Triunfo Canyon
Definitely the best find of the day. A very cool beetle--hard to get a good photo. He was swimming around in one of the ephemeral ponds. The second and third photo show it releasing an air bubble

I encountered this pocket gopher aboveground. Every time I moved, it would lunge forward in a threat display, audibly grinding its teeth. I kept walking past it, then turned back a minute or two later to find that it had burrowed into the hillside (second photo).

super excited to find a nudibranch new to me and not so common on iNat. Taking the time in the tide pools has its rewards and today was special to be in the right place and right time to find this gorgeous pink nudi :)

California spotted owl
This female spotted owl raised a few broods of chicks. Unfortunately, a destructive wildfire burned her habitat. This once abundant species is in trouble. It's such a sad situation for such a beautiful owl.

I was surprised to find both T. flavicans and T. chrysophthalmus growing on the twigs of the same deciduous oak; different branches but only a couple feet apart.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64335267

as mentioned by my hiking companion, @andreacala, these birds were a highlight of the day. And though my camera was not equipped for me to do these majestic birds justice, they helped by flying close by and gave me a better chance for a decent shot or two. Of course, the best photos can be found on Andrea's iNat observations of the day :)

This distant herd of Plains Zebra were photographed through the wildfire smoke in the hills above Highway 1 north of San Simeon. These are the descendants of a herd that William Randolph Hearst kept in his private zoo. In 1937, suffering from financial losses, the animals were released. Today, there are over a hundred wild Plains Zebra living in the coastal grasslands between San Simeon and Piedras Blancas. While they are the offspring of captive animals, these are now free roaming. reproducing zebras that survive without assistance from people on the parkland and ranch lands that formally made up Heasrt's quarter million acre estate.

Additional information can be found here:

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/slo-weird/article234196727.html

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-skinned-zebra-hearst-castle-san-simeon-20170117-story.html

I decided to walk down my alley to see what I could find and amazingly, growing out of a small dirt patch that is overgrown with weeds and only about 4 inches square was this poppy. I'm sure it was not planted as the whole area behind this building is overgrown with weeds and looks pretty unkempt

This is the second batch of eggs this female has hatched since I began watching her on May 15, 2020.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46192760

The eggs from this current batch were laid on July 1, 2020

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51742776

and hatched sometime in the morning of July 28, 2020. I believe the white bundle at the bottom of the web is the gathered remains of the hatched spiderings' eggs. I noticed a couple of weeks before hatching the eggs get a distinctive white cap on them.

A continuing study....

I have been watching this female Marbled Cellar Spider for some time. On May 15, 2020 I photographed her in her maternity web with a bundle of eggs in her jaws.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46192760

By May 27, 2020 her eggs had hatched and there were quite a few spiderlings hanging in her web:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/47536239

A few days later, the spiderlings had dispersed and I noticed a male staying in close proximity to her. On June 26, 2020 she was back in her maternity web with another egg bundle in her jaws and the male occupying a space just outside the web

These little guys have carved up and made a nest inside an old log in my front yard. The females move extremely quick, so it's hard to get a clear picture of them. They seem unbothered by my presence.
To clarify: I did not remove the bee I'm holding on my finger. I actually almost stepped on him so I picked him up and moved him away from foot traffic.