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California isn’t all ocean,
sun and surf.
It is also mountains,
snow and ski.
Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes California averages 400 inches of snow each year.
We have been coming here to ski annually for almost 55 years.
Another storm is arriving this weekend!
Gearing up.
You can see Mono Lake in the distance where we are going tomorrow.
Cheers to you from Mammoth Lakes in February~
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Jacques Cousteau referred to The Sea of Cortez as the world’s aquarium,
which it clearly is,
empty, stunning, and full of wildlife.
The region is also,
home to a huge variety of birds,
including the formidable Harris Hawk,
comical,
peli- cans,
curious grackles,
and stunning,
frigate birds.
Cheers to you from all the birdies in The Sea of Cortez~
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Two new birds for me! The first five photos are Tropical King Birds.
The Tropical Kingbird identification is a late edition correction provided for me by Teresa Robeson, a brilliant blogging friend @ teresarobeson.wordpress.com
Thank you Teresa! Thrilled you, and your family member, helped identify another new species for me.
She clairified this bird was either a Couch or Tropical Kingbird.
It’s location points to it being a Tropical Kingbird,
a member of the tyrant flycatcher family.
The final three photos are Great Kissdadees also in the tyrant flycatcher family.
Kisskadees are not only beautiful, but bold and will chase away monkeys, raptors and snakes.
Tropical Kingbirds and Kiskadees can be found in Southern Texas, Mexico and Central/South America. Tropical Kingbirds have a similar range but can also be seen in Southern Arizona.
Like most birdies, both species are avid people watchers.
Cheers to you from Mexico and her beauteous birdies~
(Hopefully the identifications are now correct!)
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Meet Mr. Red Rock Crab. He is quite large! We have been traveling out of wifi and satellite range on the Pacific side of the Baja California Penninsula in Mexico and into The Sea of Cortez through the narrows where the two oceans meet.
This view between the rocks is where The Pacific Ocean meets The Sea of Cortez.
This is a pristine, unpopulated desert ecosystem extending for hundreds of miles, surrounded by oceans that are teeming with wildlife.
This bull sea lion is suspicious and watches me with one eye,
before he relaxes and resumes his nap.
Rare, rarely seen, huge, up to 5000 pounds, and endangered, this Sunfish basks on the surface of the ocean sideways to absorb heat from the sun before he dives deep into the cold ocean to forage. For more click on following link:
Dolphin abound and can be seen alone,
or hunting in huge superpods,
that can consist,
of thousands.
This pod surrounded our boat and swam around it for close to an hour.
They were noisy,
slamming their bodies and tails on the surface of the ocean,
to stun the fish,
whom they herd into,
balls and consume.
This spotted box fish is left at peace because he is poisonous.
Even the always ravenous Snowy Egret won’t touch him!
Cheers to you from The Sea of Cortez~
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To you,
from The Holler,
silent Slytherins,
of the night,
& Happy Halloween!
My best guess creepy crawly identification in order are: Rustic Sphinx Moth, Green Darner Dragonfly, and the rarely seen, mildly venomous, nocturnal California Lyre snake. I welcome any corrections~
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It’s September in SoCal,
so we’re having a heat wave.
We grabbed the family and headed to coastal Carlsbad for the week.
Life’s a beach,
and the fun doesn’t stop,
when the sun sets.
It just slows down,
and becomes more soulful.
Cheers to you from Carlsbad in September~
