Sandpipers

Sandpiper In Flight

Sandpiper and its Mirror Image

another "kissing its image" shot

Partners

Separate Ways

More Sandpipers

These are shots I took Sunday at San Diego River Estuary near the Dog Beach at Ocean Beach, San Diego. A lot of birds can be seen in this "where the river meets the sea" stretch, most common are the sea gulls, sandpipers, egrets and herons. I however will talk only about sand pipers in this post and save all the other bird pictures later.

Sandpipers are one of the commonly seen birds in San Diego coastlines. It is a joy watching them playing with the water's edge, they tend to play and chase the waves at the beaches. These are migratory birds, however, I see them year round in beaches here, bays, and estuaries. They are very social birds since they tend to really flock together and oftentimes with coordinated movement. Unlike the gulls, they do not attempt to steal your foods :) instead they are so focused on finding their meal underneath the sand and water.

The Prize of Hiking

I love hiking, it is my most favorite form of exercise to stay fit. I am glad to be living here in San Diego where I can hike after work. They are so near, yet they look far. It is within the city but it does not look like part of the city.

Who would think that this sight is part of this city pictured below?

One of the joys of hiking is knowing I am fit to hike. I exercise my heart, my legs, my body, and above all, my mind and spirit. Seeing the beauty of nature reminds me of the wonderful presence and brilliance of our loving God. It is a time for listening to myself, to my breathing, and a very precious time for feeling God's love. Hiking brings us out of the doors to take in fresh air, to breathe in the healing gifts of nature, and breathe out whatever stress we get from our daily work. It is my hope to continue hiking even when I get very old, and hopefully not to rely on simvastatin to keep my health on top of the Healthline.

Hiking releases stress, no material competitiveness, no pretensions, just pure joy in admiring the serenity around you. Hiking is a nice escape after a day's work, or a stress buster during weekends, and a perfect time to feel God's loving presence.

Faces

Faces....what do you see? Do you see the same expressions as I do when I first viewed these pictures? The pictures below were taken last Sunday by my husband who decided to focus on faces during our relaxing stroll at the Wild Animal Park.

Sad ?

Lemur are nocturnal primates native to Madagascar. Lemurs are named after the lemures (ghosts or spirits) due to their reflective eyes, ghostly vocalization and nocturnal habits.

Pensive?

Black-crowned night heron is a local San Diego bird that is found throughout a large part of the world. These birds often frequent the Wild Animal Park maybe because they see the place as a rich place for them to hunt and hang out.

Angry?

Shoebill stork is such a huge bird - they are quite tall, with such a penetrating stare that can really look straight at you in the eye without batting their eye lash. These birds are solitary and native to the marshy banks of the East African White Nile. They feed on frogs, small crocodiles, and other mud puddle fish. 

Relaxed? 

Actually, since this is the Wild Animal Park, I am not very sure what type of pelican is this. Is this the pink backed pelican that is native to Africa, or is this a local white pelican that is found all over the world and like the herons also make this park their favorite stop? 

Focused

Hummingbirds are so easy to find everywhere in San Diego but are not so easy to photograph because they move so quick, in fact the humming is from the quick flapping of their wings. 

Cutesy?

The African Crowned Crane looks very majestic with their crown that is made of tall stiff golden feathers that looks like a real crown. These birds seem to love to walk in pairs.

Surprised?

Who doesn't love the meerkats? They are just so cute and adorable little creatures. They love to be in groups, and always show off their cute and admirable poses. 

San Diego Whale Watching: Celebrating the Diversity of Life at Sea

In my dreams, I invited them, and then, they came to give me some of life's simple gifts, such as BIG SMILES and PURE JOY :)

2 Gray Whales, One Diving, One Breathing

haha! Dream on Betchai! Last Saturday, hubby and I took the Bright and Morning Star boat from Shelter Island.

North Harbor @ Shelter Island, San Diego

And the transcript that follows here are a result of my "wishful" thinking, riding high the simple gift of pure joy from our natural world.

Dolphin: "Hey, there is a b- party on that boat! I am coming!"

Dolphins: "whoa! a party? We're definitely joining!"

Whales: "wiggle wiggle, let us dive and wag our tails, let us show them who the crowd drawer of the party is!"

