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distortions.net

I'm Ryan Mikulovsky. Tech geek. GIS pro. Avgeek. California Native plant gardener. All photos on this blog, unless stated otherwise, are mine. Cameras: Fujifilm X-T5 and X100V. Views are my own.

Fujifilm X

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    Spotted a Belted Kingfisher today! #kingfisher #birdsFemale Kingfisher looking down into a canal for prey. She has a patch of rust color on her belly. Her head is two-thirds dark gray and one-third white. Her back is gray. She has spiky feathers at the crest of her head.

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    Western Mockingbird foraging for raisins in our backyard.

    grey and white mockingbird under bunches of raisins
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    Gorgeous day today in Northern California. This is from the same place where we saw the Northern Flickers (and Nutall’s and Acorn Woodpeckers).

    blue skie with subs cliffs above golden grasses, a dead oak stump, and trees plus buttes on the horizon.
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    Back in September we visited Glacier National Park. We didn't take the Going to the Sun Road, but opted for the lesser traveled Snyder Creek trail. Here's a couple of fuzzy caterpillars taken with a Fujifilm X100V.A yellow fuzzy caterpilarBlack and orange spiky caterpillar

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    Beetle killed trees in Saxony, Germany.

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    Before our trip to Germany, I pruned the first big leaves off a sunflower because they were shading out a pepper. Now the sunflower has a flower near each prune cut. Great for attracting bees to our peppers!

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    Gray Hairstreak butterfly on one of our pepper plants.

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    June 6 in Munich.

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    Obligatory photo of surfers at the Eisbachwelle in Munich’s English Garden.

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    Eurasian Coots in the Pagodenburger See at the Schloss Nymphenburg in Munich.

    A nesting coot in the lake and a coot on the shore foraging for food.
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    A few more photos of the #EdwardFire in Orland, CA today. Fortunately our house was never in danger. Sad that this fire was likely preventable with mere common sense about mowing. A few homes were lost. #EFire

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    Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore, California. Last March.

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    Now in bloom in our backyard: cultivated California Wild Roses (pic 1) and Elderberry (2). Still gorging themselves: ladybugs. Everywhere in our front yard. They’re just decimating aphids. Ladybugs particularly love coyote bush (3) and sage.

    wild rose flower with white flower petalsyellow elderberry flowersbright orange ladybugs all over a coyote bush

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    Potatoe croquettes for lunch today. Great use of leftover mashed potatoes.

    plated golden brown croquettes with one cut open, revealing fluffy white potatoes and chives
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    From last Monday near Tomales Point in beautiful California, a genus Arctia moth caterpillar on lupins.

    red and black fuzzy caterpillar on slender pinnate lupine leaves.
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    From last Monday, a very loud acorn woodpecker at the Point Reyes National seashore visitor center.

    red headed & black body acorn woodpecker laughing atop a light pole against a clear blue sky
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    Harvested our first homegrown Valencia orange this year. So very sweet. Even the pith isn’t bitter. We may want to harvest the rest early if there’s a freeze later this week. Fortunately there’s only a dozen-ish. ~243 mandarins harvested so far — makes great juice 🌱🌳

    sliced valencia orangejuicing mandarins

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    First bloom for our Valencia orange tree. About three weeks early compared to 2020 & 2021. 🌱🌳

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    Ladybug larva gorging on aphids gorging on sage. And nearby, a bright orange ladybug pupa. 🐞 🌱

    side view of black with orange spots ladybug larva on safe lead.top view of black with orange spots ladybug larva on sage leaf.bright orange ladybug pupa on dead sage leaves

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    Honey bee approaching a nectarine flower. 🌳🌱

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