8/08/2020
When the news came that the city, sponsored by a real estate developer,  will distribute free masks to citizens from 9am to 12am on Saturday, I took that as a good excuse to drag him out of the door, even though we are not short of masks.  We set off around 9:40 am, with bottles of water and hats ready for a stroll or a hiking afterwards.  

As we were approaching, still a few streets away, traffic slowed down, and we saw cars after cars on the right lane queuing miles long.  “The line starts here?”  I looked dubiously at the lineup cars of Mercedes, BMWs, Lexus or Toyotas. Could a box of free masks, which is now easily available at Costco for $20, lure so many people? My suspicion was soon confirmed as I saw policemen standing on the crossroads, under the traffic lights, waving their arms and helping with the traffic.  The sun, now high up in the sky, was beaming down relentlessly. Stopping at the red lights, I glanced sidelong at people in the next lane sitting behind the rolled-up windows, waiting patiently in the air-conditioned cars. We decided to drive on to the nearby wildlife sanctuary, passing by a same long line of cars snaking in the opposite direction. 

This sanctuary, a 300- acres marsh land, is adjacent to the city’s water plant. It is like a gem hidden amid the bustling city. Shrouded by tall bushy drought-resistant plants are a dozen ponds, where chemicals in the water are being filtered out before the cleaned water flows back to the sea or being utilized for irrigations.  The ponds, along with the grass and isolated islands in the center, provide a habitat for fish, birds, and animals. We used to frequent there in the weekends, during dawn, dusk or daylight for a stroll. 

We were thrilled to find a trail open again after being blocked for almost a decade. At the entrance, a few birds were scurrying for food on the ground. One bird, picking up the food from the ground, was feeding the other, beak to beak, like two birds kissing each other.  “It must be a male bird courting a female.” I said to him. But this was rebuffed, and he interpreted it as a mother feeding the baby. Unfortunately, our big camera was found to be out of battery, unknowingly, and what we missed was not only this, but later an osprey perching atop the high man-made wooden platform.  

Not very far as we walked in, we saw a new addition-- a three connected ball-shaped concrete construction, bulging in the middle and towering in height. Though coated in green, they still look like an intruder to the lively surroundings.  
The trails leading to the central ponds are dusty, gravelly and shady. When we got out of it, we were greeted by a small wooden bridge, through which a pond appears. But it can no longer be called a pond. The water dries up completely on one side, the parched mud at the bottom cracking and turning up.  A little water is left on the other lower side, on which scatter birds, poking their beaks into the mud for food.  Prolonged draught endangers the ponds, and this so-called wetland is in a dire need of rain. 

A big carp in the muddy pond.

We only walked for an hour or so, less than 6000 steps, before we turned back. 

Three late dragon fruit flowers bloomed last night. The picture was taken this morning 8/12/2020.

The other two bloomed the next day (8/12/20) in the darkness when the night fell.  A bit lazy that night, I held off till the next morning to pollinate, but to find that the flower petals were no longer open at 9am:(( Wait and see if they can still bear fruits. The picture below taken in the morning of 08/13/2020.