TimeOut

We decided to walk early and away from the water. But we weren't early enough! Arriving at 7:30 meant plenty of runners, hikers, dog walkers and loud talkers, who had scared off the rabbits and squirrels. We prepared ourselves for fewer animals and more stationary objects, but even the birds were scarce.

We soon came across this hole -- I'm sure there is something large living inside, but I couldn't see in and didn't want to stick my arm in there ...

The first mammal we saw today. Not sure what it is.

There were literally tons of cacti paddles here.

A stand of prickly pear, looking ready to pick -- IF YOU KNOW HOW! We tried once on a hike, using gloves, but our fingers were painfully invaded for days by tiny invisible spikes.

Up on top of the hill there is an bird box.

Rather than walk up, I let the zoom lens do the work,

No one at home.

Back at my feet, Yellow Flowers in a gourd patch. Not the kind that makes Loofah sponges, but the edible kind, probably sown originally here by the Kumeyaay people.

Another yellow flower of a different sort.

Ditto

This is an area with great contrasts in the foliage!

White flowers

Dry flowers, but don't tell the hummingbird! I saw at least 10 but this was the best photo I could take today.

As the morning was quite warm, we saw lizards frequently.

Usually they are quite reserved and run for shelter but today we had good relations and photos!

These are what we call "alligator lizards" but I suppose there are more precise names that I can't get excited about looking up, lizard by lizard.

You can see this lizard has lost his tail at least twice before (notice the coloration and texture changes).

This little yellow bird was on a stick with no brush around him, but I couldn't focus on him until he jumped over here. Bright sunlight, old eyes, glasses and viewfinder are a challenge.

This one was intent on finding breakfast.

We got out of the sunshine for awhile by walking under a canopy of trees.

The trees are quite amazing - compared to the past few days, our local trees go OUT, not up

A sample of the UP trees from the Central Coast, where they get a lot more rain. Both of these are within a few miles of the coast.

We came to another stand of cactus.

Prickly pear, with fruit

Teddy Bear cactus

I don't know the variety, but I am sure you would die if you stumbled into this cactus.

This bird whistled a goodbye as we left the canyon.

The largest living mammal we saw today was on his way to the beach.

Cazalea

PS - outtake

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