Funny how much time wedding planning takes! I decided to take a little break yesterday, and armed with a chocolate milkshake I traversed to the MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline, one of my new favorite parks for its lack of people and abundance of birds and native plantings. Imagine my surprise when I found the parking lot half full! Apparently at high tides, the endangered Clapper Rail and other like-minded birds are displaced from their shore-side homes and take refuge at the end of the dock that extends into the marsh. Birders of all degrees gathered on the edges with camera lenses bigger than the birds themselves, snapping photos and chatting. Please follow me through a photo tour.
I'm so in love with the colors of this photo. And the composition. And how it takes a bridge and abstracts it into a series of lines and color. Ok, I'm really proud of this one, even if it was just me documenting something interesting.
This is part of a disc-shaped sculpture- isn't the patina so lovely against the sky? I wandered around the sculpture on a large expanse of lawn, admiring the new native plantings. At the blink of an eye, a large bird emerged about six feet away from me seemingly out of no where and flew off to a distance. The crowd of birders turned their tripods to me and this amazing creature and started snapping away. "Is that... an owl?!" I called over to them. "Yes!" Wow! Sorry, Burrowing Owl to disturb you, but you were quite wonderful to happen upon!
Look closely in the bottom, left portion of the photo for the Burrowing Owl, sending me disgusted looks. Obviously I don't have the sort of camera equipment that others at the park had...
A Crow (?) descends on a post, which for some reason is outfitted with an old satellite.
As I wandered around, I collected a few objects to assemble. A large mussel shell, a leaf from a Salvia, and a downy feather found in a large, flowering Mallow among the Yellow-Faced Bumble Bees. I loved it for the textures mixing together and the shadows the feather made on the shell. It combined senses so well- touch, tactile, sight. (I didn't feel like tasting was an option).
There ends our adventure! How are you enjoying our respite from rain and gloom?
Ooooh, I like the bridge shot, nicely done! I haven't seen burrowing owls since I was in Argentina. Such comical birds, I could watch them for hours!
ReplyDeleteI was loving the fantastically warm perfect weather, and was actually getting a lot done outside. Mostly in the form of weed abatement. But yesterday I was slammed with a vicious cold :( I should be outside in this weather, not sneezing relentlessly, and sulking around house!
Oh dear, what timing! I had to enjoy some weeding today as well (in my own garden for once!), but I'm so sad you're stuck with your nose to the window! Get well soon- the weeds will still be there when you're better!
ReplyDeleteWell Christine, with today's weddings being as complex and stressful as they are, I hope you'll only get married once. Glad you got out for a little break. I'll be weeding tomorrow, Festuca Californica is trying to be my front lawn.
ReplyDeleteI've only been out to that park once. It was surprisingly great. I had no idea there were burrowing owls out there, however. Very cool. And this weather has been amazing. Glad to see everyone else is getting out and enjoying it as well.
ReplyDeleteA lovely insight Christine. I liked your ensemble with the shell, leaf and feather. Obviously your artistic eye goes far beyond the camera!
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