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Last one out the door, time to retire.

 

Last one out the door, time to retire.

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We had the family HS grad dinner at the local casino and an overnight stay to enjoy the pool. Nice steak-house. You can't keep the wife away from slots.

A screen-cap of her video as I was sleeping at 4AM when she won.

 

I think it is pretty much confirmed. The two chicks are Brown-headed Cowbirds, a known brood parasite.
The nest is two small for three chicks. I think the baby chipping sparrow got smothered by the two larger chicks. Also it never got fed by the host birds.

 

not sure picture alone would do it justice:

 

not sure picture alone would do it justice:

Interesting place ... it's too bad grass hasn't grown well on top of it. Maybe it needs a thicker layer of fertile dirt.

 

the top side is covered with gravel. i think this was deliberate. i guess they wanted nothing growing around domes. because everything is fertile here and greens would be everywhere.

but if you think about something more desert like, in Fresno there is an underground complex built by a single man. he turned part of barren land into an underground orchard and living quarters with more favorable climate:

 

Chasing that pot of gold on the way home.




Found it!

 

Pensive cat ... by my other half:

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Orchid season here in the chalk hills:

Common spotted orchid Dactylorhiza Fuchsii


Bee orchid Ophrys Apifera

Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis Pyramidalis

 

I found two pots of gold today.

 

She could take on both of those billionaires.

 

She could take on both of those billionaires.
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And at the same time!

 

I think it is pretty much confirmed. The two chicks are Brown-headed Cowbirds, a known brood parasite.
The nest is two small for three chicks. I think the baby chipping sparrow got smothered by the two larger chicks. Also it never got fed by the host birds.

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I only learned of parasitic birds lately. Man, that is a messed up situation. No good for any of the involved parties. Imagine being born a murderer and being raised by the parents of whom your existence killed. Thankfully (hopefully) these birds are not capable of grasping the situation.

I'm supposed to be ok with this because it's nature, but I'm not.

 

I only learned of parasitic birds lately. Man, that is a messed up situation. No good for any of the involved parties. Imagine being born a murderer and being raised by the parents of whom your existence killed. Thankfully (hopefully) these birds are not capable of grasping the situation.

I'm supposed to be ok with this because it's nature, but I'm not.

That's the first time I realised that there are places that don't have cuckoos.

 

Yesterday’s sunrise with the Canadian tree smoke making it to Indiana giving us several bad AQ days so far. This image is just a crop, the processing didn’t change the appearance, it is substantially what the experience was like.

The second photo is the same sun but shot telephoto (400mm) and spot metered to expose it properly. This made everything else black, of course. The sunspots near the center are about the size of the earth,

The third photo is a common grackle looking to me for reassurance after seeing the sunrise. I couldn’t help.

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The 4th of July fireworks in Seattle party.

 

I was close enough to see where it hit the ground, but not close enough to go looking for a pot of gold.

 

Yesterday’s sunrise with the Canadian tree smoke making it to Indiana giving us several bad AQ days so far. This image is just a crop, the processing didn’t change the appearance, it is substantially what the experience was like.

We had it pretty bad here too to the east of you. You could actually smell it in the air for a couple days.

 

Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis