Todays Walk

Wow, we actually walked two days in a row!

Terry likes to walk near the house, I like the beach, so we've agreed to switch off.  Today, it was the beach, so we took off for Rio del Mar.

One reason I like walking there is the pelicans.  

You all know I love pelicans, 

they're just the most beautiful birds!

This next shot is way too busy, 

but I always get excited 

when I actually get a shot of a pelican 

landing or taking off.

While this guy isn't a pelican 

(duh!) 

I liked this shot.  

I'm not sure what he's eating,
but this looks MUCH better
if you click to enlarge.

On the way home, 

we stopped at the supermarket 

and this guy was just sitting in the parking lot.

And I couldn't resist just one shot 

of the light through the leaves.

If walking can be this nice, 

maybe we'll be able to keep it up!

Flowers, Pelicans, a Bee and Enrique!

Sometimes I think we have to make big old plans 

for a day to be special.

That said, in my heart,
I know that's not the case.

Today was a perfect example.

Our big plans were to go to the Post Office, 

then to Costco for a few essentials.

Our local Post Office does a lovely job on their flowers.

Poppies always make me smile.

Disneyland used to plant yellow and purple flowers

 at the entrance to Tomorrowland.  

It was a color scheme that I always loved 

and whenever I see it, 

it strikes a chord.

Wow, I FINALLY got a half way decent picture of a bee!

(Click to Enlarge).

 

On the way to Costco, 

I asked Terry if we could swing by West Cliff Drive, 

since there seemed to be flowers 

blooming everywhere.

He thought that was a great idea.

Once out by the ocean, 

we decided to stop by the gardens 

at the Shrine of Saint Joseph

We love these gardens, 

they're right on the ocean, 

and the array of flowers is just amazing.

We wandered around, 

smelling the sweet air and snapping pictures.

Terry took this with his phone.

Pansies make me happy,

I love their happy little faces.

Is this beautiful or what?

Another shot from Terry's phone.

Look at these colors!

More pansies, 

my colors again.

As we wandered, a gentleman came up 

and asked if we were enjoying the gardens.  

We told him we always do!  

He seemed quite pleased
and told us they were his work.

We were blown away!  

He started this endeavor only eight years ago 

and the whole thing has been done with cuttings.

As we chatted, 

our appreciation of the gardens 

grew by leaps and bounds.  

He asked if we'd like to see something special 

and of course, we said yes.  

He took us around to the front of one of the residences, 

made us climb some steps 

and not turn around till he told us to.

When we turned around, 

this was what we saw. 

(Click to Enlarge).

Can you imagine being here 

every single day?

Terry went across the street and took this shot

from the front of the residence 

(using his iPhone and AutoStitch).

And I took this picture of Enrique 

in front of some of his most beautiful flowers.

What a delight he was, 

we will certainly visit him again.

Being right on the ocean, 

I had to try for a few pelican shots.

These aren't pelicans, 

but I liked the silhouette,

Then I tried to shoot both flowers 

and the ocean behind them.

The ocean kind of got lost.

If I could live right here,

I might stay in California forever.

More not pelicans

Not a great shot, 

but he seemed to love 

soaring close to the waves.

I believe this is a baby brown.

Coming in for a landing.

And finally, a shot I'm happy with.

So this little sojourn turned into a wonderful day.  

We had glorious weather, 

saw beautiful flowers, 

made a new friend 

and got to photograph some of my favorite bird.

Like I say

It"s a Coot

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Geez, I just don't have a lot to write these days.

That said, I thought I'd let everybody know that the bird with the funny feet is a Coot.

I found that out using one of my iPad apps, duh!

Do you Like Birds??

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One of the things that I love the most about my iPad and iPhone is the tremendous variety of apps available.

Ever since we first took off in the motorhome, we suddenly became excited about the tremendous number of birds we'd see wherever we went. While we're not serious birders, we sure find them fascinating.

When I first got an iPod touch, I found a new (at the time) app named iBird Explorer Pro. I purchased it and have been quite happy with it. But since that time, a lot of other bird and nature apps have become available.

So you can imagine how pleased I was to see that Peterson's Birds of North America is currently on sale for $4.99 (down from $14.99). Like the great books these people put out, the app features beautiful illustrations, photographs, bird calls, the ability to keep a personal list, and so much more.

While I love all these apps, they can become expensive (because sadly, I'm an admitted app junkie . . .).

But if, like me, you love a bargain, here's a tip. I've signed up with a website called AppShopper.com, where you can mark which apps you're interested in and when they go on sale, they send you an email!

When you look at the price of most birding books, the apps are less expensive, and in many ways much better. For those of us in a motorhome, they certainly weigh less and take up less room. And for me, the best part is that once you buy them, they get updated regularly, so instead of having to buy a new book every couple of years, you're pretty much covered. Plus, if like us, you have multiple devices (iphones, iPads) you only have to buy an app one time and you can share it across all your devices.

I also love that when we're out looking at birds, I usually have my phone with me, whereas I've never had a bird book handy when I was needed one!

If you're into birds (or wildflowers, trees, mammals, butterflies, whatever) I suggest you take a look in the app store, because there's a lot of great things waiting for you to discover.

If you've found any other great nature apps, please let me know.

I assume these would also be available for those of you on Android devices, but you'll just have to search them out yourself, because (obviously) I'm a hard core Apple girl (no pun intended).

Blossoms, Birds and Beaches

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Not too many comments,
just a few pictures to share

Seacliff Beach

Perspective

Piling

Seagull with Attitude

Purple Breasted Pigeon

Comfy

Bert and Ernie

Beach Art

Stairs

Poppies 1

Succulents

Poppies 2

That's it for tonight.

Pelicans (and a Seal)

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Slowly, I'm working my way through the Aloha Festival pictures. I have so many of the hula troop that they're going to have to wait for another day.

But they will be posted, as I promised several people at the festival.

While most of the pictures in this post are pelicans, I got this one shot of a sleeping seal. The seals are getting harder to shoot, since whoever is in charge of the wharf has made a new place for them to hang out. It's almost entirely under the wharf. Nice for the seals and sea lions, not so nice for us that like to take pictures.

I had to literally hang over
the side of the wharf to get this shot.

If you look really close
(or click to enlarge)
you can see a pelican flying
through the center of this shot.
Mostly I wanted to show
the old casino at the Boardwalk.

I'm just so fascinated by the pelicans,
I can't seem to get enough shots.

Sometimes I think they're posing
just for me.

I took eight quick shots of this guy diving for food.
This one was the clearest,
but I still can't tell what he's after.
Can anyone make out the fish under the water?

This one's easy.
Kids on the dock were feeding this guy
some kind of bait.

He's a real primadonna.

Larry, Curly and Moe
or maybe
Manny, Moe and Jack.

I got a little artistic urge with this one.

I played with it a bit more.
It reminds me of those old bird anatomy books.

More posing.
Are these the most graceful birds or what?

This would have been such a great shot,
but the guy in the back kind of ruined it for me.
I tried taking him out,
but it was too much like work.
Plus, I would lose all the edge detail of the bird.
Just squint your eyes and pretend he's not there.

That's it for today.
In the next day or two,
there will be lots of hula pictures.