The California Bell Tower in the Setting Sun

The California Bell Tower, Balboa Park, in the Setting Sun.

Casa Del Prado by Night

Casa Del Prado, Balboa Park, California. The lights of Casa Del Prado reflecting into the tranquil, dark, nighttime waters of the Balboa Arboretum pool.

Yellow Water Lilly

Yellow water lilly in the setting sun, Balboa Park, California.

Costa's Hummingbird

Costa's Hummingbird (Female), Calypte costae. These tiny hummingbirds (about 3.5 inches long) are found throughout the Arid Southwestern U.S. and into the Baja Peninsula. The males have a bright violet mask.

Sparkling Violet-Ear Hummingbird

Sparkling Violet-Ear Hummingbird, Colibri coruscans. These beautiful hummingbirds are found from Venezuela and Columbia (the birthplace of hummingbirds) through northwestern Argentina.

Blue Butterfly Bush or Clerodendrum ugandense

Blue Butterfly Bush, Clerodendrum ugandense. This is a small to medium sized, warmer growing (zone 8) shrub. The flowers apparently attract butterflies as well. Quite the charmer.

Kissing in the Moonlight

Statue of Sailor and nurse kissing in the moonlight with the USS Midway museum in the background. Taken with ambient lighting.

Paper Wasp

Paper Wasp, Polistes species, in Jimson Weed. There were several Paper wasps prowling around the Jimson Weed flowers. Adult paper wasps are nector feeders, hence their presence in the Jimson week flowers.

However, adult paper wasps will sting soft bodied insects, such as caterpillars, to paralyze them. The wasps then carry the soft bodied insect or caterpillar to their nest for their larvae/grubs to feed on as they are developing.

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna (juvenile), in the back yard. These are found all up and down the Pacific coast of the United States and down into the Northern Baja Peninsula. You can differentiate them from Costa's Hummingbird based on the eye being below the green patch on the head rather than within the green patch as with Costa's Hummingbird.

AOS Awards, Pac South

(Catamodes Painted Desert X Catasetum Brent's Black Hawk) AM/AOS. In ambient light, this flower is almost black but if you light it up, it's a glossy deep red. Congratulations Brent!

Great Purple Hairstreak

Great Purple Hairstreak (male), Atlides halesus, Mission Trails Park, San Diego, California. Note that the males have the blue streaks on the outside of the wing while the females do not. These are found from California across the Southern states to Florida and then down into Mexico. They're hard to spot in a tree or bush but well worth the trouble. The wings are typically kept closed when not in flight. However, if you're lucky enough to see them open, they are an irridescent blue. Also, the wings roll out at the rear exposing wing patterns, which, when viewed from the rear look like eyes and antenna, likely to confuse potential predators.

Prarie Falcon

Prarie Falcon, Falco mexicanus, Mission Trails Park, San Diego, California. I saw this little guy sitting high up in a sycamore tree and, with that big old 500mm lens, here we are.

Classic Automobiles

Old speedster off highway 8.

Dendrochilum cobbianum

Dendrochilum cobbianum, showing that notable triangular lip.

Pelican Over Water

Pelican Over Water, Mission River Preserve, San Diego, California.

American Avocets, Winter Plumage

American Avocets, Recurvirostra americana (so named for it's upturned beak -- aka recurved rostrum), resting on an exposed sand bar in the middle of the Mission River. Yes, the Avocets are back sporting their ever so stylish black and white formal Winter plumage! I had been to the Mission River for years without ever seeing an avocet until I realized that the little guys hang out in the shallows in the MIDDLE of the river, far from feral cats and stray dogs. Now that I know where to look, they're readily visible, albeit with a huge lens or perhaps binoculars.

I also puzzled for quite a while over the funky upturned beaks, wondering how they manage to eat anything at all with such beaks. However, it became fairly obvious upon watching them feed. They sweep those upturned beaks in shallow water over the mud and sand bottom kind of like a scythe cutting through wheat. The beaks scare up small water bugs and crustaceans which, as they are trying to flee the disturbance, become the Avocet's next meal.

Barkeria Lindleyana

Barkeria lindleyana semi-alba. A forgiving Central American orchid species that will grow hanging from a wire with no media whatsoever, given a little humidity and some decent water. These vary from bright lavender to pure white.

Unknown Dendrochilum

Dendrochilum species, unknown. Fascinating little Dendrochilum species with a compact growth habit and the cutest little dog biscuit shaped lip.

