Thread by @joelsax47

Led a hike in the San Joaquin Marsh this afternoon. Brought my usual number of cameras but took fewer pictures than I had last week at Bolsa Chica. The weather was hot. Cool breezes blew across the ponds. I drank...

...all of my ice water. There were plenty of birds. The green around the ponds was surprisingly vibrant making it easy to see birds such as egrets and an Ibis. My group noted that there were far too few benches...

...where we could rest from the heat at the north end of the sanctuary. I decided to cut the hike short, omitting a whole loop around several of the ponds. No one protested.

#photography #photograph #stamps #postcard #desk #postcrossing
Joel Sax shared a #photo with you from the #Flickr app! Check it out:
flic.kr/p/2jsoxFU

Some years ago, I was active on a website called #Postcrossing. The idea is that you exchange postcards with other members. There is a system for arranging the exchanges that allows you to send out a greater number of cards...

...the more exchanges in which you participate. When I started school again, I deactivated my account.

I have a few exchanges that are especially memorable. One was with a Cuban professor. I was scared when I mailed the card, fearing that I would be marked...

...as an enemy of the state. Nothing happened. He did not try to convert me to Communism and I did not try to convert him to Capitalism. I could almost enjoy having him as a penpal.

Another was with a man in Taiwan who wanted postcards featuring...

... traditional costumes. Mischief possessed me. I found a card with two girls wearing swimming suits at the beach. On the back I wrote that these women were wearing the traditional costumes of the summer holidays. A week later...

...I received his reply. "I received your card in the mail today," he wrote. "You made me very happy."

I bet I did.

#photograph #photography #estuary #creek #levee #wetlands
Joel Sax shared a #photo with you from the #Flickr app! Check it out:
flic.kr/p/2jsoxxh

I have come to the photos I took at Bolsa Chica last week. I took a different route than usual through the marsh, avoiding a stretch by the Pacific Coast Highway because it was narrow: you couldn't implement social distancing. This last photo...

...shows the wide trail atop the levees that gave you plenty of space for social distancing. The only group that gave us a problem was a loose gang of teenagers which took up nearly three quarters of the width of the trail. I handled this...

...by breathing out as I approached and passed them. Other people gave us lots of room, even those who didn't wear masks. (In fairness, outdoors is safer with social distancing than indoors.) I've mentioned that 80% of the people we met...

...wore masks. Today at San Joaquin, I estimate the number at sixty to seventy. I feel hopeful for greater adherence on the trails.

Many of the Sunrise to Sunset group leaders do not require masks or social distancing. They set the size of their groups...

...to forty members. This lack of consideration threatens lives. There no way of knowing who might have contracted #COVID19, so I cannot tell you if this has endangered lives.

I limit my groups to twelve members and require that people wear masks. It makes for...

...a more intimate group which lets everyone have the chance to get to know everyone else as well as practice social distancing. A few other leaders also insist on masks and social distancing. I don't think I can do anything except set an example.

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