Steve Tronick

@geefadj

AKA "GeeFadj." Birds, dogs, cats, flowers, sunsets, Santa Cruz. All media photos are mine. Please post your media photos (no adult content) so I can follow you😁📸!

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Bluesky

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Steve Tronick@geefadj· Jul 11

Happy summer! Daddy & mommy black-headed grosbeaks. Hope to post the baby next.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· May 24

Baby (fledgling) Hooded Oriole! This is "our" first baby this spring. As usual, I had to run to get my camera and hope the settings were correct. So please don't expect perfect exposures. Note the red feathers under the beak (Fig. 2), but they were transient.

Fledgling Hooded Oriole. Spotted him a few days ago sitting on the deck rail. Very exciting that she/he made it through the high winds.

First visit by this little cutie. This beauty is our Highlight of the year.

Baby Oriole deliberately (we hope) posing among the flowers. A bit under-exposed, but I will be fully prepared to acquire better images by the next visit.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· May 13

Dinner time! Watching TV on the couch, and then Oriole_Dash showed up. There was little light, and I had to shoot through a window. Images not high quality because of "almost" impossible conditions. Some Photoshop tweaks were applied.

Male hooded oriole preparing dinner (insect legs protruding from his mouth). He was waiting his turn to feed the babies in the nest under the eaves.

Female hooded oriole (right-center) getting ready to fly to the nest with dinner. Male oriole sitting on branch above and to the left, but out-of-focus, because I had to use wide open aperature.

"Mommy-O" posing on branch, ready to deliver grasshopper for dinner.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· May 6

How do you camoflage yourself if you're bright yellow? Find a tree with yellow leaves. Didn't notice him at first. Nothing like birding while you're working!

Hooded male oriole (center) trying to become invisible. Took forever to get these images. If you look closely, the image is very noisy because of shooting through double-pane window, wrong lens, etc.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· May 3

"Mimi of the Blooms" caring for her "Bloomies."

Intense debate about posting this image of Mimi, but I won. Pink and red rhododendrons surrounding her.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· May 2

Sasha's latest attempt to devise a #Caturday hiding place. Weaknesses: When Sasha attacks "prey" outside the tunnel from within, it's really noisy. She makes lots of noise when she merely walks through it (calls it her tunnel of doom). You can see through some sections of the tunnel from the top.

She should be asleep instead of finding prey (typically, our little white Havanese.

She's not using her cat-detection device.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· May 2

Wishing you a Happy May! Our Rhododendrons & Azaleas are about 50% bloomed; today's weather overcast, misty, chilly (perfect for photograpy.

About 75% of the rhodo's (pink and red) and azaleas (bottom right) have bloomed. My wife's the "bloom-meister" and nomenclature guru.

Touch of sunlight at top right of image. The next wave of mature bloomies coming soon (blooms - yellow/red) scattered about bush).

Azeleas on right (orange-ish); rhodo's on left. Took this from the back deck with my 200mm-500mm "macro."

Little buddies (aka bloomies?) starting to bloom. Bush located along back fence. Nice combination of rhodo's (red & pink).

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 27

Glamour boy (black-headed male grosbeak) looking for jelly.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 27

Prettiest bird in the woods asking, “Where’s the jelly today?”

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 24

House painting is painful and should be avoided at all costs; however, Sasha enjoys it.

Sasha enjoying the view from her furniture pile, has no problem watching us paint.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 20

Say "Goodbye" to great weather. Male Hooded (thanks to eric-mendelson.bsky.social for the correction!) Oriole enjoying the sun yesterday (4/19/26). The "Daddy-O" was perched outside my office window. Enjoy the week!

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 19

Dear Sasha, So why do you think this will be a better hiding place than using the sink ( #LateCaturday #Caturday #TV)? OK, hope you come up with a better one by next week.

Sorry! Late #Caturday! Sasha thinks that hiding behind the TV is better than using the sink. TV on the left, Sasha in the middle, part of TV shelf on the right. Pink & white Sasha-locators hanging through her fluff.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 18

April 16, 2026: "No static at all." View from Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, CA. My alternate interpretation of this famous Steely Dan lyric would reflect the intense blue sky, calm atmosphere with air at perfect temperatures. But these conditions will be replaced by rain on Monday. Happy Weekend!

Looking east, and taken along the fence above Steamer Lane. Colorful ice plant and breathtaking blue dominate the view. Warm and calm water as well at pleasant temps, & "Nothin' but blues and Elvis." (or chill out!).