Honey bee on Broom Baccharis

Honey bee (Apis), her back legs full of pollen, on Broom Baccharis (Baccharis sarothroides - Asteraceae). Broom Baccharis is native to a riparian habitat and blooms from June through October. It is in the sunflower family (Asteraceae).

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret, Egretta thula, Mission River Preserve, San Diego, California. We went to the preserve to see if the ducks had made it this far South yet. They had not. There was not a duck to be seen anywhere. There were, however, lots of terns, egrets, herons and an early flock of avocets.

Rth. Jungle Jumbalaya 'Arnilicious' HCC/AOS

Rth. Jungle Jumbalaya 'Arnilicious' HCC/AOS 77pts, from tonights Pacific South American Orchid Society Judging at Balboa Park, San Diego, California.

AH-1 Huey Cobra Helicopter

AH-1 Huey Cobra Helicopter, Miramar Air Show, San Diego, California.

Anguloa eburnea

Anguloa eburnea. Anguloa are often called the tulip orchids because of their resemblance, at a distance anyhow, to a tulip. Anguloa eburnea is a native of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru where it is found at around 4500 to 7500 ft. This species is notably distinguished from Anguloa uniflora, which it is often mislabled as, by eburnea's diamond shaped, elongated midlobe (on the lip).

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii var semi alba

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii var semi alba.

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii bicolor form

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii is native to New Guinea where it grows on mossy rocks along streams at high altitude (3k-10k ft).

C. Caudebec 'Carmela' AM/AOS

C. Caudebec 'Carmela' AM/AOS. This magnificent plant with huge upright stems of waxy, vibrantly spotted flowers was upgraded to an Award of Merit at the San Diego Botanical Gardens Show.

Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. Osaka Castle consists of two raised platforms of landfill supported by interlocked granite walls each surrounded by a moat. The castle is eight stories tall and construction was begun in 1583 Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The Pearl of the Orient

The Oriental Pearl Tower next to the Huangpu river in Pudong, Shanghai. River boats covered with brightly colored lights go up and down the river and night making for great viewing with a nice hot cup of coffee. This was taken from the lobby of the Shanghai Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao Tower. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in China and the fifth tallest in the world. The Shanghai Grand Hyatt occupies floors 53 (lobby) to 87 (penthouse). Hats off to Jian for IDing the tower and Dave Ross for IDing where this photo was taken from!

Bodhisattva Rising from the Ashes of Destruction

Wat Maha That Ayutthaya (Wat is the Thai word for Temple), Bangkok, Thailand. This was at one of the many temples on the Bangkok river tour where you are taken in a small boat to a whole series of amazing, ancient temples, a river market and, yes, a little thai zoo with snake charmers... It's quite an adventure but dress for hot weather.

This bodhisattva was surrounded by rows of beheaded, worn bodhisattvas that had been descrated by an invading Burmese Army. The heads are mostly gone, perhaps removed to another locale; however, this head was apparently lost underground and arose, somewhat miraculously upright and visibly entwined in the roots of that bodhi-ficus tree.

Les Arenes de Nimes

Les Arenes de Nimes, Nimes, France. While many have heard of the infamous Coliseum in the center of Rome, there were actually multiple arenas throughout the Roman Empire. This one is in Nimes, France and is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters still in existence. When new, the Nimes Amphitheater could hold up to 24,000 people.

They had pictures and narratives about all the different types of gladiators that fought in the Arena, each specializing in particular weapons and tactics. The narratives also noted that the combat was only rarely to the death, contrary to popular myth.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Pulaski County Courthouse, Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. It's a beautiful building. Perhaps not as imposing as many more modern courthouses. It's a picture I snapped when I was walking through Little Rock one evening. It was one of the older and more scenic buildings in Little Rock. As it turns out, Little Rock is a friendly, welcoming place and, outside of being nowhere near the beach, is a pretty nice place to hang out. I still remember the waiter at the restaurant saying they had a special on pate, immediately bringing to mind tiny portions surrounded by crackers. In fact, he brought out a huge plate covered by what looked like slices of meatloaf! It was both tasty and, surprisingly reasonably priced. So, if you're ever in that neck of the woods, stop by Little Rock.

White Bengal Tiger

White bengal tiger, Pana'ewa Zoo, Hilo, Hawaii. The tiger's name is Namaste, and was donated to the Pana'ewa zoo by Dirk Arthur, a magician at the Tropicana Resort in Las Vegas. Note, his eyes are not pink as he is not an albino per se. Just white.

