It is Monday morning on February 27th, 2017. This is not an ideal time to get a post in as everyone is waking up but I wanted to get a quick post in.
Yesterday we went for a hike with our friends around Stowe Lake in the Golden Gate Park. It was a beautiful day; it was as though spring had arrived and the rains would now cease. The trail was a bit muddy and there were many fallen trees that the park rangers had cut up.
The meaning of spring is a little different here in the Bay Area, completely unlike that of Ohio or states where winter is much colder. Here in the Bay Area winter is just slightly colder and there is usually rain; that’s it! There isn’t the completely euphoria of a nice day after spending five months with terrible weather like in Ohio. So yesterday, was just another nice day among many that occur throughout the winter.
We have had a massive amount of rain this season, much more than is usual and it has caused problems. Whenever it rains in California things break and things have broken. A large section of highway one has closed due to a failing bridge. Trees are down everywhere and when flooding happens easily. Also, the power and internet go out.
The migration patterns of birds are also different this year. I haven’t seen the large gathering of robins that usually occurs in January and February has not happened. Usually there will be around twenty of them sitting in the birdbath, feasting on the berries from our neighbors trees and sticking around for two to three week before moving on. I have only seen one or two this year and miss their visit.
I’ve noticed the ravens aren’t around either. When we moved here five years ago there was a family of ravens living in the eucalyptus tree just down the hill. Their offspring stuck around for a while and then one settled around the same place after a few months absence. They even had some sort of large bird conference about three years ago with around 25 ravens playing, squawking and chasing each other around in the sky appearing to have a really good time. That lasted around two weeks then it was back to just pair with one of them often drinking from the birdbath. I’d see them going back and forth gathering different items for a season or two. Then I noticed red hawks soaring high above more often than usual which meant the ravens moved on. I rarely see a raven fly over our property now.
Well, it is now 6:48 AM, the household awake and time to start the week. I do not like Monday and hopefully the week will go quickly.
