Our backyard views have been interesting of late.
Although I haven't filled my bird feeders since last winter when warnings were issued about salmonella outbreaks spread via feeders among songbirds, they flocked into our backyard en masse this week. I wasn't successful getting photos of them chirping to one another in the trees but I caught them joyfully bathing in the fountain just outside our back door.
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| The seashells in the fountain's upper tier provide the birds a comfortable perch while leaving just enough space to splash about |
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| All my photos were taken from inside the house as opening the door sent them flying |
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| I think this group includes a house finch, a few lesser goldfinches, white-crowned sparrows, and what may be a female golden-crowned sparrow |
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| The birds generally use the fountain's second tier to drink |
I also witnessed the departure of the first cruise ship to leave the Port of Los Angeles with passengers since cruise line operations were shut down in March 2020. We've seen cruise ships docked in the harbor off and on during the shutdown, coming in for supplies and frequently exiting, without passengers, the same day. I took the following photos from our backyard using a telephoto lens.
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| The Grand Princess left the Port of Los Angeles at 4pm on Saturday at 60-75% capacity, according to news reports. Unlike Florida, California had no issues with the cruise line's requirement that passengers and crews be fully vaccinated prior to departure unless an exception was pre-approved . Masks were also required in certain common areas. |
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| The Grand Princess was the ship that received international attention early during the pandemic in 2020 when more than 3500 people were stranded off-shore of San Francisco after 21 passengers and crew were diagnosed with Covid-19. The former President didn't want them to disembark as that would increase the US case count. |
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| Surrounded by tug boats, the ship executed the turn that would take it through Angel's Gate |
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| You can see the Angel's Gate lighthouse on the right and some of the many cargo ships anchored just outside the port waiting to get in to unload their containers. The total recently reached a record of 73 ships. |
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| Exiting the port, the Grand Princess turned south headed for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico |
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| It's expected to return September 30th |
Maybe things are getting a little closer to "normal" day by day after all, at least on some fronts.
For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
