Wordless Wednesday - Outside the Charles M. Schulz Museum

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
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- Karen

Skywatch Friday - Christopher Columbus' Vista

12-foot bronze statue of Christopher Columbus stands at the base of the popular Coit Tower in San Francisco.
On a sunny day, he enjoys a beautiful view of the bay.

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- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Run Home

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
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Art of Retro Collage.
- Karen

Skywatch Friday - Cloudy Day in Wine Country

Despite what the weather is outside, if you like the movies and wines, the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, is a good stopping place to enjoy for a few hours during a trip to Northern California's Wine Country in Geyserville about an 1-1/2 hr. drive north of San Francisco.

Except in the winter, you can buy tickets to swim in this 3,600 square feet (334 sq. m) pool during the other seasons.
In the spring, the pool is only open on the weekends; thus, the lack of swimmers on the Monday we visited.

You can lay by the pool and even rent a private cabine to change and shower.

This is what the cabine looks like inside.

Inside is one of several bars where you can sample different Coppola brand wines. We decided on trying the "Family Flight" offerings which gets changed around weekly.
We are not avid wine drinkers, but the 2011 Votre Santé Pinot Noir was my favorite.
A restaurant for fine dining. Enjoy the menu.

This is the winery's 2-story retail store and yes, there is a car from the 1988 Coppola directed movie "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" in the center of it all.

On the 2nd floor are the ships used in the filming of the 2006 daughter, Sofia Coppola, directed movie "Marie Antoinette".

Around the various areas of the winery are different movie props on display such as these from "The Godfather".

And, this desk and chair used by Godfather Don Corleone.

Props from the 1992 movie "Dracula".

And the awards and recognition received by Mr. Coppola over the years.
We asked someone if the Oscars on display are real or replicates. We were told they are the real thing.

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(Note: Many of you wanted an update about the ill hummingbird baby we were trying to hand feed. We tried feeding him/her regularly baby bird food because the mama would no longer come by, but after a day or two, he no longer wanted to eat and we decided it was best to turn him over to the local wildlife center for better care. At this point, I am not very hopeful. Like reader/blogger, Jenny Woolf, mentioned "nature is cruel". Thanks everyone for your interest.)

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday - Sleeping Monkey

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
Visit other participants at Wordless Wednesday Blogspot,
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- Karen

Hummingbird Distress

The two hummingbird babies in our backyard started out fine a few weeks ago.

But as time passed, one baby grew stronger and started taking over the nest leaving the other one with less space and having to hang over the side. The mother appears to be feeding both chicks as we sit and observe from a distance, but the one baby just did not mature at the same rate as its sibling.

After three weeks in the nest, the stronger one fledged and was able to fly away while its weaker sibling has not developed "normally". The mother no longer appears to visit so we will be taking him/her in and hand feeding it.
- Karen

Skywatch Friday - Beautiful Day to Fly an Eagle

Sequoia, the 24-year-old eagle, has been getting her daily exercise here at Byxbee Park in Palo Alto, California since February, but I did not find out about it until a few days ago and I immediately went the next day to see this firsthand.
I understand she might only be exercising here for another week before her feathers will start to molt and will not return until the fall.
This was my first time being so close to a flying eagle.

From what I read, she is being cared for by humans because years ago a gunshot wound damaged one of her legs and paralyzed her tail to where she could not fend for herself in the wild.
I am happy she can still fly.

Three handlers accompany Sequoia to this park for about 30-45 minutes to let her fly and eat.
The handlers form a triangle at different areas of the park. One handler blows his whistle and waves a yummy piece of raw meat to entice her to fly to him. Then the next handler blows his whistle and the whole process starts over again until they run out of food.

Here, one of the handlers displays the food high in the air to draw Sequoia's attention.

She flies in and is about to land. Those are some sharp talons!

The handler gives her a gentle push to help her lift off to fly to the next handler.

Yes, it was a beautiful day to fly an eagle and to photograph her.

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- Karen