We’ve been moving the past few weeks…. met some of our new neighbors the other day. Seeing chickens in town is kind of strange and fun. Didn’t get a very good picture, but took it anyway to remind myself that even in the “downtown” area where we live, there is a little bit of country.
My daughter bought some lovely Peony flowers. They started off as buds and were hot pink. For some reason, I never realized peonies can change color, especially after being cut. As they bloomed more and more, the color changed from bright pink to peach and finally to white, then the petals dropped. They are a new favorite flower for me now.
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Elephant Seals at San Simeon. Not enough zoom on my camera for any close-ups.
These pictures were taken on a very cold, rainy, dreary day at Moonstone Beach in Cambria, and though we were chilly, we had a great time in this beautiful area. Wish the sun had been shining though, so my pictures would have shown up a little better.
I cannot remember what kind of birds these were. There were hundreds of them.
Cambria California
Sun trying to peek through in nearby Cayucos.
PHOTOS taken during the winter along California’s Central Coast
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San Simeon, CA. Moonstone Beach Cambria, CA. Cayucos, CA.
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Monterey Bay, California
I thought I had already posted these photos from last year of my visit to Monterey, but cannot find them. My photo blog is for my own memories as well as for sharing, so I am posting them again (or for the first time) to make sure I have them.
Candy Store!
I really do not like to have my photo taken, but I am trying to put up a few for my family’s memories. This photo of my hubby and I was taken by a 10 year old friend whom we were with.
When we arrived at Monterey Bay the sun was starting to go down. I have no idea how to take pictures in that kind of lighting, so I fiddled with the few settings on my point-and-shoot camera but they turned out worse than just leaving it at automatic. I had to boost the pictures a bit in my default photo editor in order to see them, as they were too dark and dull.
Regardless, the last of the sunlight on the boats and the water was very pretty. I wish I could have captured it better, but this is the best I could do. I like it anyway. 
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Had my point and shoot camera on farthest zoom so this is not very clear, but it appeared to be a dead plant or bush that looked like a little man-creature (maybe 3 feet tall).
Source: Google search for Cousin It.
As a kid I watched The Addams Family tv series, and Cousin It was an odd little character. Seeing that mysterious and uniquely shaped dead bush that I photographed, made me think of Cousin It. Interesting yes?
Location of plant: Unnamed local park in Solvang California.
Took this picture a few years ago of a big beautiful dragonfly on our front door, but I did not have a photo blog to share back then. We no longer live there, but I used to tell people that we had “dragonflies the size of small birds!” in that town. They were bigger than any dragonflies I have seen before or since.
Update: I had a comment from The Pal Guy today in which I was introduced to the bluet, a damselfly, which is related to the dragonfly. I had to research it because I had never heard of the bluet/damselfy. I learned that the dragonfly has eyes very close together and has wings that are open at rest. The damselfly has separated eyes and wings are closed at rest. Thanks Pal Guy!
We live about an hour away, and yet we rarely get to the beach in Santa Barbara CA.
Flashback Memory: February 2011. The weather was perfect that day!
Normally I don’t mind that I don’t have a fancy camera nor photoshop or other editing software/skills, but for these photos I wish they could have been done in some other way, so as to really show off the contrasts and clarity. Even so, I think they are a very cool slice of nature. (With a little man-made help: Concrete has been poured to help with soil erosion).
(Above) I liked the blaze of sunlight, and I did amp up the contrast on that a bit. These were all taken at Hans Christian Andersen Park in Solvang CA.
These last 2 were photographed December 2011.
Copyright: (c) TriciasThings.wordpress.com. Photos by Tricia.
p.s. I look at a lot of other photoblogs and they are so amazing that sometimes I think I should not even post my pictures, out of embarrassment. But it is important not to be too critical of oneself, and I do it for my own personal memories, for a hobby, and for fun. So I try not to compare with those who are better than I. My hope is that you enjoy my photos for what little they may offer, and if you ever take pictures of the same subject matter, I would love to see them, as I can only imagine how beautiful they could really be!
~Tricia
I like the thick gnarly trunk of the above tree.
The colors on the hillside accentuated this lovely oak.
A ray of sunlight shines over the dry branches.
Dark craggy branches interlock with each other in this very cool bunch of trees.
Mossy oak.
“The mighty oak from little acorns grow.” The oak tree has such a large root system that it extends farther than the branching part of the tree. These photos were taken December 2011 through March 2012 on my pocket Casio z1050 10 megapixel camera, (which is taped up because the battery won’t stay in otherwise. I really need a new camera.) These amazing trees are everywhere you look, on the hillsides, in the parks, down the back roads, in SOLVANG CA.
Photos by Tricia (c) TriciasThings.wordpress.com
(c) TriciasThings.wordpress.com
I like the YES WE LIKE TO BITE! sign.
Ostrichland in Buellton CA
Ostriches are such unique looking creatures!
(c) TriciasThings.wordpress.com
So are ostriches birds or related to dinosaurs? Wikipedia says though flightless, they are the largest living species of bird. Other research shows they are related to dinosaurs as well!
Size: 8-9 feet tall and 350 pounds, an ostrich can run 35 miles per hour. They can live to be up to 75 years old! Source: OstrichlandUSA.com
Ostriches are native to Africa. Emus are native to Australia.
We enjoyed our visit to Ostrichland (we call it the Ostrich farm) and if you have young children, the farm sometimes suggests they feed a smaller Emu instead (though emus are not that much smaller).
