Proud Little Birds

I came home early from work today to check on Whoopie, who's been seriously ill since Saturday. I took her out in her bed and let her watch while I pruned roses and trimmed some of the larger plants. 

Just as I was finishing up with the mowing, a little bird came to visit. It flitted from bench, to rose bush, to fence, almost posing for the photograph. 

I found a website put up by a fantastic photographer in San Diego. He has gorgeous photos of San Diego birds. 

According to his site, this bird is called a Black Phoebe. 

http://www.pbase.com/herb1rm/birds_in_san_diego_county

I hope to be able to take such great photos in the future. 

Here it is, taking a direct look at the camera. 

 Our yard is small but full, a natural draw to a lot of wildlife. Animals clearly respond to each other. The dog's ears followed the sounds of the chirping birds, while this bird watched and responded to my every move.



Birds of paradise adorn one section of the yard.

The swimming pool also acts like an alluring watering hole for many different birds, large and small. They don't drink from it, but they seem to enjoy flying over it and perching on the plants, wires, or electricity poles around it. We are very happy to have these winged visitors on a daily basis. 

 I liked the way this delicate little fellow puffed out its chest so proudly.  It enjoyed perching on the rose bushes I had just finished pruning.

A minute later, this sparrow showed up with a companion. Earlier, a peregrine falcon perched above the pool, but the direct sun prevented me from getting a good shot. No worries, that falcon visits every day certain months of the year. I'll get the right opportunity soon. 

Traveling together on a Tuesday afternoon. 

Whoopie Helps Me Learn My ISOs

Whoopie, our adopted ancient chihuahua, adores the sun. When her previous owner died, Whoopie came to us, supposedly as a temporary stop on her way to a permanent home. She arrived in a foul mood and wouldn't allow us to pet her; she'd snarl and threaten to bite. Like a rabid gargoyle, she had the eerie ability to magnify her fangs and turn her eyes red. She appeared demon-possessed. No kidding, I wanted her gone because she scared the living daylights out of me. 

 At night, she would moan in grief and wheeze. The old man with whom she lived for 16 years was a chainsmoker, so Whoopie was, too. Who knows, maybe she was going through nicotine withdrawal when she first arrived. 

It took about three months, but Whoopie started to really enjoy life after a time. Her wheezing stopped, she developed a bounce in her step, and a glob of Brunschweiger paté helped her learn to make the grand leap through the doggie-door to independent forays into the yard. 

 She has become youthful again, although she must be about 18 years old now. She fancies herself the great explorer, and if the gate is left open for a nano-second, she bolts down the driveway to take herself for a walk around the block, stopping like clockwork to water our neighbor's weeds. 

 Tall grass along the edges of the yard stirs her imagination. Panther-like, she goes on the prowl, sniffing up memories of the horrible invaders she fights during the night. Her mortal enemies are the skunks and a couple feral cats who come around because she leaves food in her dog bowl. She barks furiously at them, disgusted that they would dare trespass. When they get too close, the pitch of her bark rises to a distress level, sounding the alarm. It is only then that Lily perks up her ears and trots outside to check on her. 

She bosses Lily around and pretends she doesn't care, but when she thinks no one is looking, she'll cozy up next to her. They're friends but not demonstrative. 

Unlike Lily, who likes her duck chews and hard biscuits, Whoopie enjoys gumming an Oreo-type treat, a cookie that suits her perfectly. We don't give her real Oreos but Joe's-Joes, made from all-natural ingredients. Sure, dogs aren't supposed to eat chocolate cookies with vanilla cream centers, but who's going to tell her?

We went out for a walk this morning, despite the dreary weather. Then I drove to North County to do some visiting. It rained for several hours and stopped as I drove south on my way home. 

After taking a few photos outdoors, I wanted to practice manipulating the ISO feature. 

Here are the results:

ISO 200

ISO 400

ISO 800

ISO 1600

ISO 3200

Whoopie doesn't care either way. She wants to go for another walk!

Some Old Favorites

Here are some of my favorite shots, taken with my old Canon  point-and-shoot before the CCD screen decided it would self-destruct. 

One of the most beautiful places I've ever been to is in the Grand Tetons near Jackson, Wyoming. Not far from Yellowstone, it offers beautiful lakes, great kayaking, numerous hiking trails, fresh air, and beauty, no matter which way you turn your head. These were the days before my zoom camera, but take my word for it, the picture above is of a huge hairy moose!

The water at Jenny Lake, String Lake and the others is clear and breathtaking. There's plenty of fish, but we learned quickly that trying to chase them in a canoe or kayak while flinging a hook off a $5.00 fishing rod just won't do the trick. Better luck next time. You do have to buy a fishing license to fish. 

 Bison roam the territory. Go there today, and I guarantee you will find them as easily as you would find cows in other parts of the country. 

Some Old Town San Diego. . . 

Old Town in San Diego is a happy tourist trap. I like that much of it is cordoned off and limited to pedestrians only. There are churches, restaurants, historic buildings (old school, dentist's office), bakeries and cool, overpriced gift shops. 

More on Hawaii. . . 

I didn't have to venture far to get this shot. Beautiful flower arrangements like this one were delivered to our room every day or at least every other day. Try Mama's Fish House. It is a hotel and a restaurant right on the beach. At the very least, treat yourself to one good lunch or dinner there. Great fish. Expensive but worth trying once. 

