Iguana

An iguana basking in the sun. It was a little cool today, a much appreciated change from the hot fire-laden winds. The lizards where out in the sun to take advantage of whatever solar heating they could.

Torch Happy and the Tall Man

Torch Happy and the Tall Man are having fun with the tourists but hey, it was Halloween and all. Oh, okay, so it was actually homecoming but pretty close to Halloween (one night off). You have to love the evil grin on the guys face. What was he thinking anyhow? And the tall man? I'd stand a little further back from those torches if I were him!

Blue Orchids

This is a picture of Cattleya Blue Grotto 'Takasaki.' If this doesn't look truely blue, you're not color blind and it is not a bad color reproduction. True blue is very rare in orchids and a coerulean blue, as with this flower, is what is typically called blue. It is a rare genetic mutation that causes the general lavenders and yellows to be replaced with this blue-lavender which is called a coerulea form.

Pelican Moment

Pelecanus occidentalis californicus. Whew. Brown Pelican. Oddly enough, they are not brown at all. There's no telling with common names. Looks grey and white to me. The Latin name means Western Pelican. Nothing wrong there. They were endangered for a while, apparently because DDT had caused their eggs to crack. They have since recovered and are quite plentiful along the coast and are not above begging for fish scraps in back of fishing boats.

Drosera Capensis

Well, I'm all fired out. Enough gloom and stats for a lifetime. Here's a picture of Drosera capensis, a carnivorous sundew plant. They are really quite pretty, with their little deadly drops of red dew sparkling in the sun. The little gnats they catch probably think about the same, at least until they get stuck.

Ashy Drongo

Picture of an unknown black bird feasting on papaya. I'm guessing it is an Ashy Drongo, which is pretty apropos these days.

For those of you wondering about the San Diego Fire:

• More than 1000 homes burned


• 300,000 evacuated

San Diego Fire Stats so far...

• 1 Fatality


• 655 homes burned


• 240,000 acres burned


• 250,000 evacuated

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

The Fires Continue

The fires are still going on. Not clear if they are getting any better but hopefully the firefighters will make progress over night.

San Diego Fires

The huge cedar creek fire was only in 2003. That fire came within about 1.5 miles of the house. Now, four short years later we have the witch canyon fire and several others plus strong gusty winds and hot dry weather. Thankfully, these fires are a lot further away. Everyone is glued to the tv watching to see where the fire is going.

Red Gazelle

While I chose not to adorn my mantlepiece with this choice little trinket, they are kind of cute. They have them on sale at the San Diego zoo and they are normally handmade by natives and, thus, help some poor village. It made a nice picture too.

Meanwhile, the wildfires are raging in San Diego as are the dry desert (Santa Ana) winds. They expect gusts up to 70 mph which is not great for the houses out East. The city is under a blanket of smoke and reaks of burnt shrubbery. I've got all the windows closed and am hoping that our firemen will have managed to get this thing under control by tomorrow morning. Fingers and Toes crossed! Have a great Sunday.

Begging Duck

I dare say ducks are not above begging for a free handout. This one was no exception, as you can see by the hopeful look on his face.

Pining for the dog...

I was looking out the rear window via the rear view mirror and I saw the little doggie nose prints on the glass and realized I still really miss that dog. Slowly, the tufts of fur and nose prints are getting wiped away and I suppose the memories will too. Still, it seems so quiet. Picture is of a Hawaiian Stilt I found on Maui.

Oh What Sharp Teeth You Have...

A quick picture of a river otter begging for food and showing us his sharp little teeth. My but they do look sharp.

Bert is Back

Bert, in this photo, being territorial and chasing off other hummingbirds from "his" feeder.

Monk-ness

I haven't been posting much lately as I've being studying feverishly. I swear my camera is getting rusty from misuse. Such is life when you're going to work full time and school at night. Anyhow, here's a picture a snapped a while back of the rare Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Shell Ginger

Here is a close-up of a shell ginger flower. The hummingbirds love them and they put on quite a display. The flowers also last a little longer than the white, yellow and kahili gingers do. However, they do grow rather large, perhaps 10 feet tall or more, if they're happy.

Duck Napped

This little female long tailed duck appears to be napping on the job. You can still see the droplets of water, however, from her last dive.

Myrmecophila exaltata

This is a picture of a rare orange form of Myrmecophila exaltata, also known as Schomburkia exaltata. In nature, these grow up on big, rough barked trees and their very long flower stems (3-4 ft) wave and rustle in the breeze. Pretty amazing things.

Orange Clock Vine

Well, going to graduate school does put a crimp in my picture taking time. This is a picture of an Orange Clock Vine (wow!), Thunbergia gregorii, that was blooming at the Quail Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago. It's back to studying for me...

Bright Sunny Day for a Picnic

It's been a bright, sunny day here in So. Cal. This picture is from the picnic a week ago in Coronado.