Archive for 2009

A Walk in the Park

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

A ground squirrel pulls a stalk of grass near and starts nibbling.

A ground squirrel pulls a stalk of grass near and starts nibbling.


After flying a bit, as the wind rises in late morning I often take a walk around Baylands Park, giving the chargers time to top up batteries while I enjoy the local sights.

Monday I saw lots of California Ground Squirrels, Spermophilus beecheyi, harvesting and eating seeds from tall stalks of grass.

Spermophilus, their genus name, means “lover of seeds.”

They sat upright, grabbing stalks and pulling them close to nibble the seeds.

They were so intent on feeding that they let me get close with my camera.
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New Birds

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Frank checks out the landing gear, his favorite feature.

Frank checks out the landing gear, his favorite feature.


The other day, Frank D arrived at Baylands carrying a new work in progress, a flying fire engine.

It’s a handsome scratch-built twin-engine OV-10 Bronco, all dressed up as a fire-fighting plane used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Frank admired the plane at a recent airshow, so he bought a small non-flying model and scaled it up into something that will someday fly.

His favorite feature is the retractable landing gear, three rubber wheels which bounce on spring-damped shock absorbers.
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Getting Warmer

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Mark hovers his helicopter just above the sand.

Mark hovers his helicopter just above the sand.


Mark Indiveri writes:

If you like the beach AND you like to fly helis, I highly recommend a combination of the two. This was a really great flying day, my best so far. Flyin’ ’er over the ocean is a total rush. Plenty of spectators. Some even got fly-overs (against AMA regs!). Watch out for loose dogs! Check out my nose-in hover (last pic).

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Survivor!

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Recovered Plane. Ike Dahlen holds his algae-camouflaged T-28 Trojan.

Ike Dahlen holds his algae-camouflaged T-28 Trojan.


The ParkZone T-28 Trojan is notable for its brightly bold color scheme: red and white, with some strokes of black.

So it was a surprise to see Ike Dahlen’s Trojan Wednesday when he brought it out to a picnic table.

It was positively scruffy: the bold colors were muted by an overlay of brown and green, an unlikely camouflage scheme.

Was this a paint job, or severe weathering? It looked like brown and green algae.

It is brown and green algae.
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A Jumbo Gopher Snake

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

The gopher snake is decorated with brown, cream and yellow markings.

The gopher snake is decorated with brown, cream and yellow markings.


A group of county workers discovered big gopher snake at Baylands today. It was a beautiful individual, about 4 1/2 feet long, glistening in the warm sunshine.

I spotted it at a distance, a distinctly serpentine form being held by a woman in a blue dress.

After I fetched a camera, I walked over and introduced myself.

Her name was Candy, a teacher. She came to the park Wednesday with two other women and a group of about 10 lively children. The kids were outfitted in bright orange vests so the women could keep track of them.
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