Giant Pacific Octopus

Here's a picture of a giant pacific octopus. They are normally found on the Northern Pacific Coast. I first saw one many years ago on Victoria Island. This one is happily fed and cared for. You can see more of him at the link above.

Overland Park

Hello from lovely Overland Park, KS. It's a gorgeous sunny day out; not a flake of snow in sight anywhere! I'm in the hotel room waiting for an email file to upload before I run of to a meeting. Nothing much but big buildings outside the window so this little lizard from the South of France is going to have to do. The email torrent hasn't started yet since it is still 8am Pacific and the folks in the office are just getting warmed up. Happy Monday.

Wet Hummingbird

The tiniest hummingbird came up while I was watering the Mexican Sage. It appeared to want to sip from the stream of water from the hose. So, I held the stream really really still so he could get in close without getting doused. He came closer and closer and closer and then whoosh, disappeared. I couldn't see him anymore and could only imagine that he got sucked into the stream of water and washed into the Sage. I shut off the stream of water immediately and was looking at the sage when, whooosh, off he went. Breathing a sigh of relief, I watched as he moved to the honeysuckle bush for some nectar and then perched on the peach tree to preen and dry off a little. He appeared damp but none the worse for the wear. He's shown here drying off.

Ruddy Duck

Spent the afternoon snapping duck pics. This one is one of my favorite Ruddy Ducks. He's always good for a few pictures and for some reason or another is always scratching. I suspect that's how they keep their feathers oiled and fluffed full of air.

The company had the anniversary dinner tonight for us old timers. They reserved the Aerospace museum so we got to tour the museum for free. There were some really cool planes including a blackbird out front, some really old biplanes, a mig or two and a recreation of the Apollo space capsule. There was also a GPS satellite which, ironically, looked just like in the pictures I've seen on the web.

We sat at the gay ghetto table where we spent the time talking about real estate strategy and what markets were moving. I may retire yet and, in the meantime, a little effort seems to keep me moving in the right direction.

The Tadich Grill

We had dinner at the Tadich Grill in San Francisco on Wednesday night. It was cold, wet and dreary in the city that night. However, the restaurant was absolutely packed to the gills. Perhaps there is some truth to the sign outside that claims that they are the "original cold day restaurant." Either way, their grilled salmon filet was lightly marinated and seared to perfection and their clam chowder was absolutely jam packed with clams. I couldn't think of a nicer way to spend a cold, drizzly night.

Wassup Duck?

I snapped this duck last weekend. It reminds me of the look my dog gives me when she's expecting food. Or, perhaps the "wassup?" look. Either way, I thought it was kind of cute.

San Francisco Geese

San Francisco was cold and drizzly. However, being the bird/photo nut that I am, I went out for a quick walk in the rain to see if any of my feather photo-subjects were out enjoying the peace and tranquility. There was a small flock of Canadian Geese doing a fly-by. I had no idea they made it all the way out to San Francisco but here is living proof.

San Francisco Bay

I'm up in San Francisco for the night. I have a presentation at a convention tomorrow. No sweat. It'll be fun. Meanwhile, I'm really enjoying the view of the bay from my hotel bedroom. I'll post a picture or two when I get back but here's the Golden Gate Bridge for now.

Duck-isthenics

Saw this duck doing a deep stretch at the Wild Animal Park the other day. They spend a lot of time on their feet, perhaps most of the day, so a good stretch is obviously welcome. It reminded me of some of those yoga poses with one leg and an arm pointed off in some unnatural direction (owww).

The Heron

Birds like handouts. Herons are no exception. This Heron was camped out strategically by one of the many cafes at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, apparently looking for handouts. I had no idea they ate anything but fish but this plump Heron was proof that they are (a) not shy when there's food involved; and (b) likely are eating something besides fresh fish (since fresh fish is not for sale at the cafeteria). In any case, the Heron (we'll call him Bob just for chuckles) was friendly enough to let me pose by him without giving me a nasty peck or two so here we are in all of our glory!

