Little Birdie

Whole bevies of quail come to feed at my parents' feeder all year. This guy visited us at Christmas last year.

Dew Drop In

Seen on the ground cover on a walk at the Sea Ranch New Years 2008. I like the way the drop pooled in the center of the star. Most Nifty Nature!

Purty

Sunset. Sea Ranch, CA 12/2008

Goats on the Coast

One of the big pushes up at The Sea Ranch where my parents have a place is to have a minimal environmental impact. However, being the California coast there are often lots of dry grasses around which are a real fire hazard. So, the community has hired a shepherd with his flocks of sheep and goats to move up and down the property trimming the grasses to a reasonable height. They use a mix of sheep and goats because the sheep are more efficient, but there are some grasses that even they won't eat--no such qualms for the goats! Environmentally friendly, and around the time of kidding/lambing season, really darned cute. This little goat was posing for us this past Christmas, just getting ready to eat his way south!

Feeling Kelpless

Sea Ranch again for today's post. We had some pretty good storms while I was up there this year and that always means some interesting things get washed up. I liked the way this particular piece of kelp had coral growing in between the roots--Nifty :)

A Marvelous Bird is the Pelican....

A marvelous bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his bellycan
and I don't know how in the hellhecan.

As a kid I loved that poem...parental sanctioned swearing. Nothing better for a 6 year old! :) This particular pelican was spotted of the The Sea Ranch in California this Christmas. He (or she?!?!) was kind enough to fly right in front of me and pose for the camera!

A Little Birdie...

Another picture from Christmas 2008. This is one of many a birdie who came to visit the feeder on the back porch of my parent's house. I like the seed in his mouth and the slight tilt to his head. My parent's have a Great Pyrenees dog--a 120 pound fluffball who works hard to protect us from the finches and chickadees. :) He has been up at Sea Ranch for over 10 year sand the birds have learned that his bark is MUCH worse than his bite. As soon as he turns his back they come flocking in :)

The Fence to Nowhere

OK, it has officially been too long since I posted. I had the chance to go to California for over 2 weeks this year to spend time with my family and had a great time. It was the first time the family had been together for any time after mom survived breast cancer (GET CHECKED!!!) and so it was nice to reconnect. My Fiancee also came out for a week and it was great to be able to spend time with her and my family. We even did the tour of Doug's childhood locations and visited with many a friend. We went by the house I grew up in (from 1 year old to 28) and the new owners were there and kind enough to invite us in! It was fun to see the old house again and what the new family has done with it. Courtney and I also wandered around my old elementary school and high school. it was fun reminiscing and showing her where I came from. The picture above came from The Sea Ranch where we spend Christmas and New Years. I have walked along this fence many a time and though the day was cloudy I loved the way the light hit the fence highlighting it in certain points.