San Felipe: Day 2

Welcome to the second day of my trip! Day two (like most of the week) was pretty low key. We stayed at the house most of the day and enjoyed the back yard and pool. I had a very wildlifey day, watching all the critters being funny.

Looking back at the house from the pool area.

There were plenty of things to photograph, including these hummingbird moths. I had never seen one in real life, though I know my sister gets them down in New Mexico. When they're flying, they resemble a small hummingbird at first glance. I'm not a big moth fan, but these ones are a little more charming than usual moths.

The owners had this hummingbird feeder that was almost always being used. Even by non-hummingbirds, like this Gila woodpecker.

Not for long, though--the hummingbirds won't allow it.

There were a few kinds of butterflies constantly flying over the patio. These monarchs liked landing on the bushes next door, so I had to take this picture from over the fence.

Of course I stalked the cute Costas hummingbird again. (This was the same day I took these photos.)

There were some lizards, including this one that kept trying to jump up onto the wall. It was funny watching him try and fall over and over (kind of reminds me of myself). This is the best I could get of him jumping up. He eventually gave up.

Here's a better look at him.

Then there were several of this smaller type. Very cute. It's hard to tell, but his head and body (not counting the tail) are only about 1-2 inches, if I'm remembering correctly.

Some other things I came across in the yard. Actually, my mom found the grasshopper (just for the record).

In the evening I watched this bird taking a bath.

An island. I can't remember the name or anything about it, but it only looks white like this in the evening. Earlier in the day it's darker and it looks like a ship on the horizon.

My dad brought his tripod so I could practice long exposures. I still need a lot of practice. Fortunately it was very peaceful and non-windy, so I don't have blurs for palm trees.

Star trails. Yeah, I need tons of practice. :D And more darkness.

This was our part of the terrace (our condo is through that door on the left).

But we used this one, too, since no one was there. It was an ideal location for having breakfast.

The pool cover was already on, but I still like this picture. And you can see Orion in the sky.

More to come! And hopefully my captions will improve with time.