HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

I blinked and it has been three weeks since I last posted anything! How did that happen? I had a wonderful week away in San Diego but as for the other two weeks, I am really not sure where they went. I know work has been fairly crazy but then, when isn't it? So I honestly don't have an excuse for the long break, I guess life just got in the way, as it does!
My break in San Diego was blissful, my husband was attending a conference so I had the lovely, long, sunny days to myself. I was horribly lazy and spent my time strolling along the seafront and enjoying the seafaring atmosphere.


Our hotel was right on the seafront so even lounging in our room or lying by the pool I could watch the shipping traffic. San Diego is one of my favorite cities. The fact that it is always sunny and warm does help but also it is a refreshing combination of traditional structures, ultra modern buildings


and a bustling sea port.


There is also a huge military presence


Most of the hardware is kept well away from public access but some decommissioned vessels are open to the public.


The vast majority of vessels are current and active, and every day there is some training going on somewhere. The Navy SEALs were practicing retrieving people from the sea one day when I was watching, the helicopter flew down so close to the water that it almost disappeared into the spray it created.


One of the most spectacular civilian craft was the massive Americas Cup trimaran. It was in port for the entire time we were there and it really is a remarkable vessel. It is hard to convey the size of it with a picture


But maybe this shot of one of the crew working up in the rigging will make it clearer. Check out the size of the mast!


And what of the 'natural' world? Well what was in evidence had a common theme - fish eaters! No surprise there then! Sea lions spent their days along a similar line to me, the vast majority of it spent lounging on the seafront, with an occasional foray out for food. At least I didn't have to catch my own!


The best dressed fisherman was definitely this dapper Snowy Egret. It doesn't matter how many times I see this species, I can't get enough of those outrageous yellow feet!


I had plenty of chance to get my fill of this guy as he was totally focused on his fishing.


It was definitely one of those vacations that I didn't want to end.


All I have to do now is get back into the groove of posting regularly!


Photo Credits - CJT & DominickV

FIVE GREATEST JOYS IN NATURE

This is a great meme that I got from Doug at Gossamer Tapestry and that he, in turn, got from Roy at The Fenland Walker. When we are stuck inside longing to be out enjoying nature without risking hypothermia this has to be the next best thing - list your five greatest joys in nature.

1. The African Bush


This will always be where my spirit lies. Once having lived there it so utterly permeates ones soul that there is never anything that can come close to it. (I guess I should never say never, but certainly, so far!) The sense of how small and insignificant you are in the overall scheme of things is certainly sobering and yet at the same time it is a good lesson to learn. But above and beyond that, the endless new sights, the smells (I never was more aware of my sense of smell than when I lived in the bush, it could tell you so much), the wonderful sounds, both day and night and, of course, the jaw-droppingly spectacular and varied wildlife, from the tiniest termite to the majestic elephant and everything in between. I loved the constantly changing landscape as the hot season progressed and then the amazing smell of petrichor when the rains finally came. The onset of the rainy season bought about an almost overnight transformation as animals seemed to rejoice and plants flourished and blossomed almost instantly. I felt so alive and part of the natural world living in this amazing habitat.

2.Ornithology


Living in Africa it was impossible not to become captivated by the spectacular array of birds. In my immediate area there were over four hundred species recorded. When the safari season got a little quieter, some of us used to have a group called the One Hundred Club. We would go out and see how long it would take us to see one hundred different species of birds! It was usually somewhere between two and three hours and sometimes considerably less. We would all get very grumpy if we went over three hours! As the years went by it became, unofficially, my area of expertise and so whenever keen ornithologists came to stay at our camp, I would usually be the guide to take them out. It is a wonderful pastime and incredibly addicitve. One of the things I like most about it is that you never stop learning. Imagine how strange it was for me when I moved to America, having never even visited here before, and I didn't know a single bird species! I can remember being incredibly excited when I saw my first American Robin in the park! My husband (to be) looked at me as if I was slightly insane and said, rather disparigingly, 'it's a Robin!' My one regret is, having lived on three different continents and being lucky enough to travel to some amazing places that I have never been organised enough to keep a 'life list' of all the birds I have seen. I know, it sounds geeky but is something birders do :)

