"Both photography and art open my eyes to the infinite beauty of nature in her every detail."

~ Kim Moore

 

 

Sights of August 2019

September 01, 2019  •  1 Comment
To avoid the summer heat, I stayed home a few more days than usual. I experimented with various art media and styles, from realistic to abstract. It challenges my brain. I also took some time to post a few of my historical photo observations into iNaturalist. I still have so many more to post, but at least that's a start. By posting in iNaturalist...
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Sights of July 2019

August 01, 2019  •  Leave a Comment
I spent some time on artwork making monoprints. I'm still experimenting with various techniques and am pleased with some of the results. I am enjoying it, despite the effort to setup and cleanup. When I haven't done it in a while, I say to myself "Now how did I do that?" I get to learn it all again each time. Nothing says summer like Dragonflies,...
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Sights of June 2019

July 01, 2019  •  Leave a Comment
Yay! I got my Tamron 150-600mm lens back from repair (fourth time, but who's counting). It makes all the difference. I am happy to go back to my routine of random walks. At this time of year, the migratory birds are elsewhere, and we are left with the babies of our locally nesting birds to amuse us. The babies are the ones begging for food. It's al...
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Sights of May 2019

May 31, 2019  •  Leave a Comment
By going out more frequently during spring migration, I have observed some interesting things about birds. One day I would go out and the parks are teaming with warblers. A couple of days later, most of them have passed through, and many fewer remain. For several days it will be Hermit Warblers everywhere I go, and then POOF, they are gone. No wond...
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Sights April 2019

May 02, 2019  •  Leave a Comment
"Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo. I do believe it. I do believe it's true." I went birding with a group at the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. We had a special tour before the zoo opened. It is a very nice place to look for native birds in the gardens. We also got there just in time to see baby Mountain Goats that had just been born, an...
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Sights March 2019

April 01, 2019  •  1 Comment
Did anyone notice Painted lady Butterflies? I don't think anyone locally could have missed them, even if only on the windshield driving down the freeway. The conditions have been perfect for the butterfly population to explode and the populations are pushing northward to find new territory. We also have had great conditions for superblooms of wildf...
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Sights February 2019

March 01, 2019  •  Leave a Comment
I started the month in Anza-Borrego for an art retreat with two dear friends. We were fortunate to have a day between rain storms to enjoy the sights of the desert, birds, wildflowers, and nature journaling in the field. On the drive home we had fabulous rainbows. Later in the month I went on two back-to-back pelagic birding trips. One out of Dana...
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Sights January 2019

January 30, 2019  •  1 Comment
It has been a very busy month for me. I am taking a couple of nature and art related classes. It is always rewarding to enrich my knowledge and skills. We finally got some badly needed rain. It rained out my butterfly count and a couple of other plans. However, I enjoyed watching the rain and the birds and squirrels through my back door, even the s...
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A Look Back at 2018. Looking Forward to 2019.

December 31, 2018  •  Leave a Comment
Who stole the year? It can't be 2019 already? Time certainly seems to have acceleration. A whole year has passed, and I continue to do the same things that bring me peace. Perhaps peace is needed more these days. The year seemed to have a very unpleasant undertone with political divide to the point of creeping into families and friendships. I also...
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Sights December 2018

December 31, 2018  •  Leave a Comment
December means Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) with Audubon. Each year, across the country, people are counting birds on a designated day and area. It all contributes to one of the longest running Citizen Science projects. This year I participated with two different chapters on two different weekends. It seemed like there were fewer birds than last yea...
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Sights November 2018

December 01, 2018  •  1 Comment
My best bird lens (Tamron 150-600) has been out for repair ALL month. It came back once, but promptly failed, and had to be sent back again. Fortunately there is a long warranty period. I got it back on the last day of the month, and took it out for a spin. Not sure if all is well yet. I had to make do with my 70-300 lens, my macro lenses, and my c...
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Sights October 2018

November 01, 2018  •  1 Comment
October is a wonderful month. There are insects flying, birds migrating, warm days and cool nights great for being outdoors. I still had a female Bordered Mantis in my yard. I enjoy catching behavior and found her with a male mating with her while she enjoyed a snack of a bee. Freeloader flies came to steal some of her meal. I also found Leaf-foote...
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Sights September 2018

October 01, 2018  •  1 Comment
September was a great month. It started with a Bordered Mantis that was lurking in the bush outside my front window. It was rather shy and backed away from me when I tried to take its picture. It was there for quite a few days. At one point I saw that it caught a Gulf Fritillary. By the time I got my camera, it had already made quite a meal of it....
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Sights August 2018

September 01, 2018  •  Leave a Comment
August always starts out slow birding until the end of the month when the shorebirds come in. At the end of August I visited the LA river several times. Not only did I see birds, but a pair of Coyotes cruised close by. It is a fun time of year to see the birds in mixed plumage; some are still in summer and some are getting ready for fall and winter...
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Sights July 2018

August 01, 2018  •  Leave a Comment
A major restoration was completed at DeForest Park, the area they now call Deforest Wetlands runs along the river from Deforest Park to Del Amo, connecting with the Dominguez Gap. I can't wait to explore more. While many non-native/invasive species live here (Scaly-breasted Munia, Pin-tailed Whydah, African Clawed Frog), there were also many native...
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