Almost a Rescue at Sea

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Tuesday and Wednesday evenings we went for beach walks and stayed until sunset.

On Wednesday night, we were with our son and daughter-in-law at our favorite beach. Everyone but me went swimming or boogie boarding. The waves were unusually big. This area is known for having the “world’s safest beach.” Normally there isn’t a current, rip tides or big waves. Wednesday was different.

My husband, son and DIL were out in the ocean in front of our beach chairs and umbrellas. After a few waves, they were way down the beach. When they walked back from the other end of the beach, they said there was a really strong current.

There were only four other people on the beach that evening — a couple including a stunning brunette woman under a pop up tent and two ladies walking their golden retriever.

The brunette jumped into the ocean. She was getting knocked around by the waves, right and left. We watched her swimming and diving under the waves and she looked like she had it under control. Her boyfriend was sound asleep under their pop-up tent.

We were sitting on the sand when my husband said, “Where did she go?” We couldn’t spot the brunette in the ocean. Since my husband had fought the current earlier, he walked down the beach to where he ended up. He spotted her more than a quarter of mile away. He called to her and asked if she was okay. Finally, she gave him a thumbs up.

The waves crashing against the rocks at the end of the beach. First time I’ve seen that.

The brunette walked up the beach to us. “I could have died out there. That’s my new boyfriend and he was asleep,” she said pointing to the man face down under the pop-up tent.

She and my husband talked about how strong the current was. He explained he was worried when she was out of sight. He said he could tell she was afraid and struggling. He wanted to make sure she was okay. She asked our names and introduced herself, Jennifer Lopez. She offered to buy us dinner downtown Santa Barbara next week to thank us.

I said, “No, that’s okay.” My son and DIL said, “You should do it!”

My son and DIL in the waves.

Jennifer said she was thankful someone was looking out for her.

Tip: If you’re swimming in the ocean, you need to have someone with eyes on you in case you need help.

Another Rescue Story:

More than ten years ago in Laguna Beach, my daughter and husband were at the beach after the lifeguards were done for the day. They noticed two panicked people stuck in a rip tide. My daughter, a swimmer and lifeguard herself, charged into the ocean and got them to calm down and helped them. My husband joined her and they got the two people to shore. Walking back to the cottage we rented that summer, my daughter noticed a neighbor’s dog out in the street. She called the dog and brought him back to his owner.

P.S. No, it wasn’t THAT Jennifer Lopez, but she said it was her legal name.

What are your plans for the last week of summer?

Sunset at the beach.

Bird of the Week — Willet

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A Western Willet foraging for food along the California coast. There is also an Eastern Willet, but my photos and focus is on the Western Willet.

Willet —
Tringa semipalmata

Willets belong to the shore birds more commonly called Sandpipers. I see several types of Sandpipers at the beach, but so far the only one I’ve successfully identified is the Willet.

SIZE:

Length: 13.0-16.1 in (33-41 cm)
Weight: 7.0-11.6 oz (200-330 g)
Wingspan: 27.6 in (70 cm)

LOCATION:

From All About Birds

DIET:

Willets forage along the shore, often alone. The tips of their beaks are sensitive and used to find food. They can forage at night as well as in the daytime. They eat crabs, insects, mollusks and worms. They feed along the mudflats, beaches and rocky shores.

A Willet getting a bite to eat along the shore.

NESTING:

Western Willets move inland from the shore for breeding along wetlands, grasslands or fresh water lakes. They nest on the ground and the male will scrape out a nest from the mud or grass. They line their nest with grasses or other soft materials. A typical clutch is four eggs. Males and females incubate their eggs, but the male takes over at night.

Although they are monogamous, they may separate after breeding season and reunite the next breeding season.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willet/sounds

A Day at the Market

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Saturday we visited the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. It runs across two perpendicular streets downtown Santa Barbara. It used to be held in a school parking lot. I found that much easier because all the stands were in a large rectangle and I walked up and down the aisles knowing where my favorites were located. Now it’s spread out over blocks and blocks.

I took my Nikon camera and 105 mm lens because it does close-ups from 1.3 feet to normal range photos like above. Also the 105 mm lens isn’t as cumbersome to carry as my telephoto lens that weighs a ton!

Here are photos of people, veggies and flowers from the Farmer’s Market:

One of the many gorgeous flower stands.

Squash blossoms. My friend who lives near Santa Barbara stuffs zucchini squash blossoms with ricotta cheese and sautés them. Delicious!

There was live music which added to the festive atmosphere.

I love cauliflower.

This is a closeup of the blue flowers that were in the flower photo above.

Interesting spelling of garbanzo beans.

One of the flower stands was all orchids.

Another was all mushrooms. I’ve never seen mushrooms like these in clumps. Have you?

The couple in the center look like they’re enjoying themselves.

A closeup of rich purple blossoms.

Lots of veggie stands feature beautiful tomatoes.

I like the name Tutti Frutti Farms.

It was fun to take people pictures, because I haven’t done that since my college days as a journalism major. I was surprised when I loaded the photos onto my laptop and saw interesting interactions.

I hope you enjoyed my day at the market. Our objective was to buy a homemade pie at a pie stand for a friend’s BBQ Sunday. We found the stand and bought a cherry crumble pie. Yum. Then with mission accomplished I wandered around with my camera.

What photos do you like best?

Do you go to farmers markets near you? What do you like best from farmers markets?

Friday Photos

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This is the view from our airbnb living room. The little cottage we have rented for nine summers has the feel of a tree house. The living room is upstairs at tree level overlooking the ocean. This is the one photo I took in this grouping with my Nikon and telephoto lens. The rest of the photos were taken with my iphone walking on the beach. I hope you enjoy a taste of California beach life.

