"Look Down" is the theme for July 1 at City Daily Photos. I've been scouring through my photos to find something appropriate. I found many that fit the theme, but I like this one best. It was taken at Moonstone Beach in Cambria. I was looking down the stairs that led to the tide pools.
You can never predict what someone may leave on the sidewalk. This scooter was abandoned by a little girl in my neighborhood, but only temporarily. It would still be easy to trip over if one didn't look down.
Mother Nature's Surprises
Mother Nature often has surprises for us when we look down. On the day I took this photo, I was walking through City Park in Paso Robles. I was actually looking at some magnolia cones that had fallen and been raided by nature's scavengers. Then I noticed the moss growing in the cracks of the walkway.
You never know what the creepie crawlies are doing unless you look down. Or, maybe, you don't really want to know what they are doing. Try not to blush. Just what I don't need -- more box elder bugs
One can approach the ocean from Paso Robles in many ways. Probably the closest beaches to Paso Robles are Cambria, San Simeon State Beach, and Cayucos. Continue south on Highway 1 or take 101 to Highway 41 to reach Morro Bay. Just a bit farther south and you will be at Avila Beach and Pismo Beach.Each beach and coastal city has its own unique character, and most locals have a preferred beach where they like to access the ocean. My personal favorite is Moonstone Beach, and next would be Avila Beach. The photo essays I just linked to will show you an extensive look at each beach in photos and videos as I experienced them. I will introduce some different and more recent photos here. I'm glad the ocean is only a short distance from Paso Robles, and I can get to any of my favorite beaches quickly. One of my favorite places to access the ocean in Cambria is Leffingwell Landing. Below are some of the reasons why.
Leffingwell Landing is one place where I can go with Hubby, who has difficulty walking very far, where he can sit and watch the ocean while I walk the boardwalk and we are both happy. There are also restrooms easily accessible. I think the sun is in his eyes in this photo.
Leffingwell Landing is a place where children can be active while getting their own personal taste of nature. I remember how my own children loved to climb on the rocks when we went to a beach that had them. They would have loved the Cambria coastline.
If you watch my video, you can hear the ocean at San Simeon, as well as see it.
Now we will move south to Cayucos. When I think of Cayucos I think of not only the ocean and the beach, but also the seaweed and the patterns formed by the waves on the sand.
Time to move south to Morro Bay now. Morro Bay's most famous landmarks are its smokestacks and Morro Rock. Since I'm focused on the ocean, I'll show you the rock. Since Morro Bay is a fishing village, it is usually surrounded by boats.
It's time to move on to Avila Beach, which actually is two beaches. There's the one near town with a more typical sandy beach, and there is also Port San Luis. These photos were taken at Port San Luis because there is more wildlife to look at. Below is a gull on the rocks deciding whether to go fishing.
Our last stop will be Pismo Beach. It's a popular beach with people and seagulls. Don't leave your picnic food unattended. It will soon be surrounded. This is what happened to one ice chest left by itself on the beach. It's like an airport restaurant for seagulls.
Here's a glimpse of people enjoying Pismo Beach near the pier.
Here are some of my more popular Zazzle products made from photos taken at Pismo Beach, in case you missed picking up a souvenir last time you were there.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of this post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.
This is my fifteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.
I think I've had cabin fever. Yesterday was the first time in over a year that I did not write any blog posts or spend time online. It was almost as though my brain just wanted to rest. So I let it. I read three books on my Kindle which weren't worth my time, watched a bit of TV, and stayed in bed a lot. I think I may have been half sick. For sure I was depressed.
Today we decided to get away for a few hours and break the routines I felt trapped in. First we went for lunch at Touch of Paso. We were the last to leave, so I took this picture just before we paid our bill. Hubby is still double-checking it.
After we had eaten, we headed down Highway 46 West to Highway 1 to Leffingwell Landing. I wish I could have stopped along the way to take photos of the cattle on the green hills which stretched all the way to the sea. It was clear enough today to actually get a glimpse of the ocean from the highway, but all the viewpoints were on the other side of the road. I was hoping to catch some of those views on the way home, but it didn't happen.
It was a beautiful day to be on the coast. It was warm enough to enjoy without sweater. The sky was very blue and clear. The waves were large enough to make some high sprays as they splashed on the rocks. I made a video I may share later in the week. I didn't see the way to the boardwalk so I mainly took my photos from the parking lot and the stairway to the beach. Since it ended on a huge rock, I didn't think it wise for me to go down to the beach via the rock. My knees weren't up to the rough surface. I did, however, get this photo from the parking lot.