The good thing about being jet-lagged is that we frequently woke up at 3:00 in the morning, trotted out of our hotel, drove in the dark, and reached our destinations at dawn, well before most other tourists were up. This is a picture at dawn at the summit of Haleakala. (I'm sure I've misspelled it, so check that.) It was cold, and the air was very thin at 10,000 feet. We hiked down for an hour, but it took three to hike back up. Every step was an effort. My legs turned to lead and I could barely move. Every minute, I contemplated asking one of the mounted rangers to rescue me and take me to the summit. I called the place Hell-i-yakala. Unforgettable experience, but watch out for that lack of oxygen! By the way, that is a blanket of clouds/fog, not the ocean.

A succulent on the way into the crater. The area is desert-like, as I remember. It was surprising to see that many parts of Hawaii were not covered with the stereotypical lush plants. 

These flowers were more what I was expecting, but they were gifts from the Inn at Mama's Fish House!

 On Hana road, we stopped for provisions and nearly ran over this bright green creature. One leg was missing, no doubt run over by another car. He seemed fine, nonetheless, and determined to limp and jerk in the direction he was headed.

I'm not sure if it's due to the overcast days on which I've recently taken pictures on the Fujifilm zoom camera, but it seems to me even the old point-and-shoot photos are more vivid and clear. I'll keep testing and trying, at least for several weeks into summer, but if I can't get the clarity I want with a bridge camera, I'm going to invest in a Canon SLR.

The weather this time of year in San Diego is affectionately called May Gray and June Gloom. I'll have to seize the sunny days and see what happens.

With the exception of the moose photo, which I tried to make sharper so you could make out the moose, none of the above photos were enhanced in any way. The chameleon creature, for example, really was a glowing bright green. I worked with some of the photos of Las Gaviotas and Sweetwater, mostly with the sharpness.

Las Gaviotas

About a 45-minute drive south of the border there is a sweet spot called Gaviotas, or Seagulls. 

Definitely, the greatest challenge for me is to catch birds in flight. I have to anticipate where they will be in about two seconds, shoot blindly, and hope they make it into the frame in time. More often than not, I don't gauge it correctly! I was lucky to get these three in the same frame. 

It's blurry, I admit, but pelicans are fast, and I am still learning. They like to travel in fours, so my goal is to get a good shot someday of four flying together. Each time they flew by, they caught me off guard. I was busy focusing on a palm tree or on a Mexican tile, and BAM! they would swish in from out of nowhere. I rarely had time to turn around, and they were small specks in the distance.

It was a gloomy day but still beautiful. Hard to believe we had a heat wave last week. It drizzled for a few minutes before this shot was taken. 

There are so many cute houses in this community. Beautiful tile roofs, great views, and friendly folks, a mix of retired gringos and Mexicans. 

Little sparrow on a red roof. It didn't stick around for long!

        

Cormorant contemplating the sea. . . .

Young Labrador retrievers. They must love being near the water. 

Sea kelp and stones. When the waves crash in and then roll out, you can hear a whooshing, sucking sound as the water gushes back into the sea. It is a pleasant sound. 

          

Mexican roof and tile. 

Believe it or not, two seagulls were very interested in my presence when I first walked out with the camera. They took turns flying right above my head, only two or three feet above me. Of course, I was never ready and missed a couple fantastic shots. Here is one of them, at a greater distance, flying by the trunk of a palm tree. 

This fishing trawler was unreeling a massive net to catch fish, much to the dismay of residents who protested it was trawling illegally, too close to shore. 

There were four or five cormorants milling about. Each time I walked closer, they walked farther out on their rocks towards the ocean. Luckily, the zoom camera allowed me to take good shots without getting any closer.

                                  More of Gaviotas. . .

                            

                 I heard the mission bell. . . Not really! This is the cute entrance to someone's house.

Sweetwater Park

The animals at Sweetwater Park were out in full force this overcast morning. Birds were especially vocal, chirping loudly across the landscape. Lovers frequently come to the lake to feed the ducks. This old tree bears the marks of their desire to immortalize their visit. 

                     This duck was a good sport. First he was lounging on the bank, but Sandy rousted him up and he went for a swim. A couple teen boys were fishing nearby, cursing loudly and joyously the two times they caught a fish, apparently. Not sure I would want to eat a fish from this water. It is somewhat stagnant. The boys took pleasure in pitching stones at the ducks. . . .

All sorts of lizards and rabbits hide in the brush. 

Luckily, this rabbit hopped out just in time, only seconds before we reached our car. Good manners, too. It gave me plenty of time to get my shot.

This white duck was napping before we troubled her. She drifted away, curled up, and went back to sleep while she floated on the water.

When rain is sparse the water in this particular spot dries up and you can walk all the way across without getting your feet wet. It's been a wet winter, though, so the water is still around. 

Bonita in the background. A lot of people in this neighborhood own horses. We can see their tracks and their droppings as we hike. Occasionally, we find a horse and rider. 

It's a small lake but peaceful and only a couple miles from the house. The dogs love coming out here!

One of our first shots of the day. Not quite a hummingbird, black against a grey sky.