One of very many Western Blue Birds at Lynch Canyon Open Space Park, Northern California. Lots of Blue Bird nest boxes there! A bluebird perched on an orange wooden post in a green grassy field.

In Tonopah, NV, they have a Hometown Pizza and two classy looking hotels 📷 #MBApr A street view showing a small town with historical buildings, including the Mizpah Hotel and the Belvada Hotel, cars on the road, and various business signs under a partly cloudy sky.

On our hike last Saturday, a few drifting swarms of bugs were along the trail. Probably mosquitoes but I didn’t dare walk through them to find out 📷 #MBAprA swarm of small insects flying just above the ground with blurred people walking in the background.

One year ago today: spotted three of the California Condor community in flight at Pinnacles National Park. Stunning birds & park 📷 #MBApr Large vertical rock formations with three California Condors in flight.

On today’s 3 mile hike at the Lynch Canyon Open Space Park in California ‘s North Bay, we were surprised by a garter snake actively hunting in the tall grass 📷 #MBApr A snake peeking through tall green grass with its tongue out

Poor critter lost its tail! This was also the first lizard I’ve seen this year so it has had a rough start after hibernation 📷#MBApr A lizard without a tail on a wooden fence.

I’ve had a lot of gardening to do with sharp implements so finally got my TDAP booster. I’m ready for a sore arm.

I think this is the “Big Al” Allosaurus skeleton at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT. Nice spine (backbones)! 📷 #MBApr A dinosaur skeleton from above, spine in prominent view, on display in a museum exhibit with informational displays in the background.

I love the layers of light in this photo of me taking photos in the desert near Death Valley 📷 #MBApr A gravel road leading over a hill with a person kneeling to take photos in the distance, mountain ranges layered in the background, and a clear sky with radial sunbeams through dust above.

Compared to my old Intel 16” MacBook Pro, this M3 14” MBP is dreamy. As everyone reports, the battery life is ridiculously good. 76% remains and still 20 hrs predicted life. Oh, and I can use this as a _lap_top. Amazing. Funny part? I didn’t notice the lack of a touchbar. 📷 #MBApr A laptop displaying a web page with weather content, including a map showing a weather forecast. The laptop keyboard and touchpad are also visible.

I’d love to be this solo seagull flying sapphire blue skies 📷 #MBApr A seagull in flight against a clear blue sky, with focus on the bird’s underwing and head visible.

Death Valley’s Telescope Peak from Furnace Creek. It is the park’s tallest mountain at 11,043 feet (3366 m) 📷 #MBApr A scenic view of a mountain with snow-capped peaks in the distance, layers of hills in the midground, a golf course with lush green area with trees and grass in the foreground, and a small body of water at the very front.

Mid-March 2024 at the Donner Summit rest area (east-bound). I suppose once the building was dug out, ice formed in the alcove as heat warmed the snow’s bottom (ceiling in this case). Pretty neat. 📷 #MBApr An alcove filled with a large accumulation of snow and ice, with a metallic overhang above and stone pillars on the sides. A trash receptacle sits partially visible in the foreground to the left.

We’re planting only one row this year. Just tomatoes, various peppers, basil, and an overwintered thyme. All prepped, just need to plant! #gardening A sunlit garden with a pile of branches, green shrubs, flowering white clover, a drip irrigation hose, gravel paths, and small orange flags marking a planting locations.

The new The Libertines album “All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade” is solid if you like Britpop

A slightly early birthday present to me: a Sonos Move 2. Sounds very good! It’ll be great keeping me from the odd anxiety of silence and listening to food chewing 😆 📷 #MBApr A Sonos Move 2 smart speaker on a media center. To the right, there’s a crystal with an etched Dresden Frauenkirche inside.

Neighbor’s gas mower they use every year: won’t start. My electric mower I start every couple of years: works like a charm! A backyard with a recently mowed clover, an electric lawnmower, an orange electric cord wound on a holder, and a variety of plants and trees under a sunny sky.

Got off work just in time to find out Congressman LaMalfa voted against aid for Ukraine. 😩 Fortunately saner, less toolish politicians are prevailing.

Here is a random Death Valley vista. They’re all stunning no matter my mood 📷 #MBApr A desert landscape with eroded hills, winding roads, and a backdrop of mountains under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Definitely looking forward to the absolute transcendence that is homegrown nectarines! Our two Asian pear trees also have a great fruit set this year 📷 #MBApr A hand holding a small, unripe nectarine fruit among green leaves, with a silver ring visible on the ring finger.