Dolphin (smiling): " I do not need to prove anything, I give them a smile and their hearts melt, whoa!"

Whale: " And I just wag my tail again, and oh, they jump for joy!" 

Pelicans and Sea Gulls: "huh, there is a party? hurry!!!! We have to get the best meal, the best fish!"

Whale: "Ahhhh, there they are, waiting for me to breath again, they are excited to see my blowhole as much as my wagging tail!"

Sea Lions: " there's a party, shall we all jump in?"

Sea Lions: "were in! but where are the foods?"

Elephant Seals: " wish it's easy to leave the shore and join them there!"

Boobie to other Boobies: " I am Joining! Come, fly with me"

Mom Boobie: "I can't leave my baby, but you all have fun!"

Baby Elephant Seal : "Mom, I love you! If you want to join, I'll be okay here, I know you'll come back for me!"

Cormorants:"let's join them"

Cormorants, Sea Lions, Dolphin and Pelicans: "what a wonderful party it is!"

dolphins dancing: "joys, pure joy!"

Betchai: "oh oh, I can see the San Diego Skyline already,soon party is over :( "

Betchai: " and over :( , but then, again, what a wonderful joy the day went!!  "

Anyway, always thankful to God for all the blessings He had given me all these years. Life is beautiful, always is, and hoping and praying that it stays beautiful.

So Much More Than Hot

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.
Have you had a bite where it was super spicy you can hardly taste anything but hot? Where it seems your mouth is burning and you got to stop from eating since aside from hot your taste buds can not identify anything? I had a few of those moments, and I usually would simply stop from having more bites since I don't feel I am enjoying my foods anymore, but rather it seems like I am being punished.
However, I love spicy foods! But I love them with a taste, when, hot is not just hot, but it is so much more than hot. When the spiciness of the food brings the most of the taste of the dish. Now, that is my kind of hot. That's why I simply love using TABASCO® Original Red in our dishes. Tabasco Red is so much more than hot, its simple combination of salt, red pepper, and vinegar perfected in 3-year aging process produces a hot a sauce that has the uncanny ability to bring the most of of the taste of your food. I love Tabasco red on my pizza. Pizza and spicy wings are a favorite when we simply want to sit down and watch football, it has been a long Tabasco tradition, that is Superbowl and Tabasco.  However, since we shifted to healthier snacks, we substitute the spicy chicken wings to tofu sticks, and boy, how I love the tofu sticks with Tabasco Red. We also make our own pizza, since I love the combination of Asian vegetable ingredients that I can not find at all in any pizza shop. If you want more pizza ideas, you can also check out Pizza Perfected and get a thrill out of creating your own pizza.
Tabasco will go almost with anything, however, if you want to get more recipe ideas, check out Game-Day Party Menu for more food recipes enhanced by Tabasco Red.

The Joy of Giving In

I was walking at Balboa Park when the blossom of a lotus called my attention. I stopped, and enjoyed the moment of watching and drawing inspiration from their beauty.

Lotus Flower, Reflecting Pond, Balboa Park, San Diego

While I was taking a picture of the lotus flowers, suddenly a bumblebee appeared and enjoyed working on the blossom.

Bumblebee on Lotus Flower

Nature was so good, giving me an additional treat. Suddenly a bee followed on bumblebee.

Bee and Bumblebee on Lotus Flower

( you can click on this picture to enlarge)

What a joy it was to be treated with nature's surprises, I just stopped for the lotus flower, and the bumble bee and bee came in to add more life to the pictures. I was planning to inch a little bit closer and take a good picture, when, suddenly, a little voice from behind asked me, "Can I also take a picture?"

It was from a little girl. Though there was a lot of open space for both of us to take a picture, but I believe she believed where I stood was the best angle to take the picture, so I smiled to her and said, "Sure, go ahead."

She smiled back, hurriedly say "thank you" then she was lost in taking pictures of the flower. What a sight, what a joy, to see a little girl also inspired with her surroundings. Knowing her parents must be looking from somewhere, I did not attempt to take her a picture nor ask her to take her a picture for that will take sometime from her to capture the moment she wanted. Instead, I just watched her happily taking the shots. It is during these times, where the joy of giving in is so much more than the joy of taking pictures.