某宅男喜歡引用別人說的“旅遊就是從自己活膩呆膩的地方去人家活膩呆膩的地方”來證明宅家的好，旅行沒必要，加上小宅女不在家，兩老宅男老宅女更是雙雙宅在家中。

那就看看家門口的風景吧。

今年這裏春夏之交的天氣異常，冷，六十多度，陰天一日接一日，陰的讓人想起江南的春天，讓人不敢相信這是生活在四季陽光的加州。

長周末三天都是陰天，夜間下雨，白天天空還偶爾會飄起雨絲。周日、周一兩天宅女拉著宅男去了一趟附近水廠邊上的濕地公園，那裏有七個用來過濾髒水廢水的池塘。漸漸地，有水的地方變成了鳥類棲息的天堂，大鳥小鳥，外來鳥本地鳥，據統計大約有200多種鳥類聚集於此生息繁衍。

看圖：鳥兒棲息在池塘中央，離的有些遠， 隻能拍到這麽清楚， 相機不夠好：）這個島上現在聚集的大多是一種叫skimmer的鳥， 黑色和白色兩種，紅紅的尖嘴捕魚時像把剪刀從水麵劃過：

 Osprey 魚鷹，在高高的木架上孵養baby. 也離得很遠，近處被繩索攔住進不去。

那日，一側的路口封了，兩人隻好走上入口外另一側的河堤。路麵是鋪著小石子的石子路，路的右側是一個大斜坡，放眼望去，隻見斜坡上倒滿了各種碎石，碎石下麵是裸露的河床和一些巨石，把窄窄的小溪攔在巨石的那一邊。小溪的另一端長著一片高高的類似蘆葦的河草。下午時分，水麵很安靜，除了幾隻黑水鳥浮在水麵，兩隻白鷺立在兩側，大多數水鳥鴨子都在岸邊休息，遠沒有兩個月前漲滿溪水時水麵的歡騰和熱鬧景象。

不過，常在河邊走就有了新發現。正走著有點百無聊賴，側前方走來一隻不太常見的鳥，在斜坡下那一大片亂石中移動。某人立馬端起脖子上掛的大相機哢嚓哢嚓地照著。小鳥貌似一點不怕人，還越走越近，最後站在離我們隻有幾步之遙的斜坡上一動不動。某人通過大相機拉近的鏡頭發現了鳥腳下的四個蛋蛋，灰灰的蛋殼上布滿著黑點，與裸露在日光下的亂石混為一體。

有圖有真相。小鳥走上斜坡：

鳥站著一動不動，腳下四個蛋：

拉近距離，眼睛紅紅的：

原來如此。

回家後上網查得，這是一種叫Killdeer的鳥，是以它發出的叫聲命名。這種鳥喜歡把蛋生在亂石中，並靠近水源，因為孵出來的小鳥先會遊泳，然後才學會飛。

這是此行的一大收獲。但願鳥寶寶能安全孵出，為大自然增添四個新生命！

順便還拍了一些入口處的花草樹木。

Silk Oak，native to Australia: 絲絨橡樹

木棉花

木棉樹上的樹結，像刻著一雙眼睛：

再來一張更清楚:

好像是Purple Verbena Bonariensis Lollipop

還沒有查到名字：

California Tree poppy (加州樹罌粟）花瓣像紙皺的白裙

Purple Sage Salvia 紫洋蘇草花

Hot lips salvia (Mint family): 烈焰紅唇

Cotton wood (飄白絮的棉樹）

公園門口，五月底的黑莓還是青的，家中後院的已經開始黑了成熟了。

猜一猜下圖是什麽？

周日晚上把這些照片貼在微信的moments裏，附上跟這篇文章標題一樣的一句話。第二天一位朋友留言問，“什麽新招術？” 原來沉浸在AI世界裏的她，誤以為我這些照片是用AI模擬出來的。

這世界越來越小。或許某一天人類真的可以通過AI模擬出虛幻世界，讓我們足不出戶，便可以地“走”遍全世界，便可以“身”臨其境地體驗世界各地的風光。這樣，人類該不會覺得“活膩呆膩”了吧：）

有沒有這樣的一天尚不可知也。不過，AI的精彩世界卻指日可待！（或是已經轟轟烈烈，君不見前幾日AI的領頭羊股票一日漲20%多：））

On an overcast day at the end of May, Em chose to go to a nearby park, a constructed 300- acre wetland nestled in the busy city. Disguised as a nature preserve, the park in reality is a water filter facility, where ponds and plants are used to filter the dirty water before circulating back for irrigation or to the sea. Then ponds become home to birds, migrating or local birds, ranging from big pelicans, Canadian geese to little hummingbirds.  Ospreys breed their babies on the high man-built platform.  In a bustling city that is surrounded by more and more concrete buildings, this marsh land is a getaway to Em.

The blackberries sprawled at the entrance that Em came for were unfortunately not ready for picking, weeks away from ripening. And the trail to the park on the side was close. That left Em with little choice but to stroll around the only open area in the front, where one towering Silk Oak and two or three Cotton trees  form an overarching canopies.  Native to Australia, the Silk Oak lights up to the sky with its golden orange blooms. The Cotton trees hanging white cotton balls  are exotic too.  Walking out of the shade, Em was greeted by vibrantly blooming California Tree Poppies. The abundant rains this year brought forth their fullest splendor, higher bushes and more flowers with bigger petals.  A close look at its white petals reminds Em of crinkled crepe paper. Interstingly, its golden yellow stamens earn itself a vivid nickname “Fried egg" plant.

Getting out of the park, Em and her husband decided to walk a bit farther to the end of an overpass that they never reached before. Sauntering along the gravelly bank overlooking a creek was joyful.  It’s around three o’clock in the afternoon. The sky was gloomy, and the temperature was in 60s.  To the right of the trail leading down to the creek are long steep slopes piled with small gravels, scattered occasionally with some trashes drifted down from the upper stream. The creek was peaceful at the time, no surging water and not many birds on, only a few American coots floating on the surface. Ducks were resting on the marsh by the side, two white herons standing apart on each end.

Out of this quietness came along a brown and whitish bird, ascending a rocky slope, who showed no sign of retreat, even when a lady and a dog from the opposite direction joined the narrow trail.

The bird was then just a stone’s throw away.  He put down the camera and in a low voice told Em that there were eggs underneath. Em grabbed the camera and zoomed in by herself. Peering hard through the lens, she saw four gray eggs with black little dots, lying in the depression of rocks between the two feets of the standing bird. She would have missed them had it been the camera and his guidance.

“How could a petite bird produce such four big eggs?” Em thought out loud.

“It must be a pain in the ass,” he joked in English.

“And why she laid the eggs here among the mere rocks, without any protection?” wondered Em.

Further research at home eased Em’s worry, in the knowledge that the bird, named as Killdeer, prefers the habitat where rocks mix well with its camouflaged eggs, and that as soon as the baby birds are hatched, they could swim in the creek next to them.

Isn’t nature full of wonders！

很多年前剛搬進來時種了好幾棵玫瑰，後來都被我種死了。今年自家種的玫瑰終於開花，帶著濃鬱的花香，花瓣層層疊疊，很喜歡！說了，哪一天把火龍果砍了，讓玫瑰攀沿上位：））

5/30/2023拍的

5/31/2023拍的