Mt. Diablo from Hanna Ridge 0439 - a photo on Flickriver

From 2003 to 2015, I walked and hiked the hills of Mt. Diablo four or five days a week. Sometimes, I was watching over Bluebird Restoration but it didn't matter: the diversity of wildlife on this 4,000 foot mountain four miles from my home consumed me. While checking a bluebird box, I saw a Southern Alligator Lizard (flic.kr/p/Wag7FT) and 20 minutes after that a Fork-tailed Bush Katydid Nymph (flic.kr/p/pqubtb), the most beautiful insect I think I've ever seen well, in part because that green metallic insect was perched smack-dab in the center of a California Poppy. Even on days when I saw nothing, the potential was always there, and I estimate that 100 of the 146 birds I found and photographed were on Mt. Diablo. I also saw North America's smallest snake, the Sharp-tailed Snake at 8 inches (flic.kr/p/woUiGG), and the continent's smallest toad (flic.kr/p/SfLq9H), The California toad. And don't forget the blue bullfrogs.

In 17 years, I hiked 6,000 miles of trails. I had rain, snow, 112 degree temperatures, but birds were the only "bug" that ever bit me. (This doesn't include 4,444* miles of biking the mountain or the ride to the summit every New Year's Day for 12 years. On the 12th year, on the way down at 52 mph, I was given five more IQ points and never did it again.) The mountain is partially responsible for my full retirement in 2010. I started writing about my exploits, about how Diablo had almost killed me - actually, that was my own stupidity; the mountain couldn't have cred less. But what happened was that I started telling the story in bits and pieces with every photo I uploaded. And in the process, I went back to teaching and writing, my other two "passions" in my life. September of 2020 marked my 60th year of combining photography, writing, and teaching and, in the process, learning and forgetting more than this old "C" student ever could.

*When my odometer read "4,444.44" in one year, I disconnected it.

Taken in: United States / California / Rock City (show map)

Taken on: May 18, 2011

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Mt. Diablo

northern California

000 miles in 18 years « less

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Camera: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, f/4.5, 1/2500 sec, 11mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	1/2500 sec
Focal Length:	11mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	ACDSee Pro 6
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