Looking north from Steamer Lane to Mt. Loma Prieta. Yes, the famous one.
Iimage taken along the fence above Steamer Lane. Colorful ice plant and breathtaking blue sky & water dominate the view. Warm and calm water as well at pleasant temps, & "Nothin' but blues and Elvis." (or chill out!).

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 10

Spring rains are here, heavy this AM, will pick up again this PM. Early next week would be a good time to visit the Carrizo Plain National Monument - in the middle of nowhere, but an easy drive from San Luis Obispo; or to watch the anticipated large swell at Steamer Lane. Photo from 2019.

Wow! Wild flowers (bright yellow) forming a a breathtaking carpet leading to the mountains. I don't think this is a Mac screen saver/wall paper. Didn't get lucky with the vapor trails. Photo from late March, 2019.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 6

Official spring at our house starts 4/1/## with the return of the black-headed orioles and grosbeaks. So far, only a glimpse of the grosbeaks, a few good opportunities for orioles, male shown here. Hoping for more, the orioles are nesting under the eves. Can't wait for the little ones. Enjoy!!

Male black-headed oriole perching on one of my wife's plants (I flunked google). The birds make mainly two short, but distinctive chirps. Looking forward to babies - nest under eaves.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 4

Hah! Finally found Sasha's #Caturday hideout.

Sasha does a good job hiding on #Caterday. Finally found her in the sink between detergent dispensers. Note that she didn't turn on the water.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Apr 4

Two young red-shouldered (red-tailed?) hawks perched on a eucalyptus branch behind the house (Photo taken several years ago ("captured" seems inappropriate for live subjects).

Two young hawks, likely red-tails, perched on a eucalyptus back of the house. We rarely see the immature birds, but we assume they mature, because we frequently see and hear mature birds.
(Anyone experience the 4.6 quake, epicenter Boulder Creek, a few days ago that initially felt and sounded like a bomb dropped, followed by severe shaking for about 30 sec? Amazingly, no significant damage to structures!) Our neighbors' little boys slept through it!!)

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 29

Sasha dreaming of Catwood trees unaware that Ella joined her. #Caturday

White fluff on the left sleeping next to Sasha on the right on their favorite couch pillows.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 27

Sasha (1 yo) looking for Catwood tree photos, not to be outdone by Dogwoods. Note antiquities, #1. Ella's wondering why this would be a problem, and was particularly annoyed by my quick-pass "out-of-focus," too shallow DOF photo #2 of her, taken on my way to capture Dogwood (peak yesterday), #3.

Sasha's at the computer looking for "Catwood" trees on the monitor on the left, which is displaying the system screensaver (rotating cubes). Still have the MacBookPro on the right. Note actual books on the shelf to the right.

Disgruntled Ella because of shallow focus, insufficient sharpness. Asking to her self, "Why on earth would anybody want a "Catwood" tree?

Bright midday sun allowed use of "old-days settings" (f16, 1/1000, ISO 250). Yesterday was reported to be peak of dogwood blooms. My wife planted the tree ages ago and is considered a family member.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 21

Kabloom!! Spring arrived as scheduled, although the temps were in the hi 80s & low 90s (ºF). A bit cooler today, waiting for perfect sunlight. Our dogwoods are a nice reminder of the time we lived in Reston, VA. Cheers (looking for Sasha on this #Caturday)

Dogwood tree in our backyard with abundant, colorful flowers. Blooming occurred during a heat wave (low 90s outside).

Closeup of two dogwood flowers. Nice pose against the tree leaves.
Blooming occurred during a heat wave (low 90s outside).

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 18

The sun will be setting behind the point in a few days. Will reluctantly have to find another view point. Looks to me like maybe there's some green around the sun in the first image. Hoping that the surf will be up in a few days as predicted. Cheers!

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 9

Sasha was enraged that I forgot to post this photo in time for #Caturday, although she didn’t realize that her tail gives away her secret hiding place.

Sash’s tail (upper middle) gives away her secret hiding place (between her mommy and the dogs).

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 8

Bye Standard Time. Thanks for leaving us with a nice sunset! Please enjoy the rest of the weekend, and have a pleasant week. #SantaCruz #LighthousePoint #WestCliffDrive #Sunsets #SunsetPhotography

Photos from Lighthouse Point, Santa Cruz, CA. Nice splashing of reds, yellows, and blue sky. Temperature was moderate this evening, so we watched the entire sunset from the guard rail and not the car. Nice way to start PDT.

