Windy Hill

Here are some pics from a Monday visit to Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, where in all honesty there weren't a lot of interesting things to photograph.

Dried grasses near Sausal Pond.


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Alpine Road

In spite of the high winds on Sunday, D. and I took a walk on the Alpine Road trail because we thought the thick woods would protect us from the worst gusts.  We were mostly right, but it was still windy and chilly among the trees.  Here are some of the pics I took.

Turkey tail fungi sprout from fallen logs.


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Coyote Creek Lagoon Trail

On Sunday D. and I visited the wildlife refuge's Coyote Creek Lagoon Trail, which touts itself as "one of the best trails on the Alameda County portion of the refuge for viewing, photographing, and studying water birds," claiming up to 35 species of birds can be seen.  So let's see how many we actually saw ( Read more... )

BFFs


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NWR Mallard Slough Trail

On Sunday D. and I visited the National Wildlife Refuge to spend some time on the Mallard Slough Trail.  Here are some of the pics I took.

The road in.


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Heritage & Shoreline Parks

On Sunday D. and I visited two parks in town, the new-ish Heritage Park, and, since there wasn't a lot to engage us there, the lake at Shoreline Park.

Heritage Park is home to an 80-year old windmill donated by a local Mountain View family, a demonstration garden, and native bees.


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Los Gatos Creek Trail

On Sunday D. and I were going to attend a solar astronomy event sponsored by the San Jose Astronomical Association, but clouds got in the way.  Even through a telescope, it is very hard to see anything meaningful on the sun through overcast!  So we decided to take a little walk on the trail at nearby Los Gatos Creek County ( Read more... )

Alameda Creek Trail

On Sunday D. and I went to the Alameda Creek Trail in Union City to take a walk.  Because the wind was so fierce up on the levee, we eschewed the trail proper to wander around in the meadows below the levee where it was more protected.  Here are some of the pics I took.

A dried milkweed pod looks spiky and formidable.


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Coyote Hills: Muskrat Trail

On Saturday D. and I returned to Coyote Hills Regional Park to walk through the marsh on parts of the Muskrat and D.U.S.T. Trails, and here are some of the pics I took.

We see a white-tailed kite perched on a post near the trailhead.


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Coyote Hills Regional Park

On Sunday D. and I went to Coyote Hills Regional Park to walk parts of the Nike, Red Hill and Bayview Trails, and I took a few pics before I got too tired and we had to come home.

Looking southeast from the Nike Trail.


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