn't see anything so grabbed my camera to go look for monarchs. As soon as I opened the door Hershey came running and suddenly stopped as if to pick up something...it was this little bird and so I called Hershey off before it became a "scooby snack". I picked it up and set it on our grill top and took it's photo (notice it has a hair in it's beak?) then called Hershey to come look for monarchs with me (she was still interested in having a snack) - when we left it was just sitting still with it's eyes closed. I checked back in a few minutes and it still was resting.
After I found the tree with all the monarchs I spent some time taking photos and then remembered the little bird - it was about 10 minutes later and it was now awake and looking around.
He stayed put while I took some photos so I shot away...


I even got a close up of the hair stuck in it's beak...

before he had enough and squawked at me...
and then gave me the cold shoulder.
I left for just a few minutes to take more monarch photos and when I returned he was gone - a happy ending for this little bird who I looked up and it appears to be a red-eyed vireo. The eyes appeared more brown than red to me so according to the description at the All About Birds link it could be an immature one.

monarch migration...

Every year in late August I keep an eye on the garden in late evening. If I see a lot of monarchs around then I know that it is migration time and I will be rewarded with seeing groups of them "overnighting" in the trees in the morning.
This morning they "spooked" easily and many flew off when I moved in closer for photos.
My favorite photo with the blue sky background.
They weren't confined to the spruce trees - the windbreak of ash trees was full of groups of 2-3 but no large masses. There had to be a couple hundred spread out like that, I'm wondering if they had already dispersed by the time I got outside.
There were some in the white pines...

some in the colorado blue spruce...
and some in the tamarisk.
I am hoping more move through tonight but it past years it has been a one night wonder.

In 2006 - we spotted them on August 29-30. (click on the date for the link)
In 2007 - I spotted them on August 24th.
and in 2008 & 2009 I missed spotting them so I am thankful today for noticing them last night!

bird bathing...

With fall migration in full swing I love seeing the different birds come to the rock to bathe.
There are many of these little guys around and I am not sure what they are...some type of warbler - I'm guessing Nashville warbler because of the greenish tone to their backs.
They are joined by a female oriole...
and pose together.
The splashing water droplets create shadows that look like spots on the warbler's back.
A chipping sparrow tries to join in...
but is too shy to join the party.
I just love watching birds bathe :)

mosaic Monday...

August is the month of butterflies in my garden...

and the month of weddings to celebrate. Congratulations to my brother-in-law and new sister-in-law, Lon & Carol! We had a wonderful time celebrating the love and joy surrounding you on your special day.

steeple Sunday...

Holy Cross church, Santa Cruz, CA.


This old church was really beautiful to see but wouldn't it have been neat if the original mission was still standing...

celebrating Love...

It is Saturday and it is August that means I am attending my 3rd wedding of the month with one more next week! I know I have probably gone overboard on my posts of our CA trip but the highlight was celebrating the love of Greg and Jessica on their wedding day. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony and an elegant reception - it was such a fun time. I can't believe I didn't actually get a photo of parents of the groom together but I got Laura in the 3 sisters photo and with Ryan and Lucie. My brother-in-law, Ralph, is the handsome guy dancing with the bride in the lower right photo :)

playing tourists...

If you vacation this close to San Francisco of course you must hit some of the tourist attractions. The photo above shows our visit to Pier 39 with views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate bridge in the fog and our visit to the Aquarium of the Bay and souveiner photos compliments of Bausch & Laumb in advertising their new Bio true contact solution. Proves that some things in life really are free with no strings attached :)

We also took the Alcatraz Island tour. Most people think of Alcatraz as only a prison but did you know it is a National Park site? It's history started as a campsite for the local native people pre-1769, later it became the site for the first lighthouse on the west coast and a military defense fort during the Civil War times. After the war it became a military prison and in 1934 during the gangster era it became a federal penitentiary, the country's first "maximum security" prison. After the prison closed in 1963 it sat deserted for 6 years before members of the American Indian movement took over the island and occupied it as their own for 18 months.
After we climbed the steep roads to the "top of the rock" we entered the cell blocks and were given audio devices to take self guided tours. We heard the voices of former prison guards as well as inmates describing what life was like at Alcatraz. We all enjoyed the tour and history of Alcatraz but if you travel there I recommend advance tickets and they are usually sold out in advance.
After our tour we spent more time at Fisherman's Wharf before getting back in the van to take a cruise down Lombard Street (sorry the rear window defrosters show on my photo), the crookedest street in SF. On our drive to Lombard in some crazy SF traffic we witnessed a car accident a mere 6 feet directly in front of us so we had enough of the city driving and opted not to travel to the Golden Gate bridge.
Our last tourist excursion of the trip was the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. This 160 room mansion was continually built on for 38 years, 24 hours a day by the owner, Sara Winchester, the heir of the Winchester Rifles. She believed is she didn't keep building the spirits of all those killed by the Winchester guns would haunt her so it is quite the house to see with doors & stairways going nowhere and one of the largest collections of Tiffany stained glass windows in the country. Our tour took us through 140 of the 160 rooms as well as all the outbuildings and gardens.

Calif trip continued...

The Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum
My sister, Laura, is a very talented and was instrumental in the fundraising and building of this museum of which she is now the chair. Our family was honored to be given the full tour of this wonderful museum built as a near replica of Sunnyvale's founding father, Martin Murphy's home. It was interesting to see the exhibits of artifacts from the time the Murphy's lived here as well as the exhibits on the fruit canneries, boy scouts and Lockheed aircraft, etc.
One of my favorite things was seeing the mural painted on all walls on one room detailing Sunnyvale's history.
It is a fantastic and I am very proud of my sister :)

The day we toured the museum we spent the day at her house relaxing in her beautiful backyard. Ryan and Lucie gave us a "hat show" and also showed us how to make dancing ballerina flowers from hollyhock & fuschia blossoms and stir them in water.
In the evening we experienced our first "shrimp boil", it was a great time and lots of good food.
Last of CA tomorrow...