Point Reyes National Seashore

To celebrate 13 years, we spent two days at Point Reyes National Seashore. We stayed at a great place with a kitchenette, hot tub, and tennis court - the Inverness Valley Inn. It's run by an ex-lawyer and ornithologist. They have chickens, goats, and a llama and offered us fresh eggs each day.
A few of their chickens - including the ludicrous Polish chickens (with pompoms on their heads):
They have a 'chicken tractor' which allows the chicken to safely be under cover while feeding anywhere on their lawn. Apparently the chickens love the tractor, as they run over to it as soon as they are allowed out onto the lawn.
Gorgeous, fresh eggs:
On our first day, we drove to the northern part of Point Reyes and walked the 9.5 mile Tomales Point trail. We got an early start and were one of the first people out on the trail. With few people, it was a quiet and peaceful walk out to the point. En route back, we ran into almost a hundred people - apparently a popular trail.


Some nice views of the Pacific:
Tule Elk on the trail:
Andrew with elk behind him:
Black-tailed deer:
Leigh, watching Oyster Catchers and other shore birds at the Bluff.
More elk :
Destroyed jellyfish on the beach:


On day two, we repeated a hike that we'd done over a year ago - Estero and Drake's Head Trails.

A Western Bluebird:



In all, a great two days of wandering around a gorgeous park.

Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and Davis' Putah Creek - 2009 Jan 10-11

Andrew and I often make only one commitment on New Year's day and year after year it's usually the same thing: to do stuff. . . Sometimes 'stuff' involves travel, other times see music. But generally, 'stuff' means getting out and about and seeing things in and around where we live. This year, I think it means making sure that every weekend we go for a walk or a hike somewhere, new or old, it doesn't matter just as long as it's outside. So, on New Year's Day, we went on my favorite hike in Winters. The weekend of January 10-11, when I wasn't working on a manuscript, Andrew and I went for a drive through the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area ('the Causeway') and we also went for a long walk in the Western part of Davis along the Putah Creek. Here are some pictures.

Moon over Sacramento and the Causeway:
a napping Great-Horned Owl:

We discovered a part of the causeway where, perhaps, hundreds of Black-crowned Night Herons congregate. Here are some of them:

A beautiful Say's Phoebe:
Andrew shows off a tumbleweed near Putah Creek. (Anyone else remember the Far Side's tumblenerd cartoon?) :

Jackrabbits frolicking amongst UC Davis vineyards:


This is a Chestnut-backed Chickadee:
Sometimes this is the only way I can get a picture of myself in the blog (yes, I'm out of focus because my arm isn't long enough!):
This is a beautiful Spotted Towhee:

And finally, this American Goldfinch had an unfortunate run-in with our sliding door. It knocked itself out after flying from the feeder into the glass. We placed it in the sun in an egg carton and it revived itself and flew away within minutes. Just a few days before, I'd placed vinyl stickers all over the glass because a few had non-fatally flown into the window before. This one hit the window a few inches from one of my stickers. They are not too smart.

Monterey with Alex and Jeeyung

Alex and Jeeyung spent a long weekend in San Francisco and we were fortunate to spend about 30hrs with them! Andrew and I had been pining to go back to the Monterey Aquarium and they were also interested in going. So, presto, a trip South was arranged. . . Here are some pictures from our trip.

A waterfront view of what once was Cannery Row.
A gorgeous hippocampus:
Me (Leigh) on the beach a little north of Monterey:
A sea otter:
Andrew and Alex celebrating the retrieval of our frisbee from the greedy Pacific:
Alex and Jackie:
Frishman:
A Brown Pelican fishing:

While we were in the neighborhood, we got together with Caitlin, Wes, and Seamus:
the Pacific Coast:

New Year's Hike

Many years ago in the Northeast, Alex Jermyn graciously shared with us his tradition of starting the New Year with a hike in a mountain. Since then, we make an attempt to carry on his tradition especially if we are in the vicinity of any altitude. This year, we decided to hike in Winters. Unlike the balmy and dry weather from the same hike a few days prior, it was cold and foggy.

These two pictures were taken from a similar vantage point (top was New Year's Day, bottom was several days before):
Rainbow and our shadow as we look down into the fog below us . . .
We saw many of these specimens . . . ...yup, fungal-covered doodoo.
yum.



Hoping for a healthy, happy, and peaceful 2009. . .