Tag Archives: Nature

The snowy side of California

Posted on by annandmeg

Most people think of sunshine and warm weather when they think of California. There are many different faces to the weather here, and though sunshine and warmth comprise one of those faces, there are others. We have rain in the winter, fog just about all year round, heat, cold, and if you’re in the right place, snow.

Earlier this month I traveled through Donner Pass on my way to Nevada. You go through the pass while driving along I-80, on the east side of California, before you cross into Nevada and then get to Reno. It’s a beautiful area, with amazing views of the Sierras and surrounding lakes. The pass got its name from a tragic event in the winter of 1846, when the Donner Party traveled through the lowest notch they could find to cross the Sierras and make their way to California. The pass was the “lucky” traveling point, however, it was blocked by snow at the top, and the group had to spend the winter on the east side of the pass. Only half of the travelers survived the winter. Some resorted to cannibalism to survive.

A tragic story indeed, but Donner Pass is a beautiful part of the country nonetheless. I have yet to see any snow here in Sonoma County, so spending part of my day driving through a snowy pass was actually quite exciting. Who knows, a ski trip or two may be in my future.

A Splash of Color

Posted on by annandmeg

This wonderful wildflower reminded me of the “poor little Buttercup” from the operetta, HMS Pinafore.  I took the photo in Northern California with my iPhone camera.  It was a surprise to me that it was able to clearly capture the detail of the center of the bloom and the foliage behind it, leaving the wonderful golden petals delicately blurred.  Smart iPhone.  Who knew?

Mother nature at her finest!

Bug on a Tree

Posted on by annandmeg

After Meg and Jake’s somewhat relaxed weekend with family and friends, they are back at work.  Meg is working crazy hours for a couple of months so she asked me to take primary responsibility for the blog in her absence.

All is not lost.  She did contribute a great photograph of a locust she took here in Kansas City with her Olympus camera. The scientific name for the locust is “cicada” or even more technical “cicadodea”.  But we all know them as locusts.  Whether cicadodea, cicada, or locust, it is, apparently, among the most widely recognized of all insects.

Shakespeare might have said, “a cicada by any other name” is still a funny looking creature.  So is its shell!

Warthogs and other zoo experiences

Posted on by annandmeg

Lions and tigers and bears–that is what zoos are all about. Right?  I had not been to Kansas City’s zoo for years But I charmed my great friend, Denise, into a weekend visit.  We never did see any lions, or tigers or bears.  It was hot outside and they were hiding somewhere cool.  This wonderful leopard was alone worth the visit.  Even as it slept in the shade, we knew we wouldn’t want to meet it in the wild.

Today’s zoo is nothing like the zoo of my childhood.  Once packed into a small area within Swope Park, the zoo has grown to provide an environment for animals and visitors that give us at least some sense of how the animals might actually live in the wild–well, absent the whole process of catching and eating other zoo animals!

Some areas of the zoo property appear to the eye to be in the wilderness.  It is easy to forget we are in the middle of a metropolitan area. The challenge is that it can actually be difficult to find, let alone photograph, the zoo’s inhabitants. The sense of isolation is worth it.

Denise and I bought platinum tickets which allowed us to ride the trains, buses, trams and gondolas without standing in additional lines. The rides themselves became part of the fun.

With many animals we expected to see napping in the shade, we transferred our attention to animals and birds that seemed to thrive in the sun. We had a great time watching the warthogs bath in the muddy stream. Seriously, I have rarely seen animals in greater need of a makeover!  But they were wonderful to watch.

While giving the appearance of open country, the zoo’s exhibits are carefully divided in such a way that the animals are safe from each other.  Often multiple animals and birds were in the same areas.  They happily ignore each other.

There were a wonderfully rich variety of colorful birds throughout the exhibit.  Many were best seen from the gondola.

We will return in cooler weather.  Hopefully we will find an entirely different group of interesting zoo inhabitants to photograph.  I am looking forward to it.

Summer Fun and Rose Beauty

Posted on by annandmeg

It is a gorgeous day.  The temperature is well within the range of comfort.  Terry, Casey and I are ready to start our Sunday morning drive.  Casey is anxious.  He unfailingly knows that it is Sunday and rushes us as much as he can, barking and running around at our feet.

For such a beautiful day, I thought I would share with you an image of a rose in full, incredible bloom.

Have a great day!

