Tag Archives: beach

Underfoot and Overhead: SOLC #26

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What is under your feet and over your head today? A much needed walk took me to the beach, where after a rainy yesterday the sun shone brightly this afternoon.

I tied on my ratty sneakers, the ones with hole in the toe, knowing that I’m always at risk for a salt water foot bath, or the sneak attack of some sand covered blob of tar on the beach.

In my usual fashion, I start out walking quickly trying not to let all the sights and sounds and smells distract me as I attempt to earn my exercise minutes, and then slow down letting the environment speak to me as I pull my camera to my eye.

This jelly was nearly invisible, an almost clear glob of gelatinous organic matter. I sometimes see bits and pieces of jellies, but seldom a fully formed (and quite large) creature like this one. I’m not sure what kind of jelly this is–maybe a moon jelly? I’m happy to not have stepped on it, even though it is no longer alive.

A beautiful spring day also meant a healthy breeze blowing. I’ve been noticing more and more people playing on the beach, throwing balls, building castles, and flying kites. This one was really soaring, getting lots of loft and lift into the bright blue sky.

What did you find underfoot and overhead in your place today?

Fog: SOLC #20

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I walked into a cloud, experiencing it now from the inside out. Water drops too small to see kiss my cheeks as they swirl and dance all around me. My vision is soft-edged, everything ahead of me in vignette. Cocooned in light as the sun’s rays, wrapped in cotton balls, bounce and reflect. The world feels close and small in the cloud. I can’t see too far ahead or too far behind, I’m forced into the here and now, noticing what is right here.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the cloud lifts and opens wide, like a deep breathe and the blue appears. The world expands and the view shifts. I walk out of the fog.

Enjoying the Clouds: SOLC #12

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I think southern Californian’s may be obsessed with weather. Or maybe it’s just me. So much of the time we really pay no attention to it. A sweatshirt is the go-to jacket, flip flops are year-round foot wear, and that umbrella? It’s probably buried under the reusable grocery bags in the trunk of the car.

It’s been rainy this week–and I’m talking multiple days! It rained Wednesday night and last night, and there are still clouds that just might be holding some more rain hanging around. We can probably count a year’s worth of rainy days on two hands–and this year, rain has been scarce, even for us.

Luckier still, we’re getting much needed rain and it has been coming after we go to bed at night. That has left my afternoons available for those much-needed beach walks. Breathing in saline rich air while feeling the satisfaction of checking off exercise as done, calms my brain and is good for my body. And the bonus: the beach is never boring. The views change constantly, the terrain is varied from tide to tide, and no mask is needed on the wide-open shoreline.

As I headed back toward the car, the towering clouds above the old Encina power plant tower (headed for demolition) caught my eye. I couldn’t quite capture it with my camera held in its usual position, so I turned it to try to capture the height of the clouds.

Maybe we’ll have a bit more weather in store before this storm system leaves. For now, I’ll just enjoy the clouds.

Beach Grooming: SOLC #10

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Good grooming is important–even when it is the beach that is being groomed.

During the summer, our local beaches are full pretty much from sunrise to sunset leaving no time for maintenance other than keeping trash emptied and restrooms filled. But during the winter, seeing heavy construction equipment on the sand is not all that unusual.

Bulldozers are used to push sand into big piles, offering protection from the higher tides that accompany stormy weather. And sometimes beaches with “extra” sand are able to share the wealth with other local beaches suffering from a lack of sand.

I’m really not sure exactly what this big piece of equipment is being used for. This is not my usual beach. It’s a few miles north–not far from where I get my hair cut. And with a few extra minutes before my appointment time, it was the perfect micro-vacation getaway. 15 minutes on the beach is always worth it–and the rain held back so I could snap a few photos of the stormy blustery beach on a Wednesday afternoon.

Warnings: SOLC #6

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Every day on the beach is a good day. And today was no different. Sunny and mild, light breeze, mid-60s–a perfect March day in Southern California. Where I live, it’s important to pay attention to the tides if you want to walk any distance. High tides=no beach for walking. So when my time and tide times don’t match, we often head south to walk near Torrey Pines State Reserve.

There were lots of people out on the beach today, not unusual for a sunny weekend day. And warnings were abundant–although they seemed to have little impact on beach goers.

I noticed the shark sighting sign early on.

Shark warnings have become pretty commonplace. When I pointed it out to my husband, he told me about the drone images this week of a great white hanging out off the coast. (Check the link for the news story) Yikes! But there were still surfers out–I watched this group climbing up the cliff after their surfing session.

Had they not noticed the shark warnings? What about the danger signs about the unstable cliffs? Just last week there was a pretty major cliff failure not too far down the beach.

Even the train seemed to know about the warnings. I watched it creep slowly along the cliffline, gingerly traversing precariously close to the edge, perhaps trying to avoid any more cliff damage.

But still, there were people walking just feet from the bottom of the cliff and others sunbathing too close for my comfort. Do they not know that the cliffs fall regularly and give no advance notice? Are the warnings for others? Not for them?

It seemed today that at every turn there was a new warning. Most warnings seem to be for public safety. Watch out, stay away, be careful. Some are designed to keep people from doing silly, dangerous things like climbing through a drainage tunnel. And still others to make clear where dogs are allowed and where they are not allowed. This may be another public safety issue–we do have some beaches that allow dogs. This beach has a stretch that allows dogs and then when you get to the state reserve, dogs are no longer allowed.

But I have to say, in spite of all the warnings, it was still a perfect day for a beach walk. And no one was harmed during the photography of all the warning signs!

