Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. As always post any photos, memes, or music you like.

In an attempt to escape the heat I went to the zoo on Tuesday. Even though it was about 15° cooler there than were I live inland it was still hot enough that most of the animals were inactive and hiding in the shade or their dens. Thankfully the birds didn't seem to be bothered by the heat and were as active as ever.
For those suffering through the extreme heat stay cool and remember to hydrate.

American Flamingo

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

Well the heat wave the rest of the southwest has been dealing with finally arrived in San Diego earlier this week. Inland from the coast where I live the temps have been in the upper 90s and are expected to remain there until the middle of next week before cooling off. Thankfully it's been cooling off enough at night to keep the house comfortable without having to run the A/C.

They say every dog has its day. These dogs were having their day Tuesday morning at Dog Beach in San Diego. There were breeds of all sizes, shapes, and colors enjoying their time running around on the beach sans leash.

"Look Ma, No Paws! I'm flying!"

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

It's that time of year again. Time for that annual rite of summer, the county fair. Every year the fair in San Diego begins in late May or Early June and concludes with fireworks on the 4th of July.

The fairs version of Walmart greeters

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

Last Saturday I drove up to Mount Palomar and toured Palomar Observatory. The observatory sits at about 5600ft elevation and has 4 telescopes, 18-inch, 48-inch, 60-inch and 200-inch. All but the 18-inch are still in use today. It's amazing how large a 200-inch telescope is. It makes my 6-inch Celestron telescope look like a child's toy.
The weather was beautiful, the drive in the mountains was enjoyable and the tour was informative. All in all a very good day.

Here's a few links that can explain things better than I can.
https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/about/history.html
https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/about/telescopes.html

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

A few weekends ago I went to Barona Dragstrip, a 1/8th mile track located on the Barona Indian reservation. Even though it's been years since I've been to a race track, you never forget the smell of racing fuel and tire smoke. It brought back memories of Saturday nights at the local 3/8th mile oval track pit crewing for a friend that raced in the late model sportsman class. There was a wide variety of cars from old to new and dedicated race cars to daily drivers. All the racing is bracket racing so the cars are racing the clock and not each other. Most of the cars topped out in the upper 90s to low 100s mph wise, with times between 6-7 seconds. The fastest car I saw made a pass in 5.6 seconds at 120 mph.

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

When I think about it, it just blows me away that in the mid 1600's, long before computers and calculators, our engineering forefathers were designing and building complex clock movements like the one inside this modern day grandfather clock.

A little history on the grandfather clock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_clock
https://historydaily.org/grandfather-clocks-facts-stories-trivia/2

Time is a valuable thing. Watch it tick by as the pendulum swings. _ In The End, Linkin Park

The gears in the clock go round and round

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

Well it's been another week of cool temps and gray skies and a little light rain on Wednesday. I can deal with the cool temps but I really miss the sun. I'm beginning to think I'm in the pacific northwest and not San Diego.
On Tuesday I had a CT scan done on my heart. The Dr. was concerned about plaque buildup in the arteries because of high cholesterol. The results said there was minimal buildup and I'm at low risk for heart disease. So that was good. Other than that it's been an uneventful week.

These are a few of the residents at the cactus garden and rose garden at Balboa Park.

Honey Bee

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

I keep waiting for typical San Diego weather to arrive, but so far it's been a no show. All spring temps have been a good 10° below normal with mostly overcast skies, and very little sun. This week we only got a few hours of sun and had two nights with heavy drizzle. The forecast for next week isn't looking any better. Normally it's sunny and 80 by this time of year. On the plus side I'm still upright and breathing which beats the alternative so I'll live with a little crappy weather.

These are some scenes from Balboa Park. Most were shot this month. The ones with blue skies and sunlight are from last August.

Happy Friday everyone. Hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

I went to the rose garden and cactus garden in Balboa Park on Tue. Normally by this time of year the rose bushes are in full bloom so I was really disappointed  to see most all of the bushes had been cut back again. Come to find out some infestation was running rampant through the garden requiring the pruning.  On the bright side, all the rain this last winter and spring has the flowers and plants in the cactus garden growing and blooming like crazy.

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

I finally got out with the camera this week. Yesterday I went to the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum in Vista, Ca. To call it a museum is generous. Most of the vehicles and industrial engines are sitting in fields outside unprotected from the elements. The few buildings that are there looked as antique as the equipment that they housed. There was a lot of farm and construction equipment from the 20's thru the 50's and industrial engines from the late 1800's to the mid 1900's. It was fun wandering around looking at all the old equipment. The only negative was a lack of information about the vehicles and engines. Other than that, it was worth the price of admission(free) to get a glimpse of our past.