Today I saw a number of interesting textures, colors and patterns.
Category: Nature
Showdown
Today in Newport, we saw a sea lion resting next to the skin of a fish it had eaten earlier. This Western Seagull dropped in and casually asked if he was planning to finish his fish… he was.
The gull was skilled though and ended up with the prize. He ate the entire thing in under 30 seconds. Watching that was like watching a competitive eater down hotdogs.
Topographic
Ancient driftwood revealing its years in a unique way.
Treasures
Beach-combing is a time-honored tradition in our family. Shelly and I love to walk slowly up and down the shore looking for agates, shells, bits of coral, colorful rocks or whatever else catches our eyes. Agates are special treasures for us. They are visually interesting and also common enough to be regularly discovered. We have our favorite places to look for them. Sometimes the rocks are all covered with sand and we don’t see them. Other times, the beach looks like a gravel bed offering a rich supply of the opaque beauties.
Looking out
On vacation today, staying at Beverly Beach, Oregon.
Shell and I went for a long walk today and had a nice dinner at Mo’s at Otter Rock. Near the restaurant, there was a large colony of squirrels and they were extremely tame. I saw a whale spouting from the rim of the Devil’s Punchbowl. The house is nice and peaceful and it looks out over the ocean which always helps me see things from a different perspective.
In view of the horizon while standing at the line between the land and the sea, the concerns of the day don’t carry the same seriousness as they did before.
Juvie Spotted Towhee
As a juvenile, a Spotted Towhee looks very different from its adult parents. The adults have very dark backs, rusty-colored sides, white breasts, and red eyes as well. The juveniles are brown and nondescript. In fact, the first time I saw one, I had no idea what it was. One thing tip off is that the tails are essentially the same. There are white spots on the outer edges of the tails and these are the smoking gun that distinguishes them from any other large sparrow you might run into.
I See You
Our back yard is looking more wild now. Not everything we planted has filled in exactly as planned, but all of the plants and shrubs provide considerable concealment for the birds scavenging on the ground.
There were about a half dozen song sparrows scurrying around today and they seemed to be using the ground cover to hide from me. They were looking out, but they to stuck to their cozy little spots under the leaves. They weren’t singing, just quietly chattering with each other.
Unfurl
Hummer
I am sitting outside working and a female Anna’s Hummingbird came along. She did not appear to notice me. She buzzed around my head and eventually went over to the Honeysuckle and delicately checked out every little flower petal. For a few moments there was some jousting with a bee (bombus perplexus) and then she sat for a minute on a tiny stem with some blossoms on the end.
She was a very good looking hummingbird with not a feather out of place. What a nice visit.
Father’s Day Bullfrog
I was doing a little yard work today. I know, it’s Father’s Day and my orders were to relax and take it easy, but I wasn’t exactly slaving away.
Within a couple of minutes of starting work, I found the biggest frog I had ever seen. Some water accumulated in the tarp I was using and the frog apparently was attracted to the bugs in the dirt along with the water.
Even all scrunched up, the bullfrog was bigger than my fist. I caught him and put him in a bucket so that I could take his picture. Once we had that out of the way, I put him back and there he stayed until I tried to move the tarp back over the soil.
That move spooked him and away he hopped.