LibriVox Podcasts

Recently I have listened to #podcasts from LibriVox on my #iPodTouch... "Princess of Mars"-Edgar Rice Burroughs, "Gulliver's Travels"-Jonathan Swift, "An Antarctic Adventure"-Jules Verne, "Captains Courageous"- Rudyard Kipling, "Captain Blood"-Rafael Sabatini, "Murders of the Rue Morgue"-Edgar Allan Poe, "The Daffodil Murder" by Edgar Wallace. Just began "Allen Quartermain"-H. Rider Haggard. Try it. You can follow #Librivox at @librivox on Twitter.

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Not That Common

Clouds in July. A strange site in this neck of the woods.




Something on the way.

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Books of June

June was a busy month for reading. I finished four books: "Friends in High Places" and "Fatal Remedies", by Donna Leon, "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton and Frederick Forsyth's "The Afghan". Donna Leon's books follow Commissario Guido Brunetti as he fights crime and the customs of Venice. "State of Fear" concerns itself with the opposing forces of global warming/climate change as Crichton challenges us to question who we can believe. The workings of al Qaeda are explored in Forsyth's "The Afghan". June was an interesting and educational month thanks to these very enjoyable and readable titles.

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Mink and Otters

Until the other day, we had not seen any signs of mammal activity at the Watson Hollow pond. One morning we observed what looked like a mink swim out of the cattails and across the pond. That was exciting.


Mink running along the bank of the Watson Hollow pond. 2008

We have not seen any otters at Watson Hollow going on two summers. Watson Hollow was dredged about 18 months ago and that may have something to do with the change in wildlife activity here.


Approximately nine otters enjoying the waters of a Watson
Hollow pond one week after a fire blackened an adjoining field.
Interestingly, the otters' toilet area was not burned. 16 Aug 2007

Nature is not static and changes will always occur but it seems we tend to get upset when those changes happen during our lifetime.

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Grass Fire

We had a grass fire about 3/4 of a mile from us this afternoon. We just happened to have turned on the television to check the weather when we heard the report of the fire. Like moths to the flame we drove over to see what was going on. By the time we got there the fire crews were in a mop up operation.



The video shows that several homes here in Trilogy at Rio Vista were in some danger. The golf course grounds crew turned on the irrigation system to help quell the flames before more damage was done.

Thanks to several city and volunteer fire departments for a job well done. They included the Rio Vista Fire Department, the Montezuma Fire District and the Isleton Fire Department.

Let's keep the summer fire free.

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Changes in Our Local Bird Life

This year our spring rainfall was near normal. That's been good for the human urban dwellers and particularly the farmers but we've noticed a change in the activity of local bird life. This year there have been more robins and robin fledglings than normal. Over the past several weeks, we have seen the adults searching for food in the grass, returning to the nest to feed the young. The adult robins have become quite courageous, coming to within 15 feet of us. The chicks have fledged and have been following their parents on their food forays. Many of the young birds are now on their own.

Things appear to be different for the killdeer. The two previous springs were very dry, and by this time of year we would have seen two or three clutches of killdeer chicks. This year we have seen signs of killdeer nesting, egg laying and parent protective behavior but no chicks. I first thought it might be the wet spring causing the lack of chicks but that should not disrupt the nesting success of these plovers entirely. Then a possible answer occurred to me. We have noticed an increase in the number of feral cats in the area. This can prove very detrimental to the success of any ground nesting bird. I hope our community can tackle this situation soon and painlessly.


Clutch of four eggs found by Suzy and myself.

Last year, due to a bridge replacement, the cliff swallows lost their long time nesting location and relocated to the eaves of nearby homes. Please see 2 May posting for video. This year the majority of the birds have returned to the new bridge. Below they can be seen collecting mud for their nests on the sixth fairway during the spring of last year.


Swallows collecting mud 23 Apr 2008.

Also, we have seen fewer egrets and green herons at Watson Hollow this spring. Hopefully the wet fields have attracted these birds with a larger concentration of insects and small vertebrates than years past.

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Killdeer Discovery

On a very blustery day, Suzy and I discovered a killdeer nest while walking behind the fourth green on the golf course.


The sound of the strong Delta breeze.


Not too close Suzy.


Such pretty eggs.

Let's hope they survive the grounds keepers and golfers.

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Relax - New Chairs

Bought some new Adirondack lawn chairs, made of recycled plastics, to relax with Suzy in the front yard.


Helping the economy and environment.

Suzy loves to lie in the shade all afternoon and explain to me what she wants to bark about on her blog. One reason we don't get much done. :-)

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THE 2009 WATSON HOLLOW OPEN

The race is on at Watson Hollow Gastropod Course. Call your own race.

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The Swallows Of Watson Hollow

Due to the replacement of an old bridge where these swallows nested, the birds have begun to build nests under the eaves of nearby homes. This was filmed 27 Mar 2008. Home owners have resorted to nest destruction and hanging strips Mylar under the eaves. The swallows have returned again this year.

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