Images
Healthy Savings on Corona
To be fair, the shelf also features Modelo and Dos Equis, so it’s clearly a sale for May 5, but I’m not so sure about those “healthy” savings
European Starling
Somewhere between five and ten starlings were flitting up to a wall and back down to the open part of a greenbelt that’s been closed to foot traffic for pandemic distancing, walking around through the grass. From a distance, they were often completely hidden by the grass and I had to take a lot of pictures just to be sure I could see them on *some* of them!
covid-adjacent/masks
I’ve seen several discarded face #masks by the side of the road while walking around the neighborhood.
I don’t understand: They’re not easy enough to find that you can just toss one and replace it on a whim. What’s the story? Did someone rip another person’s mask off and throw it in the dirt as a form of bullying? Throw their own mask away in frustration?
More observations on mask trends in my neighborhood (including banks!) at Where Everyone Wears a Mask
Indian Hawthorn flowers in bloom
Indian Hawthorn flowers in bloom. The empty lot is the greenbelt under a set of transmission wires. Hawthorns will grow as bushes, and make up a *lot* of hedges around here, but they can also be trained to grow upward and pruned into trees. There are several spaced along this block at the same stage of growth.
Buttons
Seeing a lot of these signs in front of restaurants
Seeing a lot of these signs in front of restaurants when I go walking in the neighborhood.
Most people have been really good at maintaining social distancing while out. The group in the distance seemed to all be one family.
Except for runners. Runners passing me from behind (where I can’t see them to move out of the way myself) have a 50/50 track record of dodging around vs. just zooming past at a distance of a foot.
Bushtit
West Coast Lady
Still not used to the idea that restaurants can sell beer to go now.
Spotted a Monarch butterfly today, and it actually landed and held still long enough for me to get a clear photo.
Spotted a #Monarch #butterfly today, and it actually landed and held still long enough for me to get a clear photo.
A black phoebe on a fence.
A crow on a street lamp
Tree Squirrels
I saw this squirrel next to a tree while walking down the sidewalk. I stopped, we both stared at each other for a moment, then it went around the tree. I got down to take a second photo and it stood up on its hind legs, posing, though it gave up and realized I wasn’t going to feed it by the time I had the camera ready.
Spaceman Spiff time travels to the year 2020
House Sparrow
covid / funny (XKCD)
XKCD takes a look at things from the virus’ point of view: human immune systems are scary, but even scarier: humans are adapting! With pasta!
Barley
American Pipit
There were at least two, possibly three or four of these birds hopping around the grass next to a bike path. They weren’t easy to spot at a distance.
This bird’s new to me: apparently it’s an American pipit, also known as a buff-bellied pipit, a small ground-nesting insectivore. I spotted several of them walking around in the grass next to a bike path that’s just been closed down, though I could see them from the sidewalk with a zoom lens.
