March 2007

Back East or down south, when the winds start to blow really hard, (70 mph or more) they run up all kinds of warnings and everyone gets their knickers in a knot. Out here, they just fly a Red Flag. Red Flag days mean no open fires, certain parking restrictions so the emergency vehicles can get thru the narrow roadways easier and they warn Hi profile Vehicles to drive with caution. I had checked the weather forecasts the day before my latest travel day, about the only time I do check is just before a travel day since the only difference in the weather out here is warm and sunny and warm, windy and sunny. Anyway, the warnings were up for the winds, so I decided to get on the road early to try to take advantage of the normal lower winds before sunrise to get thru the wind farm on my way back to the desert. Complicating today's move was a typical southern California rain storm. In other words it was coming down in buckets, and the winds were a lot higher than I had figured on. As I made it thru the neck and broke out into the desert, the rain stopped. No surprise, after all this IS a desert. But as I looked back towards the wind farm, I saw the brightest and most intense rainbow I have EVER seen. It looked like something a kindergartner would have drawn, the arch was so perfect and the colors so intense. I took some pictures of it. Keep in mind that an SLR camera does not show reflected light all that well. I also took off the UV filters from the lenses to try and get better shots of it. These photos are NOTHING compared to what it looked like in person. Not even in Hawaii, have I ever seen a rainbow this perfect, this bright and where I could clearly see where it ended and began. I hope you enjoy them and I wish you could have seen it live with me!

To fully see the amazing shots, I did not compress these. Click on the smaller image to see each one full sized. The last darker shot is the one with out the UV filter on the lens, you can see the colors right down to Indigo!

I also added a new traffic sign to my collection. Back east, they put out barrels or piles of sand for traction when it snows. Out here, the sand piles also come with a box full of burlap bags, so you can make your own sand bags for flood control. remember, it never rains in southern California, but when it does, as the song said, Man it pours!!

Have to go teach the beginner class in pickelball. If you have not played this game before, check it out!!

The full moon we had this month that had the eclipse is called the "EGG" moon, since this is the time for birds to be nest sitting. There is a hummingbird nesting on the pickelball court fence, They say this is the third year that she has built on the court fence. Our play does not bother her too much. We also have blue heron nesting near the court. They look like pterodactyls when they fly over the court. I also learned something new, watching the male carry twigs to the nest. They build with green or fresh twigs not dead fall as I thought. The male is making 4 to 6 trips an hour with more twigs. I made a separate page with the non compressed photos of the blue heron, so this page will take a long time to load.

Working a twig loose Those are HUGE wings

Putting the twig in place

The male was making 4 to 6 trips an hour, every hour as they added to the nest

The happy couple

We also have had a hummingbird keep us company on the Pickelball court. I am told this is the third year that she has nested right on the corner of the fence. I guess she feels safe there, where animals and bigger birds could not fly into the corner of the fence to reach the eggs in her nest.

I wonder what a normally very active bird thinks about while sitting on her nest?

That orange spot is actually a new born hummingbird's BEAK. Click on the image for a larger, more detailed view. You can see the crack in the second egg as it gets ready to hatch either later today or tonight.

Day 2 Just a little bigger. Again click on the photo to see a larger version

Day 3

Feeding the baby. Look close, that is the EYE of the new born

Slow connection? Follow this link to a page with medium sized version of these photos of this Nesting Hummingbird

Today, the winds swung around out of the North and brought cool Canadian air with it. (it got down to 60 here in the desert last night, why the heat went on this morning! Shocking.) The moisture from the ocean (the Pacific is only 75 miles from here) brought moisture and here at the end of March, there is more snow on the mountain tops than we had all winter. I bet the snow is down to the 5000 feet area. Here is a shot of the snow actually falling on the mountain. Down here in the desert valley, it was just cool and windy. I like "civilized" snow that stays up in the mountains.

From sunny and warm Southern California!