Will the Real Katydid Please Stand Up?

True Katydid, Pterphylla camellifolia, that wandered into the living room. I have to admit, they look a lot scarier up close!

Meet One of the Most Poisonous Animals in the World!

Golden Poison Dart Frog, Phyllobates terribilis. The Golden Poison Dart Frog, a native of the Pacific coast of Columbia, is one of the most poisonous animals in the world. While captive-bred specimens are not toxic, the roughly one milligram of batrachotoxin found in a wild P. terribilis is sufficient to kill about 10,000 mice,over 10 humans, or up to two African bull elephants. The toxin is likely derived from alkaloids present in its natural food source, possibly a small Columbian beetle in the family Melyridae.

Birdman of Coronado

Man feeding pigeons in Coronado, California. Some people just have a way with animals! This man was proudly feeding some of the boldest pigeons I've ever seen. He even tried, with less than perfect success, to get them to roost on his head. Nothing a little bird food and a lot of patience cannot solve!

Fly by Night?

A plane flying by as the flight descended into Baltimore, MD in the early evening.

Aerial View of Pearl Harbor, Pearl City and Aiea, Hawaii

Aerial View of Pearl Harbor with Pearl City and Aiea Heights in the background. You can see a tiny sub in the center and what's left of the beautiful coral reefs that surrounded Pearl Harbor and the Honolulu Airport.

Metallic Green Fig Beetle, Cotinus texana

Metallic Green Fig Beetle, Cotinus texana, in the sand dunes among some Beach Primrose. I attempted to get a closer shot and ended up with a foot full of burrs. Sadly, by the time I got the burrs off of my foot, it had flown away... Perhaps, if I check the fig tree out back...

Coqui: How Can Something So Cute Be Such a Pest?

Coqui frog, Eleutherdactylus coqui, hanging out on the plate glass window eating the bugs attracted by the light. Well, lizards do it, why not frogs? This little frog is considered quite a pest on the island of Hawaii, where it has no natural predators and has spread uncontrollably. On the bright side, they do eat bugs...

Spathoglottis kimballiana

Spathoglottis kimballiana from the garden at Mele Kohola on the Big Island of Hawaii after a rain. These are native to Southeast Asia but do very well in Hawaii's warm, tropical climate.

Aerial View of Seaworld and Fiesta Island

Aerial view of Seaworld San Diego (below), Mission Bay (center), and Fiesta Island (center).

Power Outage Makes a Mess Out of San Diego's Airports

Lindberg Field at about 5:30pm after the power outage. After waiting for about an hour in the airplane on the tarmac, the one portable stairs finally came to let us out of the plane. As you would expect, none of the gate ramps were working due to the power outage. A long line of Southwest Airlines employees lined the route for us to the baggage claim area. The bags were being unloaded by hand.

Since I had nothing but a little hand carry, I figured I'd be able to phone the parking company and head immediately home. However, all the lines were busy! Luckily, the van was just coming by so I was able to hop on. Traffic was a ridiculous mess and, while most people were calm, there were a few horns honking and people driving on the wrong side of the road, some rushing to the airport to no doubt discover that all the flights were cancelled and some trying to get home.

The outbound travelers, however, were stranded in droves in the terminal, mostly waiting on security, when the flights were cancelled or delayed.

Blue Dragonfly

Blue Dragonfly resting on iris.

AOS Judging Results at Balboa Park

Aeridovanda Samsri Sunlight 'Merienda Lane' AM/AOS. Congratulations to Ed and Donna Wise!

Cattleya What'll It Be 'Julian's Delight' AM/AOS. Congratulations to Helen Pfister!

Cyr. McBeanianum 'Rustic Canyon' HCC/AOS. Congratulations to Howard Liebman, M.D.!!

Madagascar Day Gecko Hamming it up on Heliconia

Madagascar Day Gecko, Phelsuma madagascariensis, on Heliconia bihai (or perhaps Heliconia Kamehameha) at the Punalu'u Bakery, Punalu'u, Hawaii.

Cross Orbweaver Spider

Cross Orbweaver Spider, Araneus diadematus, San Diego, California. Pretty...or pretty spooky? You decide.

Lc Maui Plum 'Volcano Queen' AM/AOS

Lc Maui Plum 'Volcano Queen' AM/AOS at the Hilo Orchid Show in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle or Honu

Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, Punalu'u, Hawaii. Turtle basking on the black volcanic sand at Punalu'u beach to warm up after a busy day eating seaweed off the rocks.