Foggy Salt Point

 

The Wild Coast of Salt Point State Park

I was half-way home before I realized the itchy sensation on my left leg was due to a tick trying to burrow under my skin. Luckily I was able to pull over right away and toss the little critter out the window. (The wound later became quite painfully infected and required medical treatment.) That might have been the first time I ever got a tick at Salt Point. I'd noticed deer tracks as I meandered along the trail, and there were a couple of times where tall grasses laden with dew arched over the trail. Perfect tick habitat.

I was glad to find that the National Weather Service forecast was correct about the calm wind conditions, but disappointed that it was not even close to being "mostly sunny." As I drove up in the darkness of the wee hours, my windshield wipers were on intermittently the whole way.

The sunrise arrived at around 6 a.m., just a dimmer switch being turned up a little bit. I parked at Stump Beach and hiked down through the moody forest, accompanied by the patter of fog-drip and the cheerful, if slightly manic, chatter of a Pacific wren. A couple of small pinnipeds bobbed in the shallows just offshore, stealing glances at the biped exploring the beach. I was glad I'd brought a fleece jacket to keep me warm in the misty conditions.

I only stayed about three hours before making a quick check of Kruse Rhododendron Preserve (which, while beautiful, was not particularly photogenic), then headed home while enjoying the winding drive back down along the misty Sonoma Coast.

Stone Becoming Sand at Stump Beach

I liked the many pebbles on the beach that were veined with white lines of various complexity.

The foreground of paintbrush and bracken leads back toward a small creek drainage that empties onto Stump Beach, where gulls and a pair of black oystercatchers took advantage of the fresh water to drink and bathe.

There was a nice mix of wildflowers on parts of the bluffs above the beach. The California poppies remained closed during my three-hour visit, awaiting brighter conditions.

There were some nice patches of paintbrush, including some that were among lupine leaves. Once the lupines bloom, it will be even more gorgeous out there.

A pair of Canada geese were about the only critters larger than sparrows that were moving around among the wildflowers on the marine terrace.

Dew-laden lupine leaves promised purple-and-white flowers to come.

Tigher crop of lupine leaves from previous image (click any image to view larger).

Pink sea thrift and goldfields were the dominant wildflowers this time. I was there in early June last year, when the sea thrift was past its prime but the lupines and seaside daisies were blooming in abundance.

Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)

Johnny Tuck (Triphysaria eriantha)

Closer crop of the previous image.

Goldfields and johnny tuck make a nice color combo.

Color on the bluffs.

Wildflowers on the edge.

Although the sea was calm due to the very light wind, a good-sized swell hurled itself against the coast.

This is the stairway connecting the parking lot and Stump Beach.

Pussy Ears (Calochortus tolmiei)

Tighter crop of the previous image.

Earth Brodiaea (Brodiaea terrestris)

The foggy, mossy trail in Kruse Rhododendron Preserve.

* * *

That 70s Guy

 

BB King, Norfolk, Virginia, ca. 1978

I waxed nostalgic last night after watching a couple of short documentaries on the photographer, Harry Callahan, whose initial interest in nature photography expanded over the years as he explored other subjects. So I thought I'd share some of my own humble beginnings in photography when I was in the navy back in the 1970s, and later in the '80s when I was a reporter and photographer at a couple of small-town daily papers, the Davis Enterprise and Sonora Union-Democrat.

Chicago Street Musician in the Winter

My friend Jo-Jo at Frank-N-Furter, Norfolk, Virginia

I came across this group of young soldiers as I was wandering around Haifa, Israel, while on liberty from my ship, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which had only recently been commissioned, and which is currently operating in the Red Sea. 

Blacksmith, Naples, Italy

Bicycle with revolutionary graffiti in Naples, Italy.

A couple happy guys after a special Halloween meal at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission on Stearns Wharf.

Truckers

Wood Cutter

Guy in asbestos abatement suit.

