habitat ~ 01/02/14 ~ Wilder Ranch State Park

Wilder Ranch State Park

January 2, 2014

Like I said in a recent backdated post for Jacks Peak, it feels as if someone pushed the pause button on the seasons.  I can't tell much of difference between the last picture above and the last picture taken July 24, 2013 at Wilder.  Well, okay, some of the foreground green coyote brush now has fluffy seeds, and the drab, dried grass is slightly more trampled.  Under the trees, it's a different story, where everything feels pinched compared to the expansive greenery from the summer (yes, the first photo above and the 3rd photo from July are from almost the exact same spot on the trail). Despite all the hand-wringing going on for our record lack of rain in 2013, we've been making our best efforts to get outside as much as possible to enjoy the pleasant weather.  Both my friend and I were wearing sleeveless shirts, and Andy came across a naked, napping hiker.  Sunny.  Warm.  January.  California.

wordless Wednesday

habitat ~ 12/25/13 ~ San Francisco Botanical Garden

San Francisco Botanical Garden 

December 25, 2013

We went up to San Francisco on Christmas again.  Get this, it didn't rain like 2012 and 2010.  It was gorgeous.  Of course, with beautiful, sunny weather, the people come out in droves, but I didn't mind too much.  The great thing we've discovered about rain is that it keeps many people indoors, which makes San Francisco feel like a totally different city.  This excursion may become a tradition for us - scenic drive up Hwy 1, House of Bagels, Botanical Garden, finding Le Soleil closed yet again and asking for recommendations from Clement St. locals, visiting with friends, and marveling at the Union Square hubbub.  It was a very good day.

red-eared slider ~ 12/25/13 ~ Golden Gate Park

 

red-eared slider

Trachemys scripta elegans

I rarely get pictures of turtles I find, because they're either very shy or inaccessible and surrounded by water.  This one at Stow Lake was very accommodating to my creeping up on it.  Maybe it's used to lots of people, or maybe it was someone's pet?  According to Austin's Turtle Page, "Red-eared Sliders are thought to be far & away the highest volume pet turtle produced world-wide & are often sold to people who believe they get little larger than hatchlings.  Therefore they're probably the most widely & often dumped into the wild (both inside & outside their native range) of any turtle species on earth."  That's too bad.  They're a striking-looking turtle, and like its look-alike western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii), they're introduced into CA.