On Apes and Tools

We like to think humans are pretty special and that we're different from all of the other animals. We've come up with all sorts of reasons. Humans can recognize themselves. Humans can use tools. Humans can do abstract thought. Ironically, one by one, we are discovering animals doing each of the things that we thought unique to mankind. This young gorilla was throwing branches into the tree to knock off leaves which he would then eat, once they fell to the ground. His brother, nearby, grabbed a big, solid turd and tossed it a good 15 feet. Luckily, he was not apparently aiming for the audience which, as thickly crowded as it was, would have been an easy target. Of course, if he did, perhaps it would have proved a point about being locked in an enclosure and put on display.

Early Spring Flowers

It was a particularly cold January and the banana trees and citrus just about went to the big compost heap in the sky. I spent the morning cutting down dead, brown banana leaves. Notably not too brown to get me covered in banana sap from head to toe (bleah). The yard almost looks respectable again.

Even better still, the flowers are blooming in fierce profusion. Peaches, Aloe, Penstemon, Kangaroo Paw and many more. The parks are awash in color (and the front yard's doing pretty decent too, complete with daffodils and Aloe). I snapped a picture one of the double blooming peaches in the park this morning. They were putting on a gorgeous show.

Taro in Old Hawaii

My family used to own a Taro farm back in the old days. Grandma used a triton shell to call the workers in for lunch. The Taro grew in flooded fields similar to the one shown here just outside of Hana, Maui. For kids, there were also swordtails and loaches in there that we could catch with little scoop nets. Perhaps it's a kinder, gentler lifestyle than the competitive urban environment that so many kids grow up in today.

Egret City

It's random picture night! Hmm... Here's a picture of a tree full of Egrets in Hilo, Hawaii. They were conveniently living right next to the fish farm. Coincidence? I think not. Egrets are generally not known to pass up on a free fish dinner or lunch for that matter. These looked well fed.

Just One Little Sardine

Ever feel like just one little sardine in a big school? I'm coming down with a cold. It seems to be going around and it's got me feeling a little down. I'm thinking a good nights' sleep will do wonders. As for swimming in a school of fish, actually it's quite a rush to be surrounded by a huge school of fish! I highly recommend it.

More Pictures From Maui

I snapped this shot of a Gulf Fritillary along the trail to the source of the Seven Sacred Pools out past Hana, Maui. The trail was really beautiful although the water level was a little low since they had just gotten through a dry spell. The weather compensated by drenching us silly up at the falls and along the way back to the car. Luckily, that Hawaiian rain is wonderfully warm, refreshing stuff although the camera was probably none too appreciative (stayed in the backpack on the way back).

Weather Fit for a Frog

It has been raining all day long. My tree frog, out front, was singing happily. Perhaps it was washing the car that did it? Whatever the case, I want it to stop. No more rain. No more rain. No more rain. Heheheh. Third times a charm, right? As long as it stops before tomorrow morning's rush hour, I'll be happy.

The poisoin dart frog was in the "dangerous and deadly" exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Apparently, Amazon natives used the poison from the frog's skin to tip their darts for hunting small prey. This particular frog was in an aquarium on display and probably received all the crickets he could eat. Not a bad life for a frog!

An Old Creaky Dog

The dog's getting old on me. She has a hard time with steps, especially in the morning when her joints are a little creaky. This morning her legs slipped out from under her while she was going up the steps. I tried to catch her to keep her from sliding down the steps and, in the process sent dog food flying everywhere. I did manage to catch the dog, however. As I cleaned up the dog food (luckily it's the dry stuff), she comes back and looks at me with one of those, "hey, what's taking you so long" kind of looks. I had to laugh at that. I gotta give that dog credit; there was no whining and she didn't slow down a bit. In fact, she was out sniffing in the grass for squirrels as soon as I opened the door. I suppose we could learn something from dogs, creaky or not.

Aquarium of the Pacific Photo Safari

We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach today. It's about a two hour drive North of San Diego. The aquarium is fairly large, as aquariums go, and there were all sorts of fun things to see including seals, otters, sea lions and gazillions (aka, a lot) of different types of fish. I've included a snap shot of a large school of unidentified catfish.

Royal Tern

I found this Royal tern, Sterna maxima, hanging out with a flock of gulls. He's showing full breeding plumage. He allowed me to get close enough to snap a few pictures before flying off over the water. He's shown here stretching out his wings.