Place: Autumn hiking in San Joaquin sanctuary..

On a weekend, me and spouse had a autumn afternoon hike in the San Joaquin sanctuary area in our neighborhood in Orange county........it was fulfilling.........

This flower was blooming vigorously.......I have no clue what species this plant is..anybody knows?

Got lucky to see a mighty osprey feeding on a fresh fish high up the pole....watching it in my spouse's binocular added to the joy........

A pair of finches...

A glittering hummingbird.........

A  part of a pond had become a  mudflat..the plovers foraging on it are almost inconspicuous........

The marsh had come alive.....coated in annual green herbs and grass.........

Saw a snowy egret...........

A song sparrow..........

Clusters of gem-like rose hips..........

A group of pelicans resting on an island............

A grebe..

Blooms.........

Mallards were taking flight..............above the moon :)

A blue dragonfly......

A showy penstemon...

An insect hotel in the Interpretation Center......

California buckthorn.......

Found  a pair of cottontails grazing..

A lone bougainvillea was brightening the muted landscape........

A tuft of mistletoe hanging from a sycamore tree.......

What more can you ask for?..........therapeutic smell of sage and willow....lots of wildlife....
Explore your natural surrounding, its one of the best gift you can give yourself......