Looks who's back -- the Bullocks orioles who nest each spring in the trees just across the valley. You can see them in the canopy, especially the male, so bright in flight, a streak of gold that always catches your eye.

Here he is, fresh from the bird bath next door, and about to raid the hummingbird feeder. (Even as I'm writing this, a pair of herons flew by, headed for the lake, and a rufous hummingbird is swooping and diving above the rosemary hedge, doing his aerobatic best to woo the girl he loves.)