We stocked up on grub at the grocery store since we were returning the rental car later in the afternoon. We went to Castara to our favorite beach one last time for some quality beach and sun time. Remember this is the a pretty low populated beach. At one point, a guy wearing a crown and gown/dress and many gold chains approached me and offered a back massage. This was horrifyingly awkward of course. I gave a very confused 'no' and he started talking some crazy talk.
On our way back to Crown Point, we stopped to check email. The ol' internet web wasn't working so while we were waiting around, we checked out the T&T newspaper. Under the world section we saw a photo of Eureka Natural Foods (our store of choice) with everything off the shelves. Why? Ah because there had been a 6.5 earthquake. So, that was pretty startling news and I quickly began to freak out wondering if our apartment was destroyed and if Hayduke the cat was okay at the cat resort.
We took naps after this and later went to get a beer at a nice little bar. (This is a lovely story). There were many people eating but only one guy at the bar. I recognized this guy from a few nights ago, when we were walking back to the apt. He was staggering drunk in the sidewalk trying to hitch a ride.
So, anyway, said drunkard was at the bar. We ensued in a bit of conversation. He claimed to live here 6 months out of the year, the rest of the time in England. He asked where we were from, we told him CA. (It was soon clear he hated all Americans). Not to delve into too many details, but he started feeding outright nonsensical lies about crap. Some issues like mosquitos, dengue fever, wetlands, and birds came up. Things got ugly. Something I said made him leave (hm, perhaps my sharp tongue) and the bartenders rejoiced. Apparently he has caused a few problems previously and the owner pretty much hates him, so he was happy I was rather blunt to the guy. So, we ended up having a couple more beers than we would have and chatted with the extremely nice people who worked there.
This Virginia's Warbler (rare for Humboldt) has been hanging around for a couple months now. But since I was out of town a good chunk of that time, I just finally saw her (unless it's a male subadult) . Actually, it took try number 4 to get a look at it. And then I was painfully determined to get a photo. This proved pretty difficult since she was hanging out 1 foot off the ground in some crazy thick blackberry thorny bushes. (yeeouch, thought i was gonna lose an eye). Not an ideal shot, but hey, it works well enough! She's a cutie. Bird Photography Weekly 
A scanned photo from my Nikon film. Valdez harbor, Alaska. The batteries to my camera had died, I took them out and put them back in and was able to get one last photo. I have this one framed, one of my favorites :) Weekend Reflections
These are taken the same day as these ...The sky was all sorts of wild colors before I got these pictures. Unfortunately, the clouds covered the sun up before I could get to a good spot to get the photos I wanted (I was mildly bitter about this). But, even so, I like a couple of these. Like I mentioned in the other post, these were taken at the Arcata Marsh and I had to work pretty hard at not getting power lines, cars, etc in the photos. Ah, side note, actually the last picture is taken earlier in the day at Hookton Slough.
The sun! It came out pretty much all day yesterday! Pleasant surprise, I'll say. We went to Hookton Slough, Humboldt Bay NWR, and the South Spit to see what was up. Just before it got dark, we went headed to the marsh. Not a whole lot happening bird wise, this western grebe decided to have his picture taken before he took a dive. I walked out on the boat ramp and he popped up about a foot from me - we were both surprised! The willet, below, strolled the shore and then snagged a crab. ( I gotta say, the blue water makes for a much prettier background than the mudflats) My World Tuesday and Watery Wednesday 
Mice Friends! I found these guys by the tent, while camping in the middle of nowhere Hell's Canyon, Idaho a couple years ago. There were 2 adults, 4 babies. Whenever the sun came out, they were all huddled up by the entrance of their humble abode, soaking up the heat/sun. Freaking precious! This is from my point and click by the way- they let me get right up next to them. I actually was able to pet their heads while they were sleeping. It's true. If you want to see some other (even cuter, dare I say) mice friends, check out this link from this summer...some videos of them hoarding almonds. Macro Monday, Nature Notes, Camera critters
The good old California Poppy, the state flower, looking like a scene outta Candyland. Today's Flower, Mellow Yellow
