The shore off Point St George, where the Tolowa Indians once had a village
Today was my second visiting with Inez in Crescent City. Today's outing was a trip to the pier for some birding and to the beach for a sandy walk on wet sand.
Inez trotting down to the beach
The beach we chose for the walk, has islands off shore, where Aleutian Geese gather in the early spring, for geese type picnics and to make rude comments about those other birds - cormorants and murres, birds that never had a wildlife festival named after them. Where was I? Right! The beach walk was cooling and I always enjoy checking out the various types of seaweed & kelp, like this one below, that looks rather like a tropical palm.
I looked up the name of this kelp: Palm Tree Kelp. DUH!
Tide Pools
I enjoyed searching through the driftwood for unusual water smoothed branches
On our way back up the slopes & away from the beach, I spotted a wildflower I figured it must be related to Owl Clover & Valley Tassels, but I had no name for it - happily Inez did, and identified my first ever Parentucellia. Way cool!
Yellow Parentucellia
After the beach, we visited the B Street Pier so I could get my annual fix of Black Oystercatchers, Whimbrel, and Black Turnstones, Common Loons to name a few of the inhabitants of house sized, barnacle coated rocks, just off shore.
Lone Whimbrel
For a bonus bird, Inez spotted a Belted Kingfisher sat resting on a cement buttress, also just off shore.
Belted Kingfisher resting up a bit
What a fuzzy off shore rock, full of Black-bellied Plovers, Black Turnstones and Sanderlings.
Meeting of the Peeps Club
Here is the same island below; a short clip, showing the hyper-activity of peeps, likely on caffeine.
After our last shore side stop, we hit a local cafe for a way-late breakfast, then it was back to Inez's house. After a while I let Inez in my 'big secret'; today is my sixty-first birthday. Didn't plan this trip for my birthday, but happily the timing just worked out that way. Nicest birthday I've had in several years now, and it was great spending it with a good friend like Inez.
Was long overdue this week for a drive to the beautiful and oh-so-happily-cool land of Crescent City. On the drive north I usually opt to traverse Clear Lake County and then north through the Avenue of the Giants to enjoy the redwoods and a quick pass through Prairie Creek Redwoods. Funny, the Google map swears the trip is a 6 hour drive, but it always takes me about 7 to 8 hours to get there - must be the gawking out the window that adds time.
Once in Crescent City I visited with my friend Inez, at her adorable & comfy little home. She has 'friends', 'bear' a black bear, and a couple of Black-tailed Deer that like to nibble in her yard, but they didn't choose to put in an appearance on my visit. Still there was other entertainment - we certainly enjoyed our 'competitive non-stop chatter' as always, and Inez had day trips planned for my two day visit.
We stopped to hunt for stones on the shores of the Smith River
Inez waxes nostalgic by the river at the little water hole, where she and her siblings used to paddle about
Can you find the hidden Dromedary Camel of the Redwoods?
Nearby the strange little shadow of a camel in a hollow redwood, we listened to the screams of a strange bird, we knew was a raptor but couldn't readily identify. I have no musical talents to recall tones and such so I'm often at a loss to immediately recognize even birds I hear fairly frequently. Happily Inez isn't as challenged as I am, and she recognized the shrill call of an Osprey. Then, because unlike me, she capable of shutting up long enough to her things, she pointed out a long off, answering call of a juvenile Osprey. Seems Mama and freshly fledged baby were at least a mile off from each other and they were using the original version of 'Twitter' to check in with each other.
Post river run, we headed back to town and stopped at Thai House for a lovely bite to eat, back to Inez's place for some R & R. I enjoyed watching the amazing numbers of birds that frequent Inez's front yard. I spotted Stellar's Jays, Anna's, Allen's & Rufous Hummingbirds, and Eurasian & Morning Doves, Band-tailed Pigeons, Black-headed Grosbeak juveniles, White-crowned Sparrows and that is just the tip of the iceberg of Inez's yard bird list, as she also gets Merlins, owls and other raptors.
Is that a mess of Stellar's Jays or what? Half of those at least are babies of the year.
Roaming younster of the year, a Black-headed Grosbeak
One of dozens of Band-tailed Pigeons, which the locals call 'Flying Pigs' for their voracious appetites
We had the option to watch a movie in the evening, but being the spoiled guest, I opted to down some of Inez's home cooking and to chat with her and catch up on things, while 'Polly Pellet' stove warmed up the front room and filled the air with the fragrant scent of cedar. What a relaxing day it has been.
So, last night I ushered at Fiddler on the Roof at the Music Circus. Oy! Such a play, you should see such a good play. I was thrilled because I once saw a great version of Fiddler on the Roof in Davis, in the 1980s I think, and it was full of Davis town people, like angels they could sing, and it being the first time I ever saw the musical, I thought I'd never see the likes of such good performances again. I nearly what I'd inadvertently set out to prove, I saw Fiddler at least twice since, one a horrid performance - again in Davis around 2002, with a Tevya that didn't bother to fake an accent or even attempt the humor necessary to the roll. That performance nearly broke my heart. Then I saw yet another Davis performance better, but no smoked herring. But last night, I saw such a performance! Wonderful, a funny and touching Tevye, a brilliant Golda, and the funniest version of Tevye's dreaming about Golda's Grandma I ever saw. Such performances are why people come to plays!
The performance was sold out - every seat in the theater. There are tiny folding chairs for ushers, but there wasn't even one for me. I sat in row U, the very last row of the giant theater in the round, on the steps. Guess what? I had the best seat in the house!