They’re here, they’re there, they’re everywhere–Canadian Geese

Posted on by annandmeg

Have you noticed that Canadian geese are everywhere?  No?  They are if you live in the Midwest.  They are in our parks, our ponds, our golf courses, our lakes and rivers.  Ten years ago Kansas City had Canadian geese flying overhead with the change of the seasons.  Slowly we noticed that a few stayed through the winter.  Now they raise their young within a few feet of city traffic. Their waste is on our streets, our sidewalks and in the grass. Plaza traffic literally comes to a halt whenever a mom and her babies cross the street.

With the number of geese so nearby, I thought it would be fun (and easy) to photograph them for the blog.  I took photographs in Loose Park and near Kauffman Garden.  Most of the shots were just boring.  Then I found a beautiful spot on Brush Creek that catches the morning sun at a great angle.  Having seen geese swimming in the area I decided to take my camera to get photographs of the geese just at the beginning of day.

It isn’t that easy. Five mornings I have made the trip, looking for birds that are in the water right at the right place and time to create opportunities to photograph them when the colors of the water are most vibrant.

The geese sleep on open land, maybe 20 or 30 feet from the water.  Depending on factors known only to geese, they begin to move toward the creek between 8:15 and 9:00 a.m.  Most move toward the water in groups, a few move individually.

After arriving at the water’s edge they begin to primp and preen.  Finally, they enter the water, almost en mass, and only slowly spread out as they begin to swim upstream, downstream and under the bridge.

For a few wonderful moments the sun’s rays cause patterns of light to reflect back from the water, causing the beauty of the ducks to combine with the richness of the colors of sun, the rock and shade. When I am lucky I can find a goose in the water at the right time and place to catch them at their photographic best.

All too soon the suns rays are too strong to catch the colors, the ducks have moved too far on the water to easily shoot, and the water itself seems to turn a muddy green.  It is time to leave the geese for another day.

Beauty isn’t everything, but it is wonderful to behold

Posted on by annandmeg

At the end of the day, isn’t it wonderful to know that there is beauty in the world to balance out the challenges of life.

Meg and I wish you well, where ever you may be!

Road trip to Monterey Bay

Posted on by annandmeg

Last Monday, May 21st, Jake and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Actually, we didn’t really get the chance for a proper celebration because we were both swamped with work. So what to do in such a situation? Follow up with a romantic getaway, of course! So after our crazy week of work, we dropped the kids off at puppy camp (Two Rock Dog Ranch, quite possibly the happiest place on earth for the kids while we’re out of town!), hopped in the jeep, and drove a few hours south to Monterey.

Our drive down Hwy 1 to Monterey was quite beautiful. It is such a beautiful part of the country! Monterey is a fun coastal town, with plenty of attractions for visitors to enjoy. Parts of Monterey, such as Cannery Row, are a bit touristy, but it is a lovely place to visit and great for a weekend getaway from the bay area. Just south of Cannery Row, along the water, you can easily get to Lover’s Point, which is a beautiful little spot. Further down the coast (literally just a few minutes walking distance) is Pacific Grove, which is a beautiful town full of coastal character and beautiful B&Bs. Next time, we may try to stay somewhere in PG right along the water.

When we got to Monterey on Saturday, we went straight to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. What an amazing place! There were so many exhibits to see in such a short time. Touch pools. Jellyfish. Sea otters. Birds. Sea turtles. We could have spent the entire weekend there and still had more to enjoy.

I think my favorite exhibit in the whole aquarium was the upstairs jellyfish exhibit. It is amazing to see so many different kinds of jellies. Being 95% made of water and lacking respiratory, central nervous and digestive systems,  they certainly are such odd-looking creatures. They range in size from a millimeter to around two meters in bell height, and are thought to be one of the oldest multi-organ animals at over 500 million years old. There were moon jellies, upside-down jellies, spotted jellies, blubber jellies, lion’s mane jellies.

But the fun didn’t stop there. We saw penguins. And then we saw sea horses. And sharks! Of course, the sharks were in a huge tank, and the lighting was terrible for taking pictures. But there was something magical about sitting in a 2-story room in the dark and staring at a giant tank. It almost seemed like you were getting a peak at life in the ocean, which I suppose is exactly what they try to simulate for the visitors. I highly recommend going if you ever get the chance.

We finished the day with a walk around Cannery Row and then a visit to the 1st annual Clam Chowder and Calamari festival. The calamari wasn’t that great, but the festival was a blast. Music, dancing, wine. A great end to a great day!