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Bidwell Park has goats! Under the watchful eye of a Great Pyrenees, they’re chowing down on the poison oak & vinca choked understory just southwest of the Chico Nature Center. #BidwellPark #Goats #Fujifilm #SOoC One white goat is very close, looking blankly towards the camera. Beyond, many goats graze in a wooded area, surrounded by a wire fence. Leaves cover the ground, and tall trees fill the background. A peaceful wooded area with tall trees and dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves. A large white dog, probably a Great Pyrenees, protector of the goats, sleeps on the ground in front of a wooden fence.

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But for the cost, this new lens is tempting. PetaPixel: The Familiar Fujifilm XF 500mm f/5.6 Brings Portable Super-Tele Photography to the X Series

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Today we made a quick visit to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. There’s no missing the White Fronted Geese now and there’s still plenty of dragonflies but there’s no significant population of migratory songbirds yet #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #BirdWatching #Dragonfly #Fujifilm #SOoC A dragonfly with transparent wings featuring dark patterns rests on a vertical reed, set against a background of dry, intertwined reeds. A large flock of White Fronted geese rests im a wetland area surrounded by water and tall grasses. The landscape includes trees and distant rice hulling silos under a clear blue sky.

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It’s a nice 69°F outside in NorCal but the air quality is gnarly because of agriculture/large property owner pile burning. #CaWxThis image displays a PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI) reading with two channels: Channel A at 143 and Channel B at 138. Below the readings is a PM2.5 AQI history bar graph, showing varying colors from green (better air) to red.

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A (western?) toad left this dropping literally at our front door. It’s full of pillbugs (roly-polies)! A small, segmented brown animal dropping on a concrete surface with a human finger pointing at it for scale. The dropping is full of pill bugs.

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Inspector Woodpecker was quite enthusiastic about this eucalyptus #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #NorthernFlicker #Fujifilm #SooCA black and white woodpecker is perched on the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, surrounded by green foliage.

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Here’s to a fine Sunday morning flying an Embraer E-175 from KSEA to KPHX (Seattle to Phoenix). Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens loom large. #XPlane12 #XCrafts #E175 #FlightSim

An Embraer 175 in American Eagle livery flies past Mount Ranier with Mount St. Helens looming in the background. It's a somewhat overcast day but blue, sunny skies above the clouds.

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At the refuge, the only newcomers are white crowns and white fronted geese. But I only photographed a Black Phoebe that just pooped and a rather brave squirrel. #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #BirdWatching #BlackPhoebe #Squirrel 🪶A small, Black Phoebe is perched on a barren, leafless branch against a clear blue sky. The branch extends across the photo and ends at the center where the bird is. A falling drop of bright white bird poop is barely visible below the bird. A ground squirrel standing on its hind legs next to a fallen Willow tree with branches, in a dry grassy environment.

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XPlane 12’s boat update is fun but IMHO a sailboat just down SFO’s runway 28R is taking it too far #XPlane12 #BetaRelease #FlightSim A XPlane 12 simulated view from an airplane cockpit window showing an airport runway with taxiways and lighting, set against a background of mountains and buildings. The sky is clear with some scattered clouds. There’s a sail boat just down the runway.

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It’s great that XPlane lets aircraft devs bypass native modeling but that means other native features may not work. The usual example is a broken native fuel & weight config dialog. A newer one for me is an inaccurate fuel flow data ref. But the model is quite accurate. #XPlane #FlightSimulation

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For now, here’s an urban Black Phoebe #BlackPhoebe #Birds #BirdWatching A small bird is perched on a tree branch amidst dense green foliage. The bird has a black head, back, and wings with a light-colored belly. Dappled sunlight filters through the leaves.

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Geese & White Crowns are back. Soon as the weather stays cooler, I hope to be out at the refuges on weekends. And that should mean photos to share! 🤞

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Yikes. Dresden’s Carola Bridge collapsed in their early morning hours. Apparently a tram had just crossed it and no one was on the bridge. And soon floods may begin. Here’s the bridge back in 2009 with a tram passing over. #Carolabrücke A busy riverside promenade with numerous people walking and socializing. Several street lamps, a parking sign, and a no-stopping sign are visible along the cobblestone walkway. There is a river with the concrete pier Carola Bridge. A church is visible beyond the far shore.

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I got the latest iOS 18 developer beta and its Home app can download PG&E energy use data & make it nicely accessible along with comparisons. The interface showing comparisons needs work but it is better than PG&E’s web charts though the iOS charts do not show cost (yet?) The image shows a smartphone screen with Home app displaying electricity usage. The app section titled “Electricity Usage” shows a bar chart of electricity consumption over the past year. A call-out over the current month shows a daily average of 23kWh. Below the chart are verbose definitions about energy use and how electricity is measured.

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Today, our roofers repaired a set of joined eaves that had been a leaky but exterior only problem for years. It finally got bad enough with the sheathing sagging that I committed to getting it fixed this dry season. That sheathing was pretty rotted Looking up through a partially deconstructed eave at a L shaped exterior wall join with exposed beams and a red door beneath it. The sky is visible through the gaps in the beams. The support beams are casting shadows. A metal ladder is leaning against the building because of repair work.

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My wife enjoyed sunset at Laguna Beach this last FridaySunset at a beach, with a large group of people gathered on the grass and along the shore. Silhouettes of people, palm trees, and a distant island are visible against a colorful sky with shades of orange, pink, and purple.

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My modern need to vanquish all notifications and icon badges has bled into World of Warcraft, where I can’t ignore any quests. Over 10 years ago I didn’t care #WoW

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Today, my wife (on a business trip) photographed the Southwest “Missouri One” livery at Sacramento International #AvGeek #N280WN #PlaneSpotting #KSMF A view out an airport terminal window with a clear view of the tarmac and a jet bridge. Ground crew and equipment surround a Southwest Airlines plane in Missouri One livery near a jet bridge. The sky is clear blue.

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I’ve had Grado SR–125 headphones for almost 20 years now. I’ve neglected them the last ten years. Their second set of L cushions were disintegrating, so I splurged on official G cushions. They’re so good. They fit entirely over my ears instead of sitting along the edges (that made my ears ache pretty fast). #Gradolabs

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Spam texts are getting feisty

A text exchange shows two messages: the first suggests a trip to Hawaii in October with a thinking emoji, and the second questions why the person hasn't responded.