idyllwild california

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Rainbow colors - aloe flowers

Sunday Post: Ongoing

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Today I’m participating in Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post photo challenge. This week’s theme is Ongoing.

It took me a little time to figure out what type of photos I could take to best represent this theme. At first, I thought photographing a sunrise or a sunset in progression would be perfect. Unfortunately we haven’t had the best weather recently, so this opportunity has not presented itself in time.

So I’m offering you my second pick for this ongoing theme: bees, hard at work on a variety of flowers. What I find most amazing about bees is how relentless they are at doing their job, even when you stand right next to them for a photo opportunity. Their work is ongoing and uninterrupted and I love watching them and capturing them on camera.

Remember you can click on each photo so you can see it in a larger size.

I took this photo at Balboa Park in San Diego earlier this week. These are pear blossoms from ornamental pear trees. The bees were super busy collecting nectar from the thousands of flowers available to them.

Sunday Post: Ongoing - bees on the pear blossoms at San Diego Balboa Park — Sunday Post: Ongoing – bees on the pear blossoms at San Diego Balboa Park

This next photo is also from Balboa Park. Apparently the bees weren’t just busy with the pear blossoms. They were also hard at work on these beautiful aloe flowers. You could see the ongoing flow of bees all over these flowers.

Sunday Post: Ongoing - bees on aloe flowers at Balboa Park in San Diego — Sunday Post: Ongoing – bees on aloe flowers at Balboa Park in San Diego

I took the next photo at the San Diego Botanic Garden a few weeks ago. Bees seemed to love this cactus flower. You can see more photos of these bees and cactus here.

Sunday Post: Ongoing - bees on cactus flowers at the San Diego Botanic Garden — Sunday Post: Ongoing – bees on cactus flowers at the San Diego Botanic Garden

This next photo is from Idyllwild, California. This bee’s ongoing nectar collection on this wild rose made for a great photo opportunity.

Sunday Post: Ongoing - bee on a wild rose in Idyllwild — Sunday Post: Ongoing – bee on a wild rose in Idyllwild

My last photo is not of a bee but a tiger swallowtail butterfly. Just like bees, butterflies go from one flower to the next to collect nectar. This is an ongoing job and gives me an opportunity to chase them around to try to get a good shot. This one ended up on my 2013 photo calendar.

Sunday Post: Ongoing - tiger swallowtail butterfly — Sunday Post: Ongoing – tiger swallowtail butterfly

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Wood

This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge theme is wood. Last week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge theme was water and I couldn’t stop thinking of the many photos I could sort through to select the final few.

This week’s wood theme was a little more challenging for me. I didn’t want to show you just trees, trees and more trees. Yes, I will display a few trees below, but I also wanted to show you objects made out of wood. I hope you enjoy my selection of wood photos.

This HUGE wood sculpture is to welcome you to the small mountain town of Idyllwild in Southern California, about two hours north of San Diego. The man who created this sculpture for the town (apparently he wasn’t done with it when I snapped the photo) sells many other wood sculptures, mostly of wildlife. They’re just beautiful.

Cece's Fun Foto Challenge - Wood - Wood sculpture in Idyllwild, California — Cece’s Fun Foto Challenge – Wood – Wood sculpture in Idyllwild, California

Here’s the same Idyllwild wood sculpture from a different angle.

Wildlife wood sculpture in Idyllwild California

Here are two Stellar Jay birds perched on opposite branches of a pine tree. This photo was taken in Idyllwild too, where Stellar Jays are easy to spot.

When we stayed in Idyllwild the first time, we rented a dome house made entirely out of wood inside and out. Here’s a part of the interior walls and ceiling to show you what a dome house looks like. Pretty neat, huh?

I took the next photo on the Star of India ship at the San Diego Maritime Museum with my kids (working hard!). That ship was used in the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with Russell Crowe and it’s still an active ship to this day.

