Are they Walking or Swimming?...

...asked a man walking by at Spring Lake today. This little lagoon has been allowed to fill in with the result that this lurid colored algae is trapped. Efforts are underway to clear the algae and sedge from this man made lake but the Canada Geese seem to like it just fine. The clearer water in the central channel serves as a highway and the green areas seem to be great feeding grounds. Further along was another flock washing vigorously in a clearer part of the lake and several groups with babies hung around near the parking lot. 

We were also pleased to see a pair of quail with a following of teeny tiny babies. They used to nest under our olive hedge and the juniper next door but the although the olive hedge is making a comeback the black remains of the juniper have been carted off, never to be planted again, we hope. it is a terrible fire hazard and once planted can be extremely difficult to remove, even when it is just a  mass of burned branches.
We're hoping to see them make a comeback, but for now they have been replaced by an army of ground squirrels....

We got a call this morning saying that our very high tech umbrella was 'on the truck' after a three month wait and would be delivered this afternoon. It was, but not installed as we were led to believe it would be. Our contact person at the shop where we got it is off today and tomorrow but we should be able to get it sorted out when he comes back. In the meanwhile, we have a giant and very heavy box in the patio, so the saga continues....