seeing more of the sun

Jan 20, 04
2 p.m.
Antelope Community Park
cool - seeing more of the sun than we have for many many days. The low cloud layer that has blanketed the valley is breaking up for the first time in over a week.

The sun feels good on my back and there's no wind to steal away the warmth. I'm drawn to the curve of the path around a tree, I think I called the tree "birdsong oak" before.



There are fewer birds to hear today. The oaks are bare of leaves and I can see a couple birds in the branches: a scrub jay, little brown sparrows, earlier a magpie, now I see two magpies lightly hopping from branch to branch, picking at something - maybe like the ants or fly that have landed on the old long I'm sitting on. A tiny black beetle crawls slowly up the stump next to me.

I loaded the camera with a new film pack, made a shot of a nearby dead tree and the film pack stuck - then just lunched itself. Four sheets of film later, and a trip back to the car to clean the rollers and clear the film pack, a test just to make sure, and I'm back in business.



Not to be deterred by malfunctioning equipment, I return to the dead tree. Even stripped of branches it still has a bit of beauty. Dead itself, it still fosters life, several times I've seen woodpeckers flying in and out of it's dark cavities. I'm guessing that they nest there in the spring and summer.



A slight breeze kicks up - the sky has been nearly cleaned of clouds while I was fighting the film pack. We'll see how long the clouds stay away.

Mon, Jan 5, 2004

Mon, Jan 5, 2004
2:30 p.m.
Antelope Community Park
cool, clear 50's

Everything is damp from the rains. Short new green grass and growth is beginning to hide the fallen leaves and debris. Jays and magpies call back and forth. A small group flies into one of the oaks and an argument erupts, then dies down.

The sun is warm on my shoulders. A welcome change from the frosty night, I am such a fair weather creature.

Dirt brown oak leaves are scattered all over the ground. The dirt of the path has been kicked a bit, disturbed by foot prints to reveal a smooth dark brown river rock, something I find frequently while digging in my garden. The oaks are mostly naked now, and I can see large nest in several, which I guess are hawk's nests. What else would build so large a nest here? I'm sitting at the crest of a hill where I can see most of the park, near what I first called the woodpecker oak. I see no woodpecker today.



The air is so clear that I can see the Sierra, covered in snow. A thin cloud weakens the sunshine and it feel a little snowy here, too. It's been freezing overnight for the past few nights, generally as cold as the valley gets and plenty cold for me. A slight breeze has begun to blow.

Now I can hear the voices of smaller songbirds but they mostly hide in the trees. Not near as many voices as I've heard here in warmer weather. My fingers are beginning to sting - it's about time to pick up the kids from school.