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Our front yard Ceanothus bushes are nearly in full bloom. They are very popular with all sorts of bees and assassin bugs #BloomScrolling A ceanothus bush with lush green leaves and clusters of small purple flowers, bathed in sunlight. There’s an assassin bug perched on one clump of flowers and a few bees elsewhere.

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A Glossy Ibis at the refuge yesterday #GlossyIbis #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge A glossy ibis in flight against a clear blue sky. It has metallic blue wings and a slight metallic red color. Its bill is long, slender, and curved. Its legs are pointed straight back.

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Spotted a stunning American Kestrel at the refuge today #Birds #BirdWatching #AmericanKestrel A blue and orange kestrel perched on a leafing Willow branch against a clear blue sky.

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Lagunitas IPNA is very good for a hoppy non-alcoholic beer. It’s has non-generic, tasty hops (citrus and tropical flavors) with a light malt background. I’d recommend this. Clausthaler is still my favorite NA beer (very malt forward). A bottle of Lagunitas Brewing Company’s IPNA, a non-alcoholic IPA containing less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. The label features large red and purple text with a dog illustration, describing the beverage as “Full-Flavored, Hop-Forward”

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Some photos my awesome wife took at the airports she traveled through for a work trip. A319s and a 737-8. #AvGeek United A319 Airplane at airport gate with jet bridge connected, ground support equipment nearby, clear sky. A United A319 airplane parked at an airport gate during sunrise, with ground support equipment and jet bridge visible. Reflections and interior lighting elements are seen on a window. Airport tarmac with deicing ground support vehicles, a Southwestern Airlines plane in the distance, and a snow capped mountain range under a clear blue sky.

View from inside an airport terminal with large windows overlooking a United Airlines 737-800 aircraft parked at the gate with ground service equipment nearby.

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Sun and rain! Thunderstorms are trying to develop. Maybe they’ll amount ri something on the east side of the Sacramento Valley. #CaWx Sunlight filtering through green leaves, casting a dappled glow on a wooden fence, with tiny airborne, slightly motion blurred, rain drops illuminated in the light.

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Today, our nectarine had its first bloom #BloomScrolling A close-up of a pink nectarine blossom on a tree branch with buds and a bright blue sky in the background.

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We think this is a Loggerhead Shrike, though could also easily be a Northern Shrike. Either way, what a sharp looking bird. This is the second time we spotted them atop the same tree. #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Birds #Shrike #Fujifilm 🪶 A gray and black bird perched on a bare branch against a clear blue sky. The bird’s wing has a strikingly thick black leading edge.

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Black Necked Stilts at the Sacramento Refuge yesterday with the Sutter Buttes looming beyond #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge Three black-necked stilts standing in shallow water with a backdrop of distant mountains and greenery.

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Northern California is in full almond bloom. Our backyard fruit trees are on the precipice of blooming. The ceanothus in the front yard is starting to bloom and the manzanitas have been in full bloom for about a week now A road stretching towards the horizon lined with blooming almond trees on both sides under a blue sky.

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Gorgeous day at the Refuge. #Fujifilm A person in a wide-brimmed hat and plaid shirt standing by a pond and looking through a camera at a landscape with distant snow-capped mountains and blue sky with wispy clouds. Slightly reflective pond surrounded by grasses and bare trees with snow-capped mountains in the background under a blue sky with wispy clouds.

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“‘Like sending bees to war’: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession” http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe

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A Golden-crowned Sparrow 🪶 #BirdPhotography #GoldenCrownedSparrow #Fujifilm A Gold Crown Sparrow, mostly brown but with a gold stripe on its head, is perched on a bare tree branch, with green vegetation and other branches blurred in the background.

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This rainy President’s Day, I’m getting used to the Yawman Arrow Controller by flying patterns in Laminar’s C172. With an XBox controller, I never could fly the C172 well. It really sucked as yaw control was not easy. So far, the Yawman Arrow controller has been terrific #YawmanArrow #XPlane #FlightSimulation #AvGeek

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If the sun can keep breaking through the clouds today, we may see some thunderstorms in the northern Sacramento Valley… looking promising for weather nerds #CaWx A backyard with gravel ground cover, leafless shrubs, a few young trees, and a metal garden shed. In the background, there’s a house with a carport. There is also garden equipment scattered around, heavy clouds above suggesting impending rain. Puddles of rain and roofs are bright as sunshine has broken through the clouds.

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On our induction stove, just a regular silicon mat under heavy cookware is good to protect the surface. EM easily passes through the mat & still direct heats the cookware. Those mats are useful! Baking, candy, and now this. A cast iron skillet on an induction stovetop with a silicone mat underneath and a perforated stainless steel utensil holder at the side.

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Near Chico, CA, we just accumulated 2” of rain and this mockingbird has seen quite enough A western mockingbird perched on a vine-under a shelter of a white metal overhang with green vegetation and rain visibly falling in the background.

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Local Raley’s grocery has non-alcoholic beer imported from Germany. It’s good as hoped. Malty, which I prefer over hoppy. A hand holding a bottle of Clausthaler Original Non-Alcoholic beer, which contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. The label includes the phrases “Superior Taste,” “Crisp & Fresh,” and “The German Pioneer”

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Today, finally saw a Spotted Towhee at the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge - Pine Creek Unit. I’d only seen California Towhees before and they’re not nearly this fancy looking. A spotted towhee, with unique white markings on its black wings, perched on a bare branch among tangled branches with lichen growth.

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A quick storm today for the N. Sacramento Valley. I missed this in the forecast. We’ll actually start drying out for a few days tomorrow. 50°F right now, should get to 60° today. #CaWx

A Doppler radar representation of the North Sacramento Valley. Shows incoming rain just above Orland. From the RadarScope app.