Changing of the Seasons

We were late getting to the Eastern Sierra to close the cabin.  The aspen were well past their peak.

I got what color I could then looked around to see what else I might find to photograph.

Over at the creek I realized why we had such a hard time heating up the cabin the previous night.

There were some wonderful ice formations along the creek.

The next day I decided to check out a small cascade up by the lake.   The sun was in the wrong spot for the easy shot.  The sun flare wasn't nearly as pleasing as in the shot of the aspen. To get in a position to put the sun to the side I would have clime around and up the large rock the water was flowing over.  Is this old lady still spry enough?

Of course!

And, of course, my lens cap and my foot wound up in a pool of water.  I rescued the lens cap and my shoe was just a little damp.  

Find more views of our world at Our World, Tuesday

The Sound of a Different Era

From time to time I hear above me a sound that I associate with WWII moves, it sounds like a squadron of old prop planes.

 

I assume they are coming from our local airfield, perhaps residents here at Sun City since they fly mid day, mid week.

 Sometimes the cute little red biplane seems to have trouble keeping up.

I don't know if they are practicing for some airshow or just honing their skills.

Their final maneuver as they headed away was a missing man formation as this plane pealed off and the others flew on.    

I always enjoy watching these old planes, common when I was a kid but not so common to see today.

Do you remember the skywriters? 

See more views of the sky at Skywatch, Friday

Along Moonstone Beach

Moonstone beach is a wonderful spot to stroll.  Whether one stays on the boardwalk along the bluff or ventures down to the water's edge it is well worth a trip to Cambria, California.

Up on the boardwalk you can get a great view of the ocean and beach.  There are several of these driftwood structures down on the beach.

I wish I knew what this plant is.  They were common along the boardwalk, some not quite finished with their bloom others dried out.

The cypress trees along the walk had lovely mature cones.

Jules found the footing too uneven to venture onto the beach so I went alone to view its treasures.

Tide pool always lure me to explore.

I saw lots of anemones

but only one seastar.  This one was covered with snails and hermit crabs occupying snail shells.

If you find yourself in this part of California try to make time to walk along Moonstone Beach.

Find other parts of our world at Our World, Tuesday.

Coastal Skies

Low clouds and fog are common along the California coast.

The sky was clear enough as we headed south from Monterey to get a peak at the Bixby Bridge although we were unable to find parking at the more popular view point.

The clear sky allowed the beautiful blue of the pacific to shine.

The next morning and farther down the coast we could barely make out the ocean.

With a little patience the ocean and cliffs appeared but the sky was still missing.

As evening approached the sun tried to peak through a few holes in the clouds giving a sheen of molten silver to the sea.

See more skies at SkyWatch Friday

Birds Along the California Coast

I showed some of the sea mammals (here)  I saw on our trip down the coast highway but we also saw a lot of coastal birds.  Moss landing is not just a place for spotting sea otters it is also a great birding spot.

We watched these terns and pelicans for awhile, they were hanging out near the otters.

Then we moved to an area with shallower water to see some wading birds like these two egrets, a great and a snowy.

I managed to catch a shot of some sand pipers in flight.

This curlew posed nicely for me and gave me a nice series of images. 

For some reason it made me think of a ballerina.

 

 Down at Cambria we saw a regular feeding frenzy of the pelicans.  They dived straight down into the water. 

 Find more birds at Wild Bird Wednesday

Rain!

We have had our first rain of the season here in the Sacramento Valley.  Some got a lot, some got little, at our house we received 3/4".  We hope that it is just the beginning of lots more to come.

  Perhaps this sunset rainbow is a good omen.

In addition to the rain we were treated to a spectacular sunset.

Find more views of the sky at SkyWatch Friday.