Working in the Cold and Wet

Underwater Adventure

Jump Shot

Sports Choreography

Snowboarder Travis Yamada at Dodge Ridge, Sonora, California

Recumbent Bicyclist

Expressions of Magic

This young man could turn on the brightest smile at the drop of a hat. This was at a Fiddle and Bango Contest. And no, "Bango" is not misspelled.

Mandolin Merriment

I got the shot when he did this, and when I asked him if it was okay to print it in the paper, he insisted on it.

That '70s guy with his dad in Chicago, ca. 1976.

* * *

Waxies & Friends

 

Western Tanager at South Lake, Golden Gate Park

I pulled my bike off the road near South Lake to check out a boisterous bunch of cedar waxwings, hoping they would come down from the highest branches of the eucalyptus they seemed to be feeding in, when I spotted a western tanager on the sidelines. It's a rare pleasure for me to see such a beautiful songbird. 

As I watched the waxwings flutter high and low, always managing to keep a tangle of branches between us, the immediate area was bustling with hummingbirds, robins, sparrows, and even a pair of Pacific wrens. The waxies eventually massed together in their dozens and swirled off toward Middle Lake.

A huddle of waxies.

Cedar Waxwing

Three little babies wait for mom or dad to bring home the gopher bacon at Blue Heron Lake. Earlier on my bike ride I'd stopped where several people were staring at an adult GBH. Once I came to a stop I noticed it had blood on its beak and a lump in its throat. A pair of tourists confirmed that I'd just missed seeing it nab a gopher.

Family Time

I heard on KALW radio this morning that today, May 15, is Bring Flowers to Someone Day, so I took a couple of phone snaps while out for a walk.

There were lots of rhodies in bloom along the way.

Fog view on a windy and chilly morning at Golden Gate Heights Park.

* * *

Wind's Up!

 

Swell Time at Ocean Beach

I noticed the wind had picked up and shifted during my walk this morning, and I looked forward to checking out the relatively rare offshore conditions at Ocean Beach during my bike ride. There were fewer surfers than I expected to find on such an apparently fun day to be in the water. For us folks on the beach it was another matter, with sand blowing into eyes and mouths. Kudos to the beach-cleaning crew that went to work in the midst of it all.

Full house with terns, pelicans, dogs, and human.

Wind conditions at Ocean Beach around noon today.

I told myself I wouldn't photograph every great blue heron I saw, but I couldn't resist stopping on the way to the beach when this one strolled into a field of yellow flowers.

* * *

Great Blue Herons

 

GBH at Metson Lake

The great blue herons of Golden Gate Park seem to be out more than usual lately. I recently passed one hunting gophers in the thin grassy strip between the pedestrian path and the road, seemingly without a care about all the human activity around it. I didn't have time to stop and watch, but yesterday I was primed to stop at the first one I saw -- a beauty who flew out of one tree, sailed across the intersection of JFK and Transverse Drive, and landed in another tree.

They are definitely nesting at Blue Heron Lake, but I can't tell if any young have hatched yet. There are nests in the island trees near the boat docks, and also on the little island east of Strawberry Hill.

As I passed Metson Lake two days ago I didn't see any bird activity, but yesterday there were two great blue herons, a cormorant, a black-crowned night heron, and several turtles on the branches of the fallen tree.

Beautiful GBH in breeding plumage.

Two pairs of red-tails in flight eluded my camera's autofocus, but this youngster was placidly on lookout on one of the Murphy Windmill blades.

The California poppies, as well as the bees who visit them, are loving all the sunshine.

I think this was a first for me -- a western fence lizard in Golden Gate Park. This one was basking in the road on MLK not far from the windmill.

I don't know what all the ruffled feathers are about, but while the other GBH rested nearby, this one was constantly on the move and occasionally raised its head up and croaked, or pointed it down and clapped its beak.

A couple of turtles basking on the Metson Lake windfall.

Antsy GBH on the move...

...and striking a pose.

* * *