Some Flowers in Our Yard...

Our yard has been in bloom for months, but now we're near the end of our “flower season”.  First up: our palo verde tree, which is planted right next to our hummingbird feeders.  The birds love it!

Here's a nice bunch of California poppies, right outside our front door:

And finally, a beautiful monkeyflower bush, on the hill above our house:

Cuyamaca in Bloom...

Debbie and I took a delightful trip today, up to Cuyamaca Mountain and environs.  Our first destination was the Descanso Junction Restaurant, where we had an excellent (and gigantic!) breakfast: country-fried steak and eggs with rye toast for me, and eggs Benedict with chipotle-flavored Hollandaise sauce for Debbie.  Then we went wildflower-hunting!

We first took Boulder Creek Road north up the west face of Cuyamaca, then cut over Tule Springs Road almost all the way to El Capitan Reservoir, then up Eagle Peak Road back to Boulder Creek Road, then up and over the pass on Engineer Road, and finally back toward home through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.  Along the way we visited altitudes from 1,700' to 4,800' and a dozen or so micro-ecosystems.  This means we saw a huge variety of wildflowers, this being that time of year.  Photos of some of these are below. 

We also ran across something we've seen a few times before: butterflies eating the minerals left by evaporating water.  In this case, we were at the ford over Boulder Creek, along Boulder Creek road.

We had a wonderful time, and so did Race and Miki (they came with us)...

The Transit of Venus...

Unless you've been living under a potted plant for the past month or so, you know that there will be a transit of Venus across the face of the sun next Tuesday evening (in the U.S.).  The next such transit of Venus won't happen until the year 2117 - so this is your last chance (in this lifetime, at least!).  At right is a photo of the last such transit, courtesy of APOD.

With the right equipment (inexpensive and easy to obtain) and some care, you can safely see this yourself.  Or you can watch it online, in real time.

More information about the transit and how to watch it yourself, here, here, and here...