Rufous Hummingbird

This type of hummingbird has been visiting our feeder all morning. It's the first time we've ever seen this species. Apparently, Rufous Hummingbirds only visit Davis from March-April and August-September.

This weekend we... achoo!!! *sniff*

As Spring has hit Davis full-on, so have our allergies. We were feeling so lousy that staying inside most of the weekend seemed like a wise plan. Our only outing was to the Farmer's Market on Saturday where we found a vital info sheet - a vegetable planting guide for the region. As you know, we have been utterly baffled by the planting seasons here. For example, we planted snow peas a few weeks ago. Yet, according to the chart, they should have been planted in October! Dying and learning (as Kay's friend Titita says). . .

a few pictures from the last three days. . .

Sunrise over the foggy Yolo Causeway:

Meeting Kara and Lamalani at the new science museum in SF (after Lamalani captured the Ms. Leather title!)
Andrew, SF, and the Bay Bridge from Berkeley:

An Eared Grebe in Berkeley:

Muir Woods, Bolinas, and Yolo

We met Yumiko, David, Robin, Dan, and Liran at Muir Woods on Saturday. . . It must be one of the most trafficked National Monuments being only 11 miles North of San Francisco. There were MANY people there, but a terrific place for a walk especially with a 5-month old kiddo.
After a nice walk in the redwoods, David and Yumiko joined us for lunch and a wander-about in the hippie-dippy coastal town of Bolinas.

Finally, we stopped at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for a cold and breezy view of the city:

On Sunday, we saw a bird we seldom see: a Moorhen. (It's behind the Great Blue Heron.)

Field Trip to Winter

This weekend we went to Alpine Meadows, a ski resort just up the mountains from Tahoe. One of our friends invited us to the 'company cabin'. Because we haven't seen snow in a year (I know you East Coasters are raising your fists at us), it was like a field trip to Winter! We did not ski, but we did enjoy a nice walk and the views. Here are some photos of Alpine:


On Sunday it rained, so we drove back to Davis early. Back in Spring, there were a flock of gregarious Cedar Waxwings systematically harvesting the berries from our tree.