This is our favorite beach to take walks and sit and watch the waves. This view is looking north.

There’s a canal along the walk and I caught this gull relaxing on a piece of drftwood.

This is the glimpse of the beach from the walkway that takes us to the beach. Ellen Degeneres used to own the house to the right of the fence, but sold it to have more privacy. It’s a gorgeous house by the way and sold last year for $35 million. Click on the link for a news story and photos.

The white house at the end of the beach is Kevin Costner’s estate. The tide gives him plenty of privacy because the beach is under water near his property.

We went out to dinner with friends and came back to our cottage to see this sunset out the side window.

I caught a Snowy Egret in action

A southward view of the beach.

I believe these are Willets but not quite sure. There are so many similar looking shore birds.

Father and son walking and talking.

I made them stop and pose. It’s such a joy to have our son and daughter-in-law join us for some relaxing beach time.

Which photos do you like the best? What are your plans for the weekend?

Bird of the Week — Snowy Egret

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A Snowy Egret I spotted during our beach vacation near Santa Barbara, California. Photos were taken with my iPhone during a beach walk.

Scientific name: Egretta thula
Genus: Ardea

I learned that herons and egrets both belong to the genus Ardea and that there is no scientific difference between the two. Egrets are white and herons are blue or other colors. That’s it.

The Snowy Egret has white plumage with a black beak and legs. They have a yellow streak on their faces behind their beaks. Their feet are bright yellow and called golden slippers. The brightly colored feet are helpful in herding small aquatic creatures while the Snowy Egret forages in shallow waters.

When they are breeding, the adults grow wispy long plumes which were in demand for ladies’ hats in the 1880s. The plumes were valued at twice the price of gold. Many Snowy Egrets lost their lives because of their valuable feathers.

SIZE and SHAPE:

Snowy Egrets are long, thin herons with a long neck, long legs and beak.

  • Length: 22.1-26.0 in (56-66 cm)
  • Weight: 13.1 oz (370 g)
  • Wingspan: 39.4 in (100 cm)

RANGE:

FOOD:

They eat aquatic animals including fish, crustaceans, frogs, worms and insects. They forage in mud flats, along the shore, marshes and tidal flats and eat while standing up.

NESTING:

The male will start building a nest before finding a mate. He’ll select a location at the top of a tree, shrub or vines. When the male finds a mate, the two will finish building the nest together. It’s a shallow oval of grasses, twigs, rushes and moss from 14 to 18 inches across and eight to 13 inches high.

The male and female share the job of incubating their eggs. A Snowy Egret clutch usually has three to five eggs. They also share feeding their chicks. Snowy Egrets do not mate for life, but are monogamous for each breeding season.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/sounds

Day One

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The photos were taken with my iphone on our first beach walk. I haven’t taken my Nikon to the beach yet, but will soon! This bird is a Willet and part of the Sandpiper family.

We finally made it to the beach! It was a long drive and we stopped along the way to visit our old home town and friends from my husband’s childhood and earlier days of married life. We hadn’t seen them in years, so it was a nice way to break up a long drive.

This is a Snowy Egret known for their golden slippers.

This beauty is a juvenile Gull. The specific type of gull will be known in a couple years when it loses its brown colors and turns white with markings and features of its species.

Another photo of a Willet. They were gathered along the shore catching a bite to eat between waves.

We walked on our favorite beach early in the morning before the sun broke through the clouds and fog. I can’t tell you how good it feels to take beach walks. Next, our son and daughter-in-law will be joining us. They met in college at UC Santa Barbara and love to visit and stay with us when we’re here. Our DIL surfs, so it will be a delight to sit at the beach with a book and watch her in the waves.

Evening Photos:

What a change from the morning to the afternoon. The sun is out. People are on the beach, but it’s not crowded at all. It never is.

Look at the American flags. Love it!

Is that a gorgeous view or what? All I need is a few dolphins leaping through the surf.

What is on your agenda this week?

Friday Photos

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Red stayed away for another five days, but Mrs. was here every day. I wonder if Red got into a fight because he has a black spot on the side of his head he didn’t have before. But I did read that Cardinals molt once a year, so maybe that’s it. Or, I have a new bird altogether. Fortunately, he stopped by this week several times a day. My neighbor has promised to keep the birds fed while we’re out of town.

Good news. Red is looking more normal each day and keeps on visiting our backyard.

At least Mrs. is always around which makes me feel good!

A neighbor told me I should name this quail dad “Lucky.”

Lucky visits every day with his wife and three babies. Somehow he lost his tail, but he is still standing strong. That’s how he earned his name.

This is a Mourning Dove at our new bird bath. I left the old one empty when we visited our son and daughter-in-law because I didn’t want it to become a breeding ground for mosquitos. Normally I change the water every day. So the end of the story is that the old bird bath didn’t survive in the heat being dry. A resin coating splintered and peeled leaving an unhealthy mess for the birds.

A Gila Woodpecker hopped on for a ride.

Another look at Red and Mrs. before we leave for our beach vacation.

Last but not least, it was Waffles the pug’s 10th birthday this week. It seems like yesterday he celebrated birthday number one while we were on our beach vacation! These two photos were taken at our friends’ house in Santa Barbara for Waffles first birthday.

My daughter made flyers and held a party for Waffles in a park near her apartment. She gave flyers to friends, co-workers, her favorite coffee shop and hung them on telephone poles in her neighborhood. She invited everyone with dogs or not and promised dog treats for all dogs. She had a crowd that included her friends and families and even a group of eight-year-old boys she didn’t know who wrapped presents for Waffles. Everyone thought it was a perfect family-friendly evening at the park and want to meet every week.

The old man Waffles with gray hair at age 10.

What photos do you like? What do you think is up with Red’s head?

What are your plans for the weekend?