3. Herpetology.


This particular joy is my most recent. I can remember as a child being drawn to tortoises and snakes, but nothing more than that. In Africa most herps were admired from a safe distance! Although I did own a couple of beautiful Leopard Tortoises but unfortunately someone sold them to the village headman to eat one time when I was away! When I came to America my first, and current job involved working predominantly with herps and I have to say, yes, I am completely hooked. The picture above is of Fang, one of the snakes in my care. He is an albino California King Snake and he feels like the smoothest, coolest piece of mobile alabaster when I hold him!

4. The Sea and the things that life in it and on it.


I grew up on the coast in Southwest England so a close proximity to the sea is something I find very soothing. Ironically, water is not an element that I am at all comfortable being in or on, although I did make myself go snorkeling every day on a recent trip to the Galapagos and I have to say, I loved it. I suspect though that it was because there was such an endless parade of different creatures for me to watch which kept my mind off the fact that I was bobbing about in the middle of the ocean! I do love the smell and the sound of the sea and one of my great pleasures in life is walking on the beach and looking to see what the tide has left behind.

5. The Joy is in the Details.

This has actually been a realy hard exercise for me because, to be honest, my joy is nature in all its amazing forms. But there is something exciting about seeing something small, something you may have walked past a dozen times and not noticed.

Maybe there is something you had sort of seen and thought was a just a leaf or a stick but when you have looked properly you have seen something quite different, like a sea slug.


Or equally enjoyable is noticing the every day things with a fresh eye, like rain drops on a branch


A tiny lizard on a fence post


Or a beautiful big bumble bee collecting pollen in the sunshine


After all, the greatest joy in nature, is nature itself.

There are five people I would like to tag to do this meme:
Michelle at Rambling Woods
Kathie at Sycamore Canyon
Linda at The 7msn Ranch
JK at The Rough String Ranch
Arija at Garden Delights

Photo Credits -
1. Robin Pope Safaris
2. CJT
3. Amanda Micek
4. Dominick V
5. CJT

'SO CAL' STATE OF MIND

I am very lucky, my husband has clients who live near San Diego, so twice a year we 'have to' travel there so that he can meet with them. They are wonderful people with a beautiful house in the hills. Once a year we stay with them and once a year we splurge and stay in Del Mar. Well, this weekend, which just happens to include my birthday, is our weekend for staying in Del Mar and I must say after a couple of weeks of feeling pretty lousy, there is no better medicine than waking up to blue sky and sunshine, next to the seashore! Both my husband and I grew up next to the Atlantic Ocean, all be it on opposite sides of it, so for us there is no greater treat than to be by the sea. This morning we grabbed our breakfast in a bag and headed down to the sea. I swear there could not have been a more beautiful day.


Yes I know! If you live in Southern California it is lovely every day but I think coming from the Midwest that we really do appreciate it!
We had to be patient because the tide was very high but gradually as we sat and watched, the beach started to appear as the sea slid back. I love to beach comb and there is always something different to see. Whether it is a pile of rocks worn smooth by the waves and just catching the sunlight perfectly


Or a twisted mass of kelp, left behind by the receding tide


Or a tiny shell, half buried in the wet sand


Gradually as more sand appears, various waders start to arrive to feed on invertebrates buried in the sand.


The flocks of Sanderlings Calidris alba are always fun as they rush in and out with the waves


I love how they move as one, rather like a shoal of fish.


The Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus is much more of a solitary figure, using its long beak to dig deeply into the fresh sand.


This little immature Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola (I think!) seemed a little bewildered to find himself alone on the beach, he tried to hang out with the Sanderlings for a while but all their frenzied running back and forth soon became too much for him.


There is a belief that everyone is better looking in California, well I am not convinced about the Homo sapiens but it certainly is true when it comes to the gulls! This is the Heermann's Gull Larus heermanni, far more handsome than the Ring-billed Gulls of Chicago or the Herring Gulls of my home town in Cornwall.

Photo Credits - CJT & Dominick V