We discovered a hummingbird this morning in the kitchen office, huddled up and catatonic. It probably got in there last night and was unable to get out. I just read that hummingbirds have to consume their body weight in food (nectar and insects) each day and they have to stock up before nightfall to survive until the next day. When facing starvation, they are able to lower their body temperature.
This one was close to expiring and when we picked it up, it didn’t move. We started feeding it sugar water and warmed it under a lightbulb. Pretty soon its tiny tongue flicked out and it started swallowing. Its eyes, which had been closed, opened. After maybe 5 minutes, it started moving its wings. Back from the dead. We took it outside and—zoom!—off it went into the highest birch tree—jubilation from the humanoids.
In these photos you can see it with its eye closed, and later, open.
May the sun
bring you new energy by day.
May the moon
softly restore you by night.
May the rain
wash away your worries.
May the breeze
blow new strength
into your being.
May you walk
gently through the world
and know its beauty
all the days of your life.
Apache Blessing
Looks like he’s got an abalone or big clam on his belly. They use rocks to crack open shells. I had a friend in high school, Mike Barnato, a swimmer, who said he wanted to be reincarnated as a sea otter.
At 85 years of age, organic raisin farmer and lifelong river advocate Walt Shubin is not slowing down. He has dedicated the last 65 years of his life to restoring California’s once-mighty San Joaquin River to the wild glory he remembers as a young boy. Driven by his passion for the river, and despite worn out knees and joints, he takes us on a journey to help us understand why this river is so important to all of us as well.
From David Shipway
I went on a slow 4-mile run on a coastal trail the other evening. A skunk ambled across, then cottontails, one after the other. These little rabbits seem to have proliferated. I counted 9 of them in all. A young deer stood stock still as I went by, his ears revolving and tracking me like radar antennas. At a hillside pond, swallows were swooping down to skim the water, picking up insects and leaving ripples on the smooth surface.
Driving home along the coast that night, I spotted the wily coyote that I’ve seen before, standing by the side of the road. “Let the Juke Joint Jump” by Koko Taylor was playing on the radio. I backed up so the coyote was about 20 feet from my rolled-down window and turned up the volume. He stayed right there—his first experience with the blues. Fittingly, this song is on Koko’s album titled Force of Nature.
Well, he started it. He would hang around when I walked in the garden, follow me around. Perky, inquisitive.
Once in a great while a wild animal makes contact. Coyotes are renowned for their excursions into humanoid consciousness.
He’ll swoop down, fly, and hop around to different vantage points, hop toward the peanut, then decide he’d rather come at it from another direction. Cock his head back and forth for different vantage points. Today for the first time I got him to take a peanut off my hand. We’re getting to know each other, but he’s very wary. He doesn’t like it if anyone else is around.
I shot about 150 photos in this wonderful city yesterday. This is at the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens, where we spent about 2 hours with our friend/guide Diana Sykes, marveling at the botanical wonders of the natural world, tended by master gardeners with skill and love.
And the people! It’s like stepping into an alternate universe. People are so friendly and jolly, helpful and sincere. Good vibes everywhere.
Today we took the train from Glasgow, and are now in the fishing village of Mallaig. I just had the best fish and chips in my life, along with a dark beer from Skye Island. Tomorrow we take the ferry to the small island of Eigg, where we’ll spend a week in a small cabin.
I’ll try to post more when I can.
via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BEXP69eAMvZ/
For a couple of years, I’ve had 2 hummingbirds that got trapped in the greenhouse and died. They were kinda mummified. Recently they disintegrated. I put the skulls in strong hydrogen peroxide and voila!
This is just one of the many sea creatures at this remarkable store: the 6th Avenue Aquarium and Flowers place at 429 Clement in San Francisco. There must be 50-60 tanks of exotic sea creatures, all clean and beautifully tended.
The 3 or so blocks centering on 5th Ave. and Clement is a great neighborhood, with 3-4 dim sum places, Chinese herbs, all kinds of ethnic restaurants. The Cafe Bunn is a great Vietnamese restaurant, with Vietnamese sandwiches along with typical Vietnamese dishes, good, inexpensive.
