A Summer Bath

The real summer arrived here.    A monarch flew in and landed on the new dwarf apple tree.

On a hot day, American Robins love to take a cold bath!  But not two of them at the same time.

The right one:  "I came here first!"

The left one:  "This is my reserved bath!!"

The left one:  "Just wait.  I will be done in a minute."

My Territory

Hummingbirds are very little; and yet, they need such a huge air space to buzz around.  The other day I witnessed one male Anna's Hummingbird bullying a female.

"What's your name?  Didn't you know this is my air space, honey?"

"DIDN'T YOU KNOW???"

After the hummers buzzed off,  calmness returned in my garden.

Three Brothers or Sisters

While I was gone, there appeared three young Spotted Towhees.  They are growing up very fast in my backyard.

"I am young Spotted Towhee #1.  I like to stroll around the veggie garden to find seeds."

"I, #2,  like to hop onto a rose bud.  I can perch for some time."

"I am #3, together with the other twos.  Can you see all three of us?"

Mergansers at Vaanse Schans

During the trip, we stopped over at Amsterdam.  Since we had never seen the windmills before, we took a train and a bus to get to Vaanse Schans, outskirt of Amsterdam,  where the old windmills are preserved.

There a dozen windmills are preserved and, in their golden age, were used for numerous industrial purposes.  This windmill is called De Kat, a paint mill.

Before entering into the windmill, we visited Vaanse Museum where you can see how the windmills were operated and what products were made before the age of the steam engine.

At a corner of the estuary, we saw a nesting Merganser mom.   There were many birds nesting and flying around close to the water.

Gulls at Istanbul

Istanbul is a fascinating city with hundreds of years of history.  Today across the Bosphorus Stait, ferries and the new subways connect the European side and the Asian side.   I recommend the ferry ride for fun and convenience.   It takes 15 min for the shortest ride between Eminonu and Kadikoy.  

Since we stayed on the Asian side, we took the ferry twice this time.   From the ferry terminal, we could see the tourist spots such as Ayasofya Museum (left dome) and Suleymaniye Mosque (right dome) on the European side.  

At a park near Fatih District on the European side, seagulls were taking a break at a fountain.

"I bet you'll be coming back.  See you next time."

UNESCO Heritage Site

One morning we took a 3 hour minibus ride to Divrigi, one of the UNESCO Heritage sites in Turkey.  At a nearby hotel, a dove watched us stroll around in the small  town.

"I know you came here to see the old building with the 

ornate doors everyone fusses about."

From the hill where we stayed at, we saw the Ulu Camii (great mosque) with the ornate doors.   Crows and swallows fly high and low as if they wanted to show how free they were out there.

Up close, this is the UNESCO Heritage mosque built in 1229 by an order of the sultan.  It has three ornate doors with exquisite decorations, but we only saw one from behind the gate due to the renovation work going on.

A City on a High Plateau

Sivas is a city on a high plateau in the central Turkey.  Due to the high elevation, their summer has a  bright blue sky and cool air.  In the morning, the birds fly crisscross against the deep blue sky.

On the weekend, there was a festival going on.  At the city center square, a stage was set up where many dance troupes from neighboring towns came in to show off their dances for this day.

"We are the prettiest dancers in town!"

"We are the original line dancers in Turkish style."