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Cooper’s Hawk (with lunch)

Accipiters

I saw this hawk(?) from a distance, standing above the dead bird behind it on the suburban sidewalk up ahead. Unfortunately all I had was my phone, so I just zoomed as much as I could and started walking slowly, hoping I wouldn’t scare it off. I was a couple of carlengths away when it flew off and stopped in a tree across the street. I took another photo (which didn’t come out) and walked away.

My guess: 1. it killed the crow. 2. When it went to the tree, it was waiting nearby for me to leave so it could go back.

On iNaturalist

Let the biker beware.

Let the biker beware.

It may look innocuous now, but when it produces zillions of seed pods with sharp spikes on them, it’ll *earn* the name puncture vine.

I *hate* these things, and they grow all along the nearest bike path. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve patched bicycle tires because of them.

#puncturevine #plants

kelsonv: “Let the biker beware.…”

On Photog.Social

Kid did NOT want to log onto school this morning. He eventually did, but he …

Kid did NOT want to log onto school this morning. He eventually did, but he was really mad about it. I just walked by his room and he’s taken the cardboard stand-up of Spark that he & his mom made for Pokemon Go fest and set it up to block the door like he’s guarding the entrance.

On Wandering.shop

Fortunately, Spark is considerate enough to wear a face mask per pandemic recommendations.

Head and shoulders of a cardboard cutout of Spark (Pokemon Go) with a pennant covering his mouth and nose like a bandana.

On Wandering.shop

Expanded on K2R

Yesterday’s California power demand vs. forecast graph & how effective the 3pm Flex Alert was

Fascinating to look at yesterday’s California power demand vs. forecast graph & how effective the 3pm Flex Alert was at getting people to reduce power usage during peak hours. (That forecast demand peak was very close to the forecast supply peak.)

https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/default.aspx

Graph showing hour-by-hour power demand for August 17, forecast tracking a sine wave dipping to around 26K MW at 4am & peaking at 49K at 6pm. Actual usage tracks until 3pm, when it flattens, then stays below the forecast curve for the rest of the evening.

On Wandering.shop

Summer Succulents

The city has been working on improving the sections of a bike path closest to a major street. The rest of it is just a concrete path in the middle of an unmaintained greenbelt under power transmission wires.

They’ve put in drought-tolerant landscaping, some dirt/clay paths, bike racks, benches, and a small public parking lot over the past year or so. I’m not sure how much they slowed down during the shutdowns earlier this year, but it’s finally open.

#succulent #plants

On Photog.Social

Meanwhile, in the more curated parts of the gardens

Meanwhile, in the more curated parts of the gardens…

(The sphere in the distance is a sculpture by Doris Sung called “Fuller,” inspired by Buckminster Fuller. I always think of it as the buckyball.)

#photo #art #sunny #fountain #pineapple #sculpture #sphere #flowers #pink #lily #buckyball

On Photog.Social