Feb 08 2009
Almost Spring Now
I went to La Jolla for a walk last Wednesday after work thinking I would be missing the sun for several days. I was thinking there would be a lot of clouds rolling in that day since Thursday was forecasted to have rain. However, when I got there, the sky was still so blue with only a thin wall of marine layer at the far horizon.
California Brown Pelicans
I started my walk a little bit disappointed because I was imagining rolling clouds that were not there. However, it seemed the wildlife covered up for what I was missing. California brown pelicans and gulls kept on flying above me,
Gull in Flight
some of them resting on bluffs,
Brown Pelica’s Red Pouch, Winter Breeding Color
some sea gulls sharing the rocks with the seals,
Gulls and Harbor Seals
that in time I was entertained by what I was seeing while walking and not minding anymore the clouds that I was missing. What surprised me most are the presence of wildflowers on the slopes of the coastal hills already.
La Jolla Wildflowers
The sight of these wildflowers put joy into my heart, I love flowers and I always look forward for spring to see a lot more flowers in the trails. I am not seeing a lot yet in the trails, but a little bloom here and there, and seeing a carpeting yellow on the slopes made me excited for the coming spring, which for San Diego standard comes late February or early March, that is the time I usually see a lot more flowers in the trail.
Carpeting Flowers on the Slopes
Looking at the flowers makes it an almost spring now, and the presence of wildflowers seem like a smile to me beyond compare.
The Smile of Spring
Anyway, these sights just make me dreamy 
hoping to see more colors in the next weeks to come, especially we had been enjoying rain since Thursday. Today is a nice day with very little rain, and we managed to hike to Woodson Mountain, which I will make a post sometime this week. I had all my wished clouds today, no sunset though 
since the West is filled with dark clouds.
Here are some more pictures from my leisurely walk last Wednesday at La Jolla.
Moon Over Dragon Trees
The Dragon Tree is a succulent type of tree-size species with stout trunks and dense umbrella-shaped canopy of thick leaves. The tree got its name from its red sap, which was thought to be dragon’s blood by early inhabitants of the tree’s native Canary Islands.
Cormorants on La Jolla Caves
Sea Lions
Pelican Bluff (the bluff is where you can view best the pelicans and the sea lions)
Spring is in the air. The pelicans, gulls and sea lions are adorable. Such beautiful closeups. You really are a talented photographer.
Indisputably the images are always spectaculuar, but I just love this,”… with only a thin wall of marine layer at the far horizon.”
It’s lovely.
Hope you’re doing well love! I’ve just been incredibly busy these days, and it seems to swallow everything else before I’ve even realized it. Sigh.
Wishing you a fantastic week… xxx
Ah, the flowers. Can never remember the term for them, though I’ve always called them sourgrass. They grow in my front yard; when I was young, my sister and I used to nibble on the stems. The ones with the leaf clusters, mind you–the flower stems have more of a zing to them, but it never seemed right to pick them.
Though even I’ve never managed to get as close a view in them as you have in “Smile of Spring”. Gorgeous.
I wish I could be free like those birds and had pelican iongs too. Lovely and refreshing pics to take away the winter blues Betchai.