Category Archives: Nature
Disoriented Doves…Maybe
Some of you may remember from last year that a dove couple nested in the plastic wreath on my front porch and successfully raised two gorgeous chicks there until one day they were gone. That was all documented on my blog. I wonder if they’re the same dove couple that I regularly saw at the back of the house who were wandering on the little sidewalk in my backyard with the absence of dogs as it is scorched.
I wondered recently where they will nest, since the wreath burned in the fire. I wonder if they will have the wherewithal to return in the spring of 2026 if I am able to construct something similar, or will they be so disoriented from the interruption of the fire to be able to resume the one-year tradition?
Two Seal Friends on Xmas Eve
This one gave me some side-eye, but I moved very slowly hoping she knew I was no threat.
For my maiden voyage with my own kayak I ventured into the Carquinez Strait, which I’m very familiar with since I’ve been whaleboat rowing there for a good two years. Shando helped me get the kayak onto our car and into the water. Right away I saw a “rock” in the distance, but I suspected it was one of the seals I saw a few days ago. Soon enough I saw the second bopping around. The one that is suspended here is lying on a mostly submerged rock. When I saw them from the trail with my scooter, the tide was lower a few days ago. I kept floating into the rock area without trying, but the seal barely paid me any mind. This is amazing footage and I felt closer to them physically than it appears on camera.
Video from Shando’s perspective:
Here’s what the car looks like with the kayak mounted:
Scooter Trip on Bike Paths and other neighborhood areas
Here in Glen Cove, Vallejo, we have lots of very cool nooks and crannies that I’m starting to get to know from different perspectives that I would never see with a car, and might not necessarily reach on foot!
The scooter is a fun way to get around for some things, but this has inspired me to buy an electric, foldable, fat-tire bicycle soon. The scooter will maintain its appeal and will still be super convenient for many uses.
Two Seals in the Neighborhood
Today I took my second major scooter ride. This time I got the new GoPro cam to work. I saw TWO seals on a rock right offshore from Glen Cove Waterfront Park, so I took a special close-up video and pictures after I stopped for a bit and took a separate video with my phone. The strange thing is that I rarely see a seal or sea lion when I row with the whaleboat team in the mornings, and even when we do, they’re usually swimming by, sometimes in pairs. Shando thinks that’s because they lay out more in the middle of the day when there’s more sun and they’re looking for food in the mornings.
The scooter ride video is highly edited to take out the slower, more boring, and repetitive parts. I love my neighborhood and our proximity to the water, the Glen Cove Waterfront Park, and all the cool things you can see between the Carquinez Strait, bridges, nature, and the gorgeous hills.
Birds – November 2023
Today while returning from a whaleboat row, I saw two birds lying in wait from the top of the pier. The one in the foreground I find most interesting, as it took me a little while to determine it was not a statue! It’s an interesting angle taken from Glen Cove Marina just the same.
This Hitchcockian scene was on the way to the dentist here in Glen Cove, near Robles Way earlier this month.
Glen Cove Sunset Hike November 2023
Kayaking with Giraffes, Swans and Dogs….oh my
This has some of the best footage of the giraffes I’ve taken to date. The two giraffe pictures below are from other kayakers.
Wild Turkey Neighbor Siege
I like to get some gardening in every morning before work. I’m increasingly impressed by what these wild turkeys do. I guess I didn’t realize how urban we were in the East Bay because where we lived these birds were not to be found, even when I was growing up in Hayward.
Now living in Vallejo, living adjacent to a significantly-sized state park (Benicia) these birds encroach on our neighborhood with no fear, and the quiet streets are probably an open invitation. Until recently, I did not know they could leap onto roofs, but this morning it was on a different level, and certainly nothing I’ve seen in over three years of living here. I find it endearing that they were speaking to each other from one neighbor’s rooftop to another. While I didn’t capture it on camera, two of them flew inches above my head when flying back to the cul-de-sac behind our house from my next-door neighbor’s house right after I took this footage. En garde!
Giraffeless Kayaking
More kayaking with the dogs, although it was the first time the giraffes were not in view. For those who are interested in kayaking at Dan Foley Park’s Lake Chabot here in Vallejo (there is another Lake Chabot in Castro Valley, where I used to live), the Six Flags giraffes are almost always eating when we kayak past them. Cappy and Polar were probably bored again, but they are now used to being on the kayak with me and getting water dripped on them while we enjoy the fresh air and vistas from the water.
