California pictures

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge - Birds of a feather - West African crane

Sunday Post: Peaceful

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Today I’m participating in Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post photo challenge. This week’s theme is Peaceful. As always, you can click on each image below for a larger view.

I find many aspects of nature very peaceful: the landscapes, the components (water always has a calming effect on me), the smells, the colors and the living creatures (except the predator type!).

For this particular post, I have chosen to feature animals that tend to display a peaceful behavior. Mourning doves are my first pick. I see many of them every day and I hear them cooing to each other, especially during the mating season. There’s something very peaceful about the sounds of doves cooing, don’t you think?

I took my next photo at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. These beautiful gerenuk antelopes were laying down in the tall grass. Their long necks and heads make them look like telescopes, don’t they? I love how they’re enjoying a peaceful sunbathing moment at the park.

Sunday Post: Peaceful generuk antelopes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I took the last photo featured below during the same trip, just down the path from the gerenuk antelopes. That’s where I spotted a couple of West African cranes. They too had decided to give a rest to their long legs and lay down on the ground for a little nap. West African cranes have the best hairdo, don’t they?

Sunday Post: Peaceful West African cranes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I hope these photos brought you a little peace today. What do you find most peaceful in your life?

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - bright skies as the sun sets

Sunday Post: Natural Resources

I’ve decided to join a few hundreds of other fellow bloggers in Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post photo challenge. This week’s theme is Natural Resources. As always, you can click on each image for a larger view.

California is full of natural resources, the main one being the sun. We get a lot of sun and don’t harvest as much as we should for energy purposes.

Sunday Post: Natural Resources - the sun — Sunday Post: Natural Resources – the sun

One very precious natural resource in California is water. Unlike the sun, we get too little of it.

Sunday Post: Natural Resources - water - Lake Hemet, California — Sunday Post: Natural Resources – water – Lake Hemet, California

And with sun and water, we get vegetation, mostly brush and small trees. But with a good amount of water, you get tall, beautiful trees.

Sunday Post: Natural Resources - trees of Idyllwild, California — Sunday Post: Natural Resources – trees of Idyllwild, California

I’m very fond of this last featured natural resource: honey, made by precious bees. Unfortunately, bees are a natural resource in danger. Besides being kind to bees, you can help their population by growing lots of flowers and flowering plants.

Sunday Post: Natural Resources - honey making bee — Sunday Post: Natural Resources – honey making bee

November 25, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Animal Photos, California Photos, Flower Photos, Photography, Sunset photosTags: bee photos, California pictures, California sun, honey bee, Jakesprinter Sunday Post photo challenge, Lake Hemet California, photography, photos, photos of flowers, photos of trees, Sunday Post: Natural Resources, trees, wild rose 11 Comments

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - fall foliage glows through the fog

I love foggy mornings

I love foggy mornings and they happen quite often in San Diego between November and March. Sometimes the fog is so thick, you can barely the lights of the cars in front of you on the freeway. Other times the fog lifts up here and there and you can see the top of the hills wrapped up in it while you’re standing in full sun.

Yesterday morning was foggy and I decided to take a few photos to capture the moment, especially since the sun was trying so hard to pierce through it.

It started with a low and heavy fog by the San Diego River:

Then the fog started lifting up, being burned by a few rays of sunlight:

Finally the fog was on his way out, allowing the sun to spread a layer of gold on the yellow leaves of the many poplars by the San Diego River.

The yellow leaves of the poplars by the San Diego River

I love the beautiful shades of Fall, especially when the fog softly wraps them up in the early morning.

Do you like fog or would you rather do without it?

November 21, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Landscape Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Sunrise Photos, Tree PhotosTags: California pictures, fall foliage, fall leaves, fog, fog photos, foggy morning, morning fog, photography, photos, photos of fog, photos of trees, poplar tree photos, San Diego, San Diego River photos, trees, trees in the fog, yellow leaves 7 Comments

The beautiful cloudy skies of Fall

One of the reasons I love Spring and Fall in San Diego is the clouds. Not really the gray stratus layer that indicates rain is visiting for the whole day, but rather the cumulonimbus clouds that appear after the rain. When the light hits these big puffy marshmallow clouds just right, they are simply gorgeous. Add a little yellow from the fall’s leaves and some blue sky and this is what you get:

Big puffy white clouds after the rain in San Diego

At night, clouds also make the sunset sights more interesting or even breathtaking. I love the mix of bluish grey clouds and the pink sky that often comes with a Fall sunset. These colors are look to soft to be real. Pink and gray really go well together, don’t you think?

Pink and gray sunset with clouds in San Diego

As for a missed opportunity, the other day I saw something in the sky I’d never seen before. It looked like someone just took the liberty to paint the white clouds in the sky with thick brush strokes of dark gray. You could literally see the stroke marks! Unfortunately I was driving with no camera available so you’ll just have to close your eyes and imagine what it looked like. I hope I get the chance to capture such a sky one day. It would make for a very cool picture.

November 19, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Sky Photos, Sunset photosTags: California pictures, clouds after the rain, cloudy skies, cloudy sky photos, photography, photos, pink sunset, puffy clouds, San Diego photos, San Diego sky, San Diego sunset, sky after the rain 6 Comments

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