Cathy. . .well, the best time to come to the northern California coast would be ***right now***, but plan for just about *any* weather. Currently, we're in the middle of a heatwave. That's due to change come Thursday. Some mild showers are expected for Friday and Saturday. . .for the **best** in terms of the warmest weather? Believe it or not, typically, *October* is warmest. :) EVERYONE: thank you for your kind comments and posts. I am happy to have brought smiles. . .this series is the shortened version of one I am compiling into a coffee table book. . .details to come soon if you're interested. :)

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of the cranes. Guess I'll have to get better at sneaking up on them! It's also difficult when your property is flat with no mature trees or shrubs except along the fenceline. I'll have to work on that. Here's a pic of a visitor that came to the house. That was last year and he kept coming back, I expect because he was hunting toads and frogs (and probably the occasional garter snake). We get various water birds because there is a conservation area 15 miles south of us and a large marsh about an hour north of us and we see them flying overhead from one to the other. To bad most of them never land. Anyway, here he is. Both these pics were taken from inside the house. It's a black capped Night Heron. Cute huh? Here' a closer one. When I saw movement at the side of the house, I ran in and got my camera and then headed for the kitchen. When I got to the door, I stopped because he was standing on the windowsill. I walked right up to the counter and started snapping away. Gues he was used to the attention because he didn't move, just kept watching me and posing.

Thanks for saving the little guy. Hognosed Snakes play dead when disturbed and I'm sure that's what this one was doing. Good thing you closed the paper bag or that check out person at Walmart might still be in therapy. ;-)

Thanks everyone! I love composing photos. First, a couple corrections ... The hummingbirds is an Allen's and the yellow mystery flower is an Elderberry. Nola Anne, I have a Canon EOS 60D which is a digital SLR (DSLR) with interchangeable lenses. Jodi-