Star of India - San Diego Maritime Museum — Star of India – San Diego Maritime Museum

As for these last photos, let me tell you a funny story. I took them at Dos Picos State Park northeast of San Diego a couple of years ago and never used them for anything. But I still saved them on my computer, because I knew I would use them one day for sure. And now the day has come. I present you a pile of wood!

Here is the pile of wood from up close. I find it pretty nice actually.

January 25, 2013February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Bird photos, California Photos, Forest Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Tree Photos, Woods PhotosTags: California pictures, Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Wood, dome house, dos picos state park, idyllwild california, idyllwild wood sculpture, photography, photos, photos of trees, photos of wood, pile of wood, San Diego, san diego maritime museum, star of india, wood photos, wooden dome house 11 Comments

My 2013 calendar pick for June: a bee on a wild rose

View all of the pictures I selected for my 2013 photo calendar.

My 2013 12-month photo calendar is now available for sale on my Zazzle online store. Thank you for your support!

This past June, I took my kids on vacation to the small mountain town of Idyllwild in Southern California. 90% of the forests in San Diego County have burned down over the past 10 years so there’s not much greenery to enjoy, something I terribly miss living here. Idyllwild is just two hours away and very green, full of large pine trees, manzanita trees and other local species.

A small creek runs through the town. It must be a pretty good size in the winter and spring but by the time summer comes, the water barely runs. Still, Strawberry Creek is a beautiful place, mostly in the shade, and you can walk the trail right by its side.

Strawberry Creek owns its name to the many, many wild strawberries that grow throughout the town, but it could just as well be named Wild Rose Creek since the area features many wild roses too. And bees love them. They love them so much they don’t mind you taking pictures of them at all. I ended up with several good photos of bees on wild roses, but I picked the one below for my 2013 photo calendar. Of course, I used it for June since it happens to be the time of the year I took this picture. Let me know what you think of it.

My 2013 calendar pick for June: a bee on a wild rose

You can also view my 2013 photo calendar picks for January, February, March, April and May.

October 2, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Animal Photos, Bloom Photos, California Photos, Flower Photos, Photography, UncategorizedTags: 2013 calendar, 2013 photo calendar, bee on flower, bee on wild rose, bee photos, blooms, idyllwild california, photo of bees, photography, photos, photos of blooms, photos of flowers, photos of wild rose, wild rose photo, wild rose photography 10 Comments

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Focus - Sweet pea flower in Idyllwild, California

Sweet pea, you’re so pretty

The small town of Idyllwild, California, is famous for its strawberry creek and its strawberry plants all over town. But after visiting the town a couple of times, I’ve figured out sweet peas also are a popular sight all over. The blooms are either bright pink or white and you’ll often see patches of both colors blending in together.

Sweet pea flowers are very simple but they’re also very pretty. Nature really knows how to make the best out of every plant.

Sweet pea flower in Idyllwild, California

September 10, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Bloom Photos, California Photos, Flower Photos, PhotographyTags: blooms, idyllwild california, photo of sweet pea flowers, photography, photos, photos of blooms, photos of flowers, sweet pea bloom photo, sweet pea flower photo, sweet pea photo Leave a comment

The face in the rock

I love looking at rocks, big and small, mountains and cliffs, and try to discover the hidden shapes within them. Some shapes are very obvious, others are harder to spot, even when you help people trying to see them.

Here’s a large boulder I found while enjoying a walk in Idyllwild County Park in the town of Idyllwild, California. To me, the hidden face in the rock is very obvious but I often wonder how many people walk by it and never notice it.

Click on the photo of the hidden face in the rock for larger view.

A few months ago, I was hiking in Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, California, when I looked up at the cliffs facing me on the side of the trail.

That’s when I spotted it. The hidden head profile in the rocks. It’s facing left, with its big nose and big brow. But then a friend of mine mentioned the dog. What dog, I asked? The one on the right of the face, he replied. Well, I’ll be damned, I did see the dog as clear as day after he mentioned it. And it’s cute too.

Take a look at this photo of the man’s hidden face and the dog’s hidden face and let me know if you spot them too.