Because this is a Part II, there must have been a Part I (can’t get anything by you guys!).  So, when last we left you, we were surviving the wilds of the African plains in . . . southern California.  Oh, and I forgot to point out in Part I, though you probably already know it, there are only two mammals that cannot jump:  elephants, and – me!

[Master of His Domain.]

[The Master says, “Feed me!”]

[Who you lookin’ at?]

[OK, now we’re going to do the ole horizontal ladder trick!]

[And away we go!]

[Come to momma.]

[Red birds, likely not related to cardinals.]    ]

[Frogs and weeds, frogs and weeds . . .]

[Parrots strafe the crowd.]

[That was neat!]

[Mr. Piggy!  OK, I forgot what his “real” name was, but this guy made several cameo appearances during the bird show.]

[Exit, stage left.]

[Another feathered beast.]

[Unknown variety, and the research seems daunting.]

[The talking parrot show!  🙂  ]

[Uh-oh, here comes a bad dude!]

[Don’t be unafraid because of  his relatively mild sounding appellation – secretary bird.]

[These bad boys stomp their victims (usually snakes) to death.]

[Run for your lives!]

[Too late, he’s got his eye on me!]

[I put this in because I don’t know why?  See anything?]

[I think we were waiting for these guys to come flying over the hill.]

[Obviously some brand of guinea hen?]

[Raptor!]

[There’s our guy again.  Obviously a camera “hog!”]

[Artsy shot, I guess?]

[Bird show’s over, what’s happenin’ at the lagoon?]

[Reetz out on the trail, looking for more excitement.]

[Chain-saw eagle]

[The supervisor doesn’t quite measure up to a condor.  But then, she seldom flies.]

[Trees . . . are they torrey pines?]

[The Biddies enjoy a vista as we’re in search of . . . the condor!]

[Looks promising ahead.]

[Ooops, farther away than I thought?]

[The national symbol.]

[Raptor, a hawk, I guess.]

[Owl!]

[The valley where we trammed.]

[The coastal sage scrub habitat in this area is unique in the world.]

[Yup, we don’t even have this around beautiful Lake Darling.]

[A scenic view, so named by me.]

[We finally made it to condor ridge.  A long slog through the groomed trails and walkways.]

[The supervisor shoots . . . and scores!  The next three shots are hers!  🙂   ]

[These condors are being rehabilitated.  I don’t know what crimes they perpetrated?]

[I was here first!]

[No, I was, carrion breath!]

[Issues were eventually resolved.]

[Can I take one home?]

[Leaving the condors, we pass various ungulates on the way down.]

[I’d recognize a bighorn sheep anywhere.]

[Hiding behind their what-passes-for-a-tree.]

[It’s so dry here that if you expectorate you double the normal annual precipitation.]

[But again, a scenic view.]

[Everything you ever wanted to know about coastal sage scrub habitat.]

[Without question, a cactus.]

[Back to the owls.  Nicely camouflaged.]

[Guessing a Harris hawk.]

[The Biddies are excited.  We’ve found the bonsai garden.]

[I want one, I want one!]

[They all have name tags, so I’ll let them speak for themselves as we roll along.]

[At least they can’t shed much in the fall.]

[Neat-o!]

[So I touched the benches and sat on the trees.]

[What a nice day!]

[As the sun began sinking slowly into the ocean . . . ]

[We began our ambling exit from a long day at the park.]

[There’s the door!]

[Now where’s the main entrance?]

[Oh, but first we had to see the new lion cubs.]

[The supervisor elbowed her way past older women and children for this closer-upper shot.]

[We’re getting close – found one of our pigs again.]

[And back to the big pig with the horn . . . and then we were outta there!  Escondido, vaya con dios!]

Up next:  Rushed to get this out (though still a lot of California left) – the first girls’ softball game is tonight.