People were friendly today and open to conversations with strangers. We met some people who lived in Fresno and they offered to take our picture together. We talked for a bit afterwards.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, another man pointed out some otters swimming some distance away. I would have missed them -- especially since my camera battery had just died and ended my being able to see through my zoom lens. I seem to have misplaced my spare camera and I couldn't find it before we left home, so I didn't get all the photos I'd hoped to get, including those I wanted to take of the hills on the way home.
It's amazing what a large dose of nature can do to combat depression. It sure beats talking to a therapist, is more fun, and a lot cheaper. I highly recommend it.
I first met squirrels when I was about six years old with my mother at the Capitol Park in Sacramento. They were so tame they would come and eat out of my hand. They were tree squirrels. I thought they were cute and always enjoyed seeing them.
I still always look for them when I'm around trees. I've seen many of them in the oak trees behind Peachy Canyon's Tasting Room On Highway 46 West and Bethel Road in Paso Robles. (Or is it Templeton? It's one of those in between places.) I was unable to get a photo because the squirrels were moving to the next tree before I could get them in focus. They are very nimble and very quick. They are fun to watch. I support Squirrel Appreciation Day for tree squirrels most of the time. The squirrel in the photo above was found in a tree on Oak Lane in Paso Robles.
I Have Mixed Feelings about Ground Squirrels
I continued to enjoy and appreciate squirrels until one summer they destroyed most of my garden, plant by plant, very systematically, until there were no tomato or cucumber plants left. I never saw the culprits, but my husband finally saw the tail of one whisking away one day. Before that we had no idea of what had hit us. These culprits were ground squirrels, and they are very active in our area. I can appreciate how cute they are at Moonstone Beach, where I photographed this one, or almost anywhere but in my garden. Those who venture into my garden, however, I declare war on.
I loved this photo of two ground squirrels I saw checking each other out at Moonstone Beach in Cambria.
In case you ever see a tiny ground squirrel that appears to be orphaned and you want to help, my friend Rex Truelove has written this article on Caring for Orphaned Ground Squirrels. I have never run into this problem on my property because the neighbor's cats would have found them before I would have.
Products to Help Fight Squirrels, Learn More About Them, or Express Squirrel Appreciation
Squirrel Traps
If you have a destructive squirrel, you might want to look into one of these traps. I've been told the Squirrelinator works very well. Whichever solution you try, you can expect a tough battle. Before you buy a catch and release type trap, be sure it's legal to release the squirrels in your area. Many areas forbid releasing the squirrels because they aren't appreciated everywhere. They can carry diseases and destroy crops.
Theme Day this first day of 2016 is supposed to be our best photo posted from 2015. How does one decide? I suppose I'll choose my favorite, but I have a different favorite for each category. Since my favorite category is the sky, I will choose this as the sky photo I personally liked best. Maybe that's because it is red and it blew my mind when I saw it. It came from this blog post: In Search of the Super Blood Moon, which contains several other sky shots I liked, in case you missed this post the first time around.
There are also some runners-up as my personal favorite shots in 2015. These are some of the nature and animal shots I was happy to capture. Follow the link in the caption to get the story behind the photos.
I'm patiently waiting for the days to get cooler now that autumn is here. Were I not so busy with a couple of projects that involve a lot of physical labor and a deadline in three days, I would be here today. I love Leffingwell Landing. To see these waves up closer, just click the photo to make it larger. Here are more photos from Leffingwell Landing in Cambria.
Cambria is often twenty degrees cooler than Paso Robles during a heat wave. What's not to love? Anyone can enjoy Leffingwell Landing in Cambria. Some people enjoy napping in the park. Perhaps these folks first enjoyed a picnic in the shade of this enormous tree.
The park and the ocean views are accessible to almost everyone, even those in walkers. One can just sit under the shade of a tree and look out toward Moonstone Beach and watch the ocean and the seagulls. This couple appears to be spending a relaxing afternoon doing just that.
I didn't have time to walk the boardwalk on my short visit, but I didn't even need to leave the parking lot to get this view and many others of the ocean. If you're not doing anything special today, why not take someone special to Leffingwell Landing and have a cool afternoon?
I enjoy watching sea gulls as they interact with the sea from the shore. This photo was taken near the bridge at Leffingwell Landing. It appears the gulls are standing on seaweed which has washed ashore, waiting for a wave to come in. You can lick the photos to enlarge them.
