Walking Ocean Beach Hills

Last Sunday, I walked the hill on Niagara Avenue in Ocean Beach.  After checking out the apparent steepness of several blocks, I decided on Niagara because I wanted a challenge.   After the first block that is mildly hilly, the next two are similar to climbing steps.  This is, of course, the way it feels to me.  As  I trudged up the hill, a runner sprinted up on the other side of the street.  Although he seemed to be laboring, within minutes he was a block ahead of me.  I was really out of practice.  I walked as far as Venice where Niagara then proceeds down another hill into what looks like a ravine.  I only wanted the upward climb.  As I wandered around, I found a great vista of the shoreline and the ocean at Delmonte and Guiznot.

After taking a few photos, I proceeded down Guiznot to Brighton.  As I wound my way through the streets, at Lotus and Froude I spotted a beautiful, small olive green bird with a lighter green cheek sitting on a wire.  As I grabbed my camera out of its case, the bird flew into a nearby tree.  Then, the chase began.  Apparently, it liked this kind of tree as it flew to another tree with the same type of leaves and then, back to the first tree.  I scoured the leaves of the tree.  Of course, this green bird blended right in to the tree making it very difficult to follow.  As I was trying my best, I spotted two larger birds, one with a markedly yellow stomach.  I was able to photograph one of them more successfully while it was sitting at a juncture of many electrical wires.  I believe it is a Cassin's Kingbird, which is in the flycatcher family.   For aesthetic value, I would have preferred that the bird found a better place to perch.  I guess all those electrical impulses surging through the wires is of no concern to this Kingbird.  The little olive green bird continued to quickly flit  between the trees with very slender green leaves, never to be photographed by me.   

                  

 

Please feel free to share a
comment

Check out my other photos

Check out The Book of Micah

(Now on Kindle and on the Nook) 

                                             

                                                         

                                                                           

                                                                                         

Past Week's Excursions

This past week was a busy one.  On Monday, I went to the San Diego Zoo.  They have a sightseeing bus that travels through the park.  You can see everything and then, get off the bus and see the animals more closely.  If you pay to ride on this bus, you can also use an Express Bus to go back to see your favorite animals.  It stops at five different spots throughout the park.  You can get on and off at any of these spots at will. 

After getting off the bus, we had lunch at Sydney's (hamburgers and fries were good) and then, we headed for the giraffes.  Following this we went to the Australian Outback Koalafornia Dreaming exhibit.  The napping Koalas were cute.

And at the La Jolla Cove, the Gull was taking a walk across the road, but when a car came near he hightