Muppets of Color

Even the muppets were out for Pride! This muppet of color was looking absolutely fabulous. Miss Piggy, eat your heart out. ...and where was Ernie in all the commotion?

A Cloud Of Balloons!

I couldn't resist snapping this picture of a mom and her daughter surrounded by a cloud of balloons. Daughter is keeping a wary eye on those balloons, just in case any get a little too forward. They were on one of the many pride floats last week.

Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone

There's Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone out getting some sun. Wait, is that a tat on Betty's left arm? I always figured Betty and Barny were a little wilder than they let on. Is Wilma looking at that tattoo with a little bit of tattoo envy? Guess it is just all the rage, isn't it?

PFLAG Rocks

Thank goodness for PFLAG. The Gal had a sign that said, "PFLAG rocks my world." The guy's sign said, "I love my gay Mom." The most touching though are the Moms and grandparents that are willing to get out there and march for their kids.

The Statue of Liberty on Parade

One of the marchers last weekend was dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. While it may at first seem a little perpendicular to the festive atmosphere, perhaps it speaks more to the purpose that pride parades were created. In fact, given the vicious immigration debates going on today, perhaps more people should remember the charitable words immortalized on the base of the Statue of Liberty, those words written by nineteenth century poet Emma Lazarus in "The New Colossus."

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Marketing to the Gay Community

It appears that the gay community drinks enough to get some attention from Anheuser-Busch. Enough, at least, to send Bud Man to the parade! 10% of the population, mostly with no kids and with lots of income. They go to theme parks too. Heck, it sounds like a no brainer. Bud man here we come.

A Color Dare

I think it was a dare. Around 6 scantily clad, color themed guys all ran across the street, being waved off the road by one of the parade marshalls. Shown here are flaming pink and flourescent orange. They were closely followed by brilliant blue.

Royal Wave

This little guy was practicing his "royal wave" in Saturday's Pride Parade. Now, you could attribute it on his role models or perhaps he is just getting a queenly head start.

Takes Guts

Gay Pride or not, it takes guts to parade around in speedos. On the other hand, if I looked like that, maybe it wouldn't take quite as much guts after all. Besides, they did get some advertising and a little free blog space.

Bourbon St. Beads

The guys from Bourbon Street, a local bar, were pretty pysched up about the beads as you can tell from the big "hand in the cookie jar" grin on the guy on the right. He really lit up a few moments before when one of his buddies came by with an armful of beads. I guess it's the little things in life that make us happy.

San Diego Pride

They had the San Diego Pride Parade today. While once upon a time, Pride Parades were pretty outlandish affairs, these days, they are pretty tame, polite and political affairs. All the politicians were out as were the police, the fire department, the sheriff, the prosecutors, the public safety people, the banks and the car people. Overall, it was still pretty festive. Here is a picture of some political weiner dogs.

Puffer Pride

I found this puffer at a friends house in their aquarium. He was pretty friendly and would follow your finger across the tank. Notably, it is a freshwater puffer as you may notice the Java ferns in the background. I like the cute little perma-smile.

Anna's Hummingbird

I never tire of taking pictures of the Anna's hummingbirds in the back yard. I could sit and watch them for hours. This little female was going back and forth between the Cannas and the Agapanthus.

Defending The Ziplock

The aggressor gull in the picture snatched a ziplock back full of cookies from a neighboring beach blanket while the people were in the water. Immediately, other gulls came in seeking their share of the bounty. As you can see, the thief was not in the mood for sharing.

Red Headed River Turtle

For you turtle lovers, here is a picture of a red headed river turtle, Podocnemis erythrocephala. Erythro refers to red and cephala to head. This one seemed to have a permanent smile. Happy hump day eve.

Spotted Spreadwing

I found this Spotted Spreadwing Damselfly (Lestes congener) in the backyard on Sunday. They're so tiny compared to their dragonfly cousins, you'll miss them if you don't look good. Lucky for me, their wings sheen in the sun and this one caught my attention. Even luckier still, it stayed around long enough for me to run in and grab the camera.

Bend and Snap

One of the zookeepers was feeding the monkeys. At first, I thought those were carrots she was tossing in there but on closer examination, they appear to be yet another type of manufactured biscuit (maybe fruit or meat?). One of the keepers said they have a company that manufactures biscuits of just about any composition to order. It probably makes feeding all those animals just a little bit easier. Besides, she does look rather stylish as she tosses in those biscuits, doesn't she?

Brush Ear Pigs

A Brush Ear Piglet takes a nap with Momma pig. Actually, the whole family of 4 little piglets was enjoying a lazy, nap-filled afternoon.

Ruddy Duckling

Even the Ruddy Ducks had a few ducklings following them around. They don't get the telltale blue bill until they get older (assuming it's a male) but they were sticking close to Mom and Pop. This one came up to get a closer look.

Staring at the Hippo

I love taking pictures at the hippo tank. The people sit and stare or tap on the glass thinking the hippo might do something special for them. This one shows the refections of two ardent hippo admirers.

The Ducklings Are Here

It's that duckling time of year! There where all kinds of baby ducks trying out their new freedom on the ponds. Here are some napping near the flamingo pool.

Hummingbirds

This little hummingbird was fiercely defending his territory from other hummingbirds while alternately feasting on agapanthus and canna lilly nectar. He would occasionally stop to perch on one of the banana trees and made quite a display. We have Anna's Hummingbirds in the area but this one shows no red on top of his head. IDs are, as always, welcome.

Springtime in Flamingo-land

The flamingos have been busy this Winter and springtime bought a whole new generation of chicks. This one was showing his fellow flamingos that he means business.

Eye of the Peacock

Well, heck, if you can have the eye of the tiger, why not the eye of the peacock, eh? Or maybe the Peafowl? You can never have too many pictures of peacocks with their glittery, irridescent blue plumage and magnificent displays! Have you ever noticed that the feathers on the head of a male peacock look like molten cobalt or perhaps melted glass, in a kind of bubbly, opalescent sort of way?

Dolphins Surfing

Saw these dolphins surfing on the beach today. They were slowly making their way down the La Jolla Coast. This picture was taken from the cliffs up above. Based of the lack of white coloration (in any of my pictures), I'm guessing these are bottlenose dolphins rather than common dolphins.

Willow Ptarmigan

A Willow Ptarmigan photo, compliments of our friend, Patricia. This is a male with breeding plumage.

One More for the Herpetologists

Here's one more for the Herpetologists. Yep, a snake this time. This is a Mang Mountain Pit Viper. Looks real scary (and it is likely pretty scary in fact if it were hiding in some shrubs while you were hiking through) but I love the piercing silver-emerald eyes.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!! Hope you all had fun.

Dragonfly fourth

Happy Fourth of July! I found this dragonfly perched on my peach tree and he wasn't budging so I snapped some pictures. It looks like a Western Meadowhawk but the markings aren't quite the same as the reference picture so, if there are any dragonfly experts out there, your assistance is welcome. Happy Fourth.

A Stunning Redhead

This Red Headed Rock Agama was basking in that hot San Diego sunshine. Their little red heads literally glow in the sunlight making quite a display. If you move too quickly, they run incredibly fast as well.

A CBR for Cleisocentron merillianum

This adorable little blue orchid just received a CBR for me. I'm not sure I didn't get the wrong end of the stick, however,as that means that I need to send it out to be officially identified which costs an even $50 (which is more than the little plant cost me). If you're curious, it is a Cleisocentron merillianum. At least that's what the tag said.

Lizard Lovers Unite

One of my few readers (hahah, with me that makes two), was gracious enough to identify my blue spotted lizard from Torrey Pines as a Sceloporous or Fence Lizard (which I had mistakenly labeled as an aligator lizard, April 25, 2007). I, of course, was pretty doggone happy to have someone interested in my pictures and figured I'd put up another lizard from my extensive photo library for our lizard loving friends. Sorry, nothing rare. Best I can tell, it is a Gecko native to Madagascar, Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis, that has successfully gone native in Hawaii. My friends in Hawaii tell me that they have seen these guys gobbling up the other geckos and anoles in the area and that they are rapidly taking over [a word of caution to those of you who would randomly introduce new species into ecosystems]. This one was photographed at the City of Refuge on the Big Island of Hawaii in one of their huts.