Mission accomplished. Not the mission of welcoming the new baby Erin. That
didn't happen. Jacob hasn't gone into seclusion, but Yousun and Baby Erin
have. We don't get to see her until some other time. Well, they get to do
what they choose to do, and we get to accommodate.
We did get the bassinette delivered. We met up with Jacob at Mike and
Katie's in San Jose, had a nice visit with them and kids Jack and Allison,
and passed on the baton. We left about lunch time, and headed south for
Pinnacles National Monument.
What a gorgeous drive! The California Savannah.
Gently rolling hills covered with grass so dry and brown it's crispy, dotted
with California Live Oaks. Inland. Hot. A hundred degrees. We saw the
yellow-billed magpies again, a California Specialty. You can't see them
anywhere but here, but once you get to the right place, they are conspicuous
and common. Just like black billed magpies everywhere else.
We have gone all these years without ever seeing California Quail. Well, we
saw them as kids, but we havent seen them since we started couting birds.
Today we saw fifty of them. Not fifty, one at a time, but a giant flock of
fifty of them all around us, clicking, and calling, and clucking. They
nurdle and chortle, scurry about, and kick and scratch dirt and grass into
the air. They are so cute! They are so cute, I want to chase them down to
hug and cuddle them. I refrain.
The perfect feeding station. The oak tree extends over the road. Acorns
fall from the tree onto the road. Cars drive past and crush the acorns.
Quail scurry out onto the road and eat the acorns. Not many cars drive
past, so the quail get all the time they need to eat.
