Birds

Night Sky

Last night the moon looked cool so I tried to get a pick. While they are not great I still like them and thought I would share. I need to do a bit more playing with settings and all but here they are.

Silly Miss Red

I was outside taking pictures of birds and suddenly Red took off like a shot had been fired. I whipped around and snapped this pic. She looks like she is in a horse race and way ahead of everyone!

She cracks me up the way she can stick her ears straight out! She usually does it when she wants something from me: Pick me up, let me out there, are we going for a walk....

A horse was being ridden in the field behind our house and usually the dogs will charge back and forth along the fence barking. I thought it a good opportunity to practice some speed shots. Well, the dogs were pretty lazy about really charging so it looks like they are just calmly loping along the fence.

Here Red is really barking at the horse. I am not sure she has a foot on the ground.

This beautiful horse and rider are what the silly dogs were barking at. They can be quite annoying but I love that they get some great exercise when there is a horse around.

For you Steven

This is an "almost" old lady on her 49th birthday!

For that occasion Rick, my "little" brother Steven and his girlfriend Carrie went to Ocenview mine in Pala.

Sometimes a rock is just a rock!

While we didn't find the million dollar gem, this day was fun! I wasn't sure what I was getting and just stuffed things I thought interesting in my bag. I thought I got nothing, but after we got home Rick said I did better than him! I disagree as he came home with a crystal clear gem that looks like ice and I only got things that struck my fancy.

Young Male Cardinal

Red was yapping her head off outside and I went out to see what she was barking at. Just kids across the pond. There were some birds near the feeder so I went and got my camera. When I got back there was just this lone young male cardinal. I was surprised at how close he let me get. I was using the 300mm lens but it is set the same in all three pictures and I think they show how he let me creep closer and closer.

Births

I was very lucky when I went to see the elephant seals calving. There were 3 docents down from Ano Nuevo hoping to see a birth and since they are experienced in what to look for I stuck with them. They were a delight to talk to and had a wealth of information to give. We stood and watched 2 different groups of 3 females all morning with no success but did get in on 2 that we weren't watching. Rick wasn't feeling well that day so after taking him back to the hotel and getting some lunch I went back to the beach. I noticed 3 females that looked like they were in labor and stood watching them. By then the area had cleared of its earlier visitors so I stood alone just watching and waiting. It was a very peaceful time. Soon a young man came over and we talked and then his girlfriend came to stand with us. We were not disappointed! Soon the first female delivered-it was a little scary as she had a young Beta bull bothering her though it all, but it was a happy birth. Immediately afterwards the second female delivered and a few minutes later the third di too but we didn't actually see that one as we were so intent on the 2 that had just been born. Soon the clean up crew came swooping in and did their job. You can see how close the first 2 were.

Hearst Castle

I believe San Simeon is better known for Hearst Castle than its elephant seals. While I spent way more time down on the beach with the elephant seals we did do 2 tours of Hearst Castle. Tour 1 and 3 for those that are familiar with them. All the tours include a look at both pools. The outdoor pool is under renovation. Apparently there was a known leak that got much worse after the earthquake last year. It is drained but still beautiful. The indoor pool is always just plain gorgeous. Makes you want to dive right in! What a shame they are not used. Well I understand that there is an employee party once a year where the indoor pool is used. The castle in the distance was shot from the tour bus on the ride down the mountain. Going off season has its advantages. The tour groups can be as large as 56 but we had a group of less than 20 both times. Gives you more time to view the rooms, take pictures (no flash or tripods allowed) and ask questions. Just wonderful.

Some Elephant Seals

The coast off of San Simeon is the place to go for Elephant Seal sightings! Jan/Feb is the calving season and we were there at a great time. I am putting just a few pics on now to give you the general idea of what we saw. We arrived in San Simeon right before dusk and took a quick peek and we were not disappointed! The sand was littered with hundreds of huge and little bodies. Babies are born at 60-80 pounds and within 4 weeks puff up to 300 pounds! The males are about 5000 pounds and really dwarf the females. I forget the weight of the average female. Babies are born unable to swim and the mommies actually go back to sea leaving the helpless weaners to fend for themselves. They form into groups we silly humans call weaner pods.

Bragging

As many of you know Rick and I went to California on a coastal trip. Our main purpose was to see the elephant seals calving. We were in San Simeon for 3 days and also made it up to Ano Nuevo for their elephant seal tour. More on those trips will follow along with a pic or two. I think between us we took about 1500 (the whole trip, not just the seals)! We are both rather disappointed with the quality of our photos but I should be able to find at least 3 that will do.

What I am bragging about are my 2 older boys. We stopped in to see Jason on the way up the coast (and again on the way down with a delicious dinner at his restaurant) and he gave me a magazine with his picture in it. Actually it is in there twice, once announcing the article's page and then in the article itself. It is in Food & Home Nov 06- Jan 07 issue. (He is the handsome one!)

On my birthday we stayed with Joe in San Diego and he too had a magazine for me. The Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications Simply Perfect Before & After Early Spring 2007 issue. There is a 6 page spread of the work and his name is listed in the resources section.