Photos from Lighthouse Point, Santa Cruz, CA. Nice splashing of reds, yellows. Temperature was moderate this evening, so we watched the entire sunset from the guard rail and not the car. Nice way to start PDT. The far point middle-right is where West Cliff Drive ends.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 7

Corkscrew Swamp Sancturary, Naples, Florida. Images captured April, 2011. 1. Piliated Woodpecker - Saw them frequently when we lived in VA but no photos🙁. 2. Cardinal - We miss these beauties! 3. Red-bellied Woodpecker (I think). 4. Egret, first I've posted here. #birdphotograpy #corkscrewswamp

Love these giants! They were frequently observed in our back yard (Reston, VA), but I never saw them when I had my camera out. Photo taken in the magical Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida.

Can't miss these beauties but not on West Coast, CA. He spent lots of time posing. If you have a chance, visit Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker spent lots of chatting up his mates. From Corkscrew Sanctuary.

There are so many egrets posted on Bluesky. Here's one of mine getting ready to go to lunch in the Corkscrew Swamp.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 3

Views from Lighthouse Point, Santa Cruz, CA. Large crowds yesterday celebrating warm weather, beautiful sky; with numerous performers and bubblers. #1 . Bubbleset ( looking east) (find bubbles reflecting the lighthouse & sunset). #2. Bubble girls #3. Note sunset worshipers on far cliff.

Two bubble ladies were very productive, delighting the kids. Not shown is almost full moon out of frame top left. It was difficult finding a shot without identifiable faces. One of the bubble ladies warned anybody taking photos that she did not permit photos of her without permission but didn't provide her contact information - guess she thought everybody knew her name; but otherwise, she was delightful.

Girls having a terrific time going after bubbles. I think they could have grabbed one and floated away. Note Bubble Lady's bubble paraphernalia. Facing east.

Great "wee" sunset (lower midframe) viewed by people watching on the far cliff - lower right. The only clouds floated along the horizon, but even without them to generate an awesome sunset, the "naked" sky was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I didn't notice the spectators until I downloaded the files!

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Mar 1

Dramatic Sky! (but not a dramatic sunset.) Haven't witnessed a mind blowing sunset for the past 2 weeks. Here's tonite's view - dramatic clouds, a bit of color. And...it's been warm in Santa Cruz this week (shirts/shorts). Hope you're having a nice weekend (news not withstanding!).

Seagulls flew in at the perfect time (upper frame). Not a dramatically colorful sunset, but we'll take it!

Nice burst of color midframe, as the sun completely set.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Feb 28

Local Acapulco Diving from Lighthouse Point, Santa Cruz, CA. #1. Used "sunset" lens, couldn't get to telephoto, but image gives a perspective of the cliffs/divers. #2. Inverted takeoff from point on right. #3. Ooops!! #4. Spectator not interested as diver takes off.

Note spectators, upper left; Seal Rock in mid-upper frame. Waiting for sunset that never happened, but my spotter (wife, of course) said, "Get over to the Point!" Ran over but didn't have time to switch to tele. Wondering if these cliff divers assisted in the rescue of people from a flipped-over motor boat caught in Steamer Lane's big waves, February 6th. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/02/23/california-surfers-rescue-family-boat/

10 for form! Extra points for nice arm band (right-center).

Bump on the road to cliff-jumping stardom (upper mid-frame).

Spectator not interested in diver. I never noticed 'till now the strip of white rock (bottom left to right). Water here is pretty shallow.

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Feb 20

Sunset from Lighthouse Field, Santa Cruz, CA, 02-19-2026

Lighthouse Field, Santa Cruz, CA. Seal rock upper lett; Bird rock lower left. Unsolicited advice for photographers: 1. Avoid dangerous places when you can. The difference in distances to the sun from me and the photographer is infinitesimal. 2. Don't turn your back on the ocean. 3. Don't use expensive gear, if possible. 3. Potentially avoid injury, drowning, etc. by wearing a life vest, surfer's helmet, etc.

Sunset and gulls from Lighthouse Field, Santa Cruz, CA, 02-19-2026. West Cliff Drive on the right. Wow! It was freezing (for here) - mid-40s!

Steve Tronick@geefadj· Feb 19

Playing hooky from taxes. Rain was predicted (correctly) around sunset, and it was a very cold and wet day. So here's what we saw (wife & dogs stayed in car.) (Check out @menestune.bsky.social ) if you want to see awesome sunsets!)