mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-07-07 10:15 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-07-07 10:15 pm
Last Tuesday: Belmar Park (again)
My time off schedule was a weird one. I took last Saturday off for Pride, then had to work on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday are my usual days off, but I had to work on Wednesday. Then I took Thursday - Tuesday off for my vacation time. (I absolutely could have taken the Wednesday off and gotten nine days in a row instead of six, but I tried to be all responsible and come in to ensure I could help close a class. A class that wound up only having four students in it and definitely did not require my presence, lol.)
So this is from before my real "vacation" started, but last Tuesday, we went back to Belmar Park. The previous time it had been a bit too hot for Bella, so we had to turn around and do a fairly abbreviated walk. This time was a bit cooler, so we hoped we could get around the whole lake.
Eh... mixed success on that. We did get farther, but then Bella still got a bit overheated. Of course, at that point we really were about halfway around, so there wasn't a way to just make it shorter. We stopped for a long break in the shade with water and snacks until she'd cooled back down. She is just not suited to hot weather. We did ultimately make it around the whole thing.
Bella, the aforementioned hot-dog.
Small bumblebee with pollen saddlebags.
A duck with some brand new babies!
A wider view of the duck and ducklings, because there's also a turtle on the branch.
Another bumblebee! This one with such a nice orange belt.
A family of geese, the goslings just coming in to their adult markings. In the background is the side of the cormorant island, and you can see a cormorant sunning with its wings open.
Different goose! The consensus in one of the local birding groups is that she is in fact a hybrid between a Canada goose and a domestic goose, and she's lived in the park for many years at this point. I know I've seen her there several times over the years, sometimes with other geese and sometimes solo.
This was a funny sight coming up past the field, all the heads sticking up in the tall grass, haha.
When they came across the path behind us, it was more obvious that yes, this is a mother duck and five nearly full-grown ducklings. Quite a contrast from the family group of five brand new baby ducklings! Kudos to this one for succeeding at getting them all to this point!
A pair of mourning doves on the bench.
Judgemental swallow.
Turtles!
Baby bunny!
Bright red ladybug!
And a squirrel.
Bonus Berry Mad lurking in her plant pot.
So this is from before my real "vacation" started, but last Tuesday, we went back to Belmar Park. The previous time it had been a bit too hot for Bella, so we had to turn around and do a fairly abbreviated walk. This time was a bit cooler, so we hoped we could get around the whole lake.
Eh... mixed success on that. We did get farther, but then Bella still got a bit overheated. Of course, at that point we really were about halfway around, so there wasn't a way to just make it shorter. We stopped for a long break in the shade with water and snacks until she'd cooled back down. She is just not suited to hot weather. We did ultimately make it around the whole thing.
Bella, the aforementioned hot-dog.
Small bumblebee with pollen saddlebags.
Thirteen more pictures, mostly birds, some other:
A duck with some brand new babies!
A wider view of the duck and ducklings, because there's also a turtle on the branch.
Another bumblebee! This one with such a nice orange belt.
A family of geese, the goslings just coming in to their adult markings. In the background is the side of the cormorant island, and you can see a cormorant sunning with its wings open.
Different goose! The consensus in one of the local birding groups is that she is in fact a hybrid between a Canada goose and a domestic goose, and she's lived in the park for many years at this point. I know I've seen her there several times over the years, sometimes with other geese and sometimes solo.
This was a funny sight coming up past the field, all the heads sticking up in the tall grass, haha.
When they came across the path behind us, it was more obvious that yes, this is a mother duck and five nearly full-grown ducklings. Quite a contrast from the family group of five brand new baby ducklings! Kudos to this one for succeeding at getting them all to this point!
A pair of mourning doves on the bench.
Judgemental swallow.
Turtles!
Baby bunny!
Bright red ladybug!
And a squirrel.
Bonus Berry Mad lurking in her plant pot.
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Always the way when you schedule around something. ^^;
So many critters! <3
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Also lol at the swallow! They really do look so pissed off and judgemental in those nests for whatever reason. xD
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It is always a weird feeling when you have work days mixed up with days you need/want off. Just sort of confusing depending on what you are walking into with work.
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Hope you enjoyed Pride, ours is this Saturday and I'm excited - the library I run is in the parade this year.
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And Berry Mad! I love how grumpy she looks at all times.
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I'm always very happy when we get to see a good range of critters when we go out.
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Swallows always look so angry!
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Weird schedules at work or with different days off always throws me off... I wind up feeling like it's a different day than it is, or losing track of time once I am at work. (I know that I used to work a job with an irregular schedule, and I don't know how I did that anymore! I'm so very used to my predictable week!)
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Pride was nice - I hope that yours is excellent! And hooray for your library taking part! :D
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Berry Mad is so cute! Cute and grumpy.
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I feel I'm the same way with how my work week goes. It's pretty predictable and I enjoy that. I'm glad you know what works better for you!
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