First Trip To Bayfront Park in Millbrae

 On Friday, 3 of March I had the privilege of spending an hour at Bay Front Park in Millbrae, California, just a few miles south of San Francisco International Airpot.  The tide was out, and most of the birds were well out of range for my 70-200 lens. 

The good news is the weather was nice and I found two birds I had never seen before.  My first victory was three American Avocets.

American Avocet

This was the first bird I saw when I left the parking lot and I immediately went to find my camera.  As you can tell, I am really too far away to get a good shot, so this is a “proof-I-saw-the-bird” variety.  Still fun.

I noticed that the birds swipe their beaks in the mud to stir up food.

Next up was the Northern Shoveler.  Their coloring made it easier to tell that I was on to a new type of duck, but the are so far away, I had to get home and use my phone to cross reference the grainy photos I had.  Hat tip to Sibley V2 bird app for the help.

Northern Shovelers near SFO

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Northern Shovelers

Again, I am taking these pictures from the other side of the moon.  Still fun to see new birds.

Shot-of-the-Day

Snowy Egert

Visit to Eugene - Mt. Piscah, Florence, and Eugene...

 

The view from the crest of Mt. Piscah, Eugene, Oregon

Last Monday, I got to hike Mt. Piscah and it was beautiful.  As I reached the crest I could see a shower taking place across the valley, and that is what you see above.  When I first summited the peak the rain shower was more to the right, and it looked stunning.  I was slow to the draw and I missed the "A" shot, but this is close.

On the trail up Mt. Piscah

The sun peaked through and there was a inspiring tunnel of light that shined down on the ferns.  I am too close here, so you don't get the sense of the sun hitting one spot, but not another.

WPA era bridge over the Siuslaw River Bridge

I love these bridges on the Oregon Coast.  There are several bridges that appear to have been created during the WPA era.  According to Wikipedia this bridge opened in 1936.  Brilliant work.  I am pulled in by the detail of the spires on the bridge.

Center section of Suislaw Bridge

Mark Brody's "Glam-Y Salmon"

We stopped in Florence for an excellent lunch and this artwork was across the street.  Love the salmon artwork.

After ice cream at BJ's we strolled down to the marina and looked at the whole range of vessels that were harbored there.

Finally we headed off to the beach.  Despite the weather apps telling us there was no rain in the area you could see a nice squall to the southwest headed our way.

Great visit.

Brea in the harbor on the Suislaw River.

Beach at south of Florence.

Happy 79th…

 Dear Harriett,

Happy Birthday.  Wow, 79 years old — way to go.  

Harriett Hadlock Rice - circa 1978

So it has been a long time since I have written and I have been thinking of you this week.  I thought it might be good to update you on what is happening here.

I not sure that I shared with you that Erik is married - for several years now.  He has married a wonderful woman, Mary, and they are now raising two wonderful children —Jude and Aria.  Jude is nineteen months old and talking more and more.  Aria is beautiful, she looks like her mom, and she recently began rolling over.  Eeek…Erik and Mary live in East Chicago, and Erik works in downtown Chicago.

Maura lives in town and she is the Operations Manager for a local cheese and meat shop.  She was the cheese buyer for three years, but now she has moved up a level.  She has been dating Austin for two years now; he also works at the cheese shop, and is now the person who buys the cheese.  Great fun.  Austin is a very interesting young man who studies plants, history, and is currently teaching himself Russian.  He seems to love learning, which makes the two of them a great match.

Karyl and I are stepping into retirement.  She is in her last week of working in the Communications department.  She has pictures of the first day of school to take, and a couple of projects to put to bed and then she will be done.  I think she may take some pictures here and there for the school, but we shall see.  This week teachers are back at school, and I am not there.  I miss the people of the middle school, but I don’t miss the pace and the drama, so I am learning to enjoy time to do all the projects that working 8-5 got in the way of.  So far, so good.

Karyl and I are hoping to visit Winston and Gaylord soon.  More details on that to follow.

You have been gone now for twenty-one years, but you are still very much with us.  Your laugh, humor, and graciousness shaped the way we navigate these crazy times.  All three qualities are in short supply, but I won’t bore you with those details now.  Suffice to say the world has changed a lot, and we are working to catch up and help shape a new future that is equitable and safe for all.

So, we will host a bowl of mint chip in your honor.  Cheers,

Byron

My New Colleagues...

Egret on the left, osprey up top, geese on the right.

 

Osprey

Coopers hawk

Warbling vireo

Magnolia warbler

Black and White warbler

American redstart

Golden winged warbler

Chestnut sided warbler

And Now...Mr. Vonnegut

 I found this this morning on Twitter...

First Official Day Where I Am...Retired

 

Katie Scherer, Gargi Bajpai, Beckie Alexander 

School has started and for the first time since forever ago, I am not there.

All summer long people have asked me how "retirement" felt and my response was always, "Well, I am normally off in the summer, so right now retirement feels like a normal summer."  Not so this morning.

The sun has been coming up later, and it is cooler at night (thank goodness) and it feels like time to convene with fellow middle school teachers and laugh, plan, and begin the next academic year.  I will definitely miss the time with colleagues.  They are the best.

There are some parts that I will not miss, but we don't need to go there.  The good news is I have colleagues with whom to meet outside of school and lots of projects that require my attention...

So, it is truly time for the next chapter.  Here's to doing some kick-ass writing on that next chapter...

Vikings 2022 - My Thoughts after the 49er Game…

Last night I watched the Vikings preseason game versus the 49ers.   The game took place here in Minnesota, our only home game of the preseason.  Here are my takeaways:

• Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a clue.  He purposely scheduled the 49ers because he know their head coach, Kyle Shanahan, emphasizes the physical side of the game, and KAM wanted to help the Vikings move to the next level in terms of the quality of our play.

• I don’t like either of our backup options at quarterback.  
• Sean Mannion is not very mobile and his windup and delivery are long — which would give elite defenders more chance to close to the ball.  SM is 30 - this is as good as he is going to get in all probability.
• Kellon Mond has a very good arm, and is much more mobile - but he struggles to move the ball consistently.  On an early drive the team was moving down the field and then he threw a ball of his back foot and it was picked.
• There is no question that Mond as the greater upside - but do you take a chance that Kirk Cousins is going to be gone for two or three games and that Mond can figure it out.  In last night’s game the team did move better with Mannion.  Put last year when Mannion was the starter he was brutal.  Teams prepared for him and we were horrible.  He is a statue back there.
• I am sure the Vikings will take Mannion, because he can do more tomorrow if you need him, but the optimist in me would take Mond.  Even though he has yet to demonstrate he can lead consistent drives…
• And the 49ers.  They are going with a guy who has thrown 400 passes in college and the pros.  71 of  those passes are at the professional level.  Boy that speaks volumes about how badly they want to get away from Jimmy Garafolo.  Scary.  
• Our defense looks very stout.  The new man at the point - Pierce? is huge and the film made him appear to be a force to be reckoned with.  He is a very large human being.  
• The 49ers kept the defense on the field and then started to run the ball at us and we tired. 
• The offense needs to stay on the field enough to allow our defense to catch a breath.  We can’t have a serious of  three-and-outs.
• I think the new coach is pushing Kirk Cousins to not “check down” so quickly.  This makes me wonder if other teams schemed to get Kirk to “check down” in an effort to contain the Viking offense - or look for opportunities for “take away” by jumping “check down” options.
• I think the Vikings offense will be less predictable and we will have more turnovers.  I think we are going to take more chances on offense, but some of those may turn into interceptions.  We seems to be “okay” with that plan.