Signs of Spring

[PedalUma]

The barn swallows are magnificent flyers, they came back on the 4th and hawks cannot catch them, no matter what. The hills are so green, but I had to do taxes and wire bikes indoors today with very few excursions for meetings. We are taking matters into our on hands as far as signage and infrastructure, no delays, debates, or procedurals. The street we are focusing on will see a 20% rise in property values because of our improvements. That can happen all over town and relators will be highly pleased. Who wouldn't want to live in a slow street environment that is totally lovey.

 

[Roamers]

Missed some early blossoms while we were gone for 2 weeks, but this tree was bare when we left.

Needed to do some major cropping of the photo to be accepted. Does anyone know max file size? Under 2 MB?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Poland is in the full Spring mode, often with Summer temperatures. Blooming apple trees in South Mazovia.

 

[PedalUma]

The Canadian goslings on the river have quadrupled in size in just 10-days!

 

[Roamers]

The Canadian goslings on the river have quadrupled in size in just 10-days!

Is the family size staying the same?

 

[Roamers]

End of the daffodils, tulips taking over.

 

[Roamers]

All 3 Crab Apple showing their stuff before we head out for another week.

 

[fooferdoggie]

 

[fooferdoggie]

 

[Roamers]

Unfortunately the tree blossoms don't last long. I expect they'll be done when we get back in a week.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Every spring, two ubiquitous annual wildflowers — the crown daisy and wild mustard — do everything they can to turn coastal SoCal yellow. And every year, they pretty much succeed.

The mustard's just getting started here at the north end of the the rail station near home.

From there, took the gravel rail trail south to a favorite overlook above Bataquitos Lagoon, where the crown daisies had begun their own yellowization project. Here, a maze of sinuous sandbars emerges from the lagoon as low tide approaches.

Doing my part. By riding each side of the rail trail twice, got in over 6 mi of gravel on this 15-mile ride close to home.

Thanks to a much wetter winter, the crown daisies had already completed their yellowization of this open space along the Coast Highway by this time in 2023.

Fence-loving sea lavender tried to get in on the action, but nothing outcompetes the mighty crown daisy.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Follow-up: Another sign of spring around here: Huge flocks of least terns gathering annually for nesting next to South Ponto Beach.

Shot this the next day, when the dog and I went back to the Bataquitos Lagoon overlook with my best binocs. You might need to zoom in to see hundreds of white least terns hanging with almost as many brown pelicans on this lagoon bar east of the rail trestle. The two groups coexisted peacefully but never mixed on the ground.

Birds of a feather flock together, right? Well, kind of. The terns and pelicans also flew into and out of the lagoon in large segregated flocks but mixed freely in the busy airspace around the bar.

The sandy lagoon banks to the right of the train tracks are protected least tern nesting areas. Looking forward to watching the terns from the northbound Coast Highway bike lane just on the other side of the preserve. Across the highway, South Ponto Beach.

A refreshing vote for blue in the sea of yellow crown daisies surrounding the overlook. The perennial blue blossom shrub (aka California lilac) grows wild in California and Oregon, but this one was planted.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Do Do Do, Lookin' out my back door...



And the front door...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Do Do Do, Lookin' out my back door...



And the front door...

As Jerry Lee Lewis would have said, there's a whole lotta crimson goin' on!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Rapeseed/canola, early this year.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

As reported earlier, every open space here is yellow with crown daisy and wild mustard this time of year.

Very yellow.

Yet along this stretch of rail trail in Encinitas today, my bike was the only yellow in sight. Somehow, purple and white sea lavender had the place all to itself. Not a yellow petal anywhere.

Normally, the sea lavender's squeezed out to fence lines and other borders.

 

[PedalUma]

rail trail

Off topic, but are the trains running, or are people still being bussed?

 

[JGcycle]

Ferns along the Spruce Lake trail:

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Off topic, but are the trains running, or are people still being bussed?

Amtrak Surfliner rolling through south Carlsbad 2 weeks ago. No recent stoppages on the LA to San Diego line, but some major stoppages looming.

Southbound COASTER regional commuter approaching the old wooden single-track rail bridge over Bataquitos Lagoon (between south Carlsbad and north Encinitas) last November.

The entire bridge is being replaced with a modern concrete double (note tall crane boom). Construction is still underway. No ideal how they'll complete the project without shutting down the line.

No recent sea cliff failures affecting the ever-threatened Del Mar bluff (top) and San Clemente beach (bottom) segments, but it's just a matter of time. The Del Mar segment is slated to move inland in coming years, but where exactly remains a matter of intense debate, with wealthy Del Mar residents in full NIMBY mode.

 

[JGcycle]

Hummingbirds are back!