TimeOut

A Grand Day Out-Walking, Part 1

 

Apologies to Wallace & Gromit for using their title, but we had a very nice, though steep and short walk today. We started down this path and immediately stopped to answer a text, spot a hummingbird, and so on.

OK, yes there is but finding a hummingbird in a pine is like a needle in a haystack. I found him but the light was bad. Naturally he changed trees to make things easier….



Better light, worse hunting conditions but I finally spotted it (I wear glasses so shifting from camera screen or viewfinder to glasses and back is a pain).



Then to focus, and to wait for a profile!



He turned his back on me.



Whereupon my wife’s shout of "Raptor Overhead” was a relief. A few more changes of glasses, focus and balance and I got this one in my sights too.



I love soaring raptors.



As he flew away I could scan the horizon as we are now higher up the hill (we skipped that downward path).



Turning away from the view over the bay, we focused on the roses sparkling in the yards across the street.



I saw CAT in the distance.



Err, make that 3 cats. Two on this porch



and one on the lawn.



We walked on a hundred yards or so and found a gap between houses where we could see out West again. I heard noises in the distance (it was very still air) which sounded like “Hiii Yah!"



The magic 600mm zoom took me into the ballfield where a lady was practicing with a sword — slashing the air and shouting. I think she is preparing to take vengeance on her hairdresser...



A bright red Thunderbird caught my eye.



Then we swiveled to see a lovely house high on the hill with (no doubt) an excellent view out to the ocean.



Their neighbors had citrus, galore.



And a nice little bird had the most beautiful song we've heard in a long time.



Other birds on wires and tree tops paused to listen too.