An Egret Dance: SOLC #2

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I might be obsessed with photographing egrets.

On my regular beach walks it makes my day when I spot a sleek, white bird in the distance. Even from afar, I recognize their distinctive silhouette and their mostly solitary nature.

Lately I’ve walked the beach with my zoom lens in place. I love the ability to get close to these birds, even if I can’t quick get as physically near as I’d like.

But like anything I take photos of on a regular basis, if I’m not careful, I end up taking the same photo over and over again. So I’ve been trying a variety of angles, different lighting, straight on, head shot only… I’ve taken photos of reflections, of water drops creating concentric circles of movement, of bright yellow feet in isolation.

Over the weekend I caught three egrets hanging out together. They were searching the tide pools for tasty morsels, using their feet to stir up the sea life below the surface. The weather was beautiful, so lots of people were exploring the tidepools. As people got close, the birds would take flight, spreading their wings and lifting off for a short trip to the north.

I followed, creeping closer while trying not to soak my sneakers in the tidepool puddles. I snapped, and snapped, in search of an image different from the usual.

And this time, it seems like I caught a bit of an egret dance.

Light Show

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Some of our beaches reopened this week–much to my delight.  I’m back to walking the shoreline as often as possible (when the tide allows walking room that fits my work schedule).  On Monday morning I noticed the mucky, murky waves…and remembered that we are in the midst of a red tide.  A red tide is an algae bloom and all that muck is red algae.

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During the day, the red tide is not particularly appealing…but at night, it’s spectacular!  Last night we headed the beach after sunset, in the dusky light before darkness comes.  We were surprised at the number of people at the beach–it had been a gloomy day and there was plenty of cloud cover.  But then, people were not there for the sun…they were there for the light!

As we parked we noticed lots and lots of surfers heading to the beach.  People kept their distances, but one glance at the waves told the story of why they were at the beach as darkness was settling over the sea.  As waves crashed, the water glowed brilliant blue!

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We watched surfers soaring through the electric blue of the waves, waders and swimmers trying to catch up to the light.  Walkers and gawkers in their coronavirus masks kept their distances and tried to capture this bioluminescent phenomenon with their cameras.

I’m always reminded that I need to work on my night photography technique when I get these spectacular photo ops after the sun sets.  But I keep trying anyway.  Even if the photos don’t begin to capture nature’s beauty, they do give a glimpse into the wonders of bioluminescence.  And it was a wonderful break from staying at home in my neighborhood!

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What a light show!

 

SOLC Day 15: Light and Shadow

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Gloomy weather makes this global crisis feel like a blanket of darkness, weighing heavily on our shoulders as we attempt to find some kind of normalcy with schools closed, work re-directed, and social distancing the new norm. I’m trying to keep a daily outdoor walk a regular feature of my day…so headed out this morning when the tide was low to walk on the beach.

The beach was a study in light and shadow today with dark clouds towering above the crashing waves. Slivers of sunlight transformed the wet sand into a mirror, reflecting images of the cliffs onto the shore.

As I walked today I remembered a tower of rocks I noticed yesterday–one that was knocked over (unintentionally) by a clumsy preteen just as I headed over to photograph it. My husband and I decided to recreate our own version of it today, balancing smaller rocks on a large rock pillar.

Finding the just right rocks was a challenge–one we were willing to undertake. He carefully stacked one atop another, checking for balance, noticing the flat spots, the round spots…looking for stability. I tried to talk him into standing one with a heart shape up on end…but it wasn’t happening today. We left it in the stack though and built on it with a few smaller pebbles.

As we left our tower of rocks, the sun peeked out, illuminating the water. Brilliant layers of turquoise were framed by the white froth of the waves below and the dark of the clouds above.

Light and shadow…and a bit of balance, somehow the beach is always a metaphor for life and its challenges. Fresh air, exercise, and my camera–the trifecta that keep me positive and ready for whatever curveballs life throws.

SOLC Day 12: A Break in the Rain

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I’m fighting some kind of upper respiratory infection and the laryngitis that always seems to come with it. Luckily, I was able to work from home today (obviously not a teaching day for me!) and not even have to deal with commuting on a rare rainy day in southern California.

So I laid low, kept quiet, and got quite a bit of work done as the rain pattered its soothing rhythm on the roof tiles.

So when the light changed in my house this afternoon and I realized the sky had brightened and there was a break in the rain, I checked the weather app and then headed out to the beach for a much needed walk.

Sometimes I feel like I am solar powered, energized by blue skies and sunshine and depleted by days that are pervasively gray. I could feel my energy levels rise as I headed from the parking lot down to the shore. It felt so good to get outside in the fresh air. In spite of the rain, it wasn’t cold out…the conditions were perfect for a walk.

I love that the beach always surprises me. There were people like me, in jackets and tennies walking along the shore. There were those in jackets and bare feet, walking in the water or throwing rocks into the surf. There were the teenagers in bikinis, seemingly not experiencing the chill of water in the 50’s and air temps in the 60’s. And always, always, there are the surfers. Most wear wetsuits year round…and nothing ever seems to keep them out of the water.

And today’s treat was the cormorant. I’m always on the lookout for seabirds–seagulls are usual, but it’s tough to see seabirds close enough to photograph. I saw from a distance that there was a bird sitting on the tide pool outcropping. I had my camera ready and crept as close as I could without drenching my shoes or scaring the bird. I click and click, watching as the bird gets ready to launch. And I catch that shot…just at lift off!

Sometimes a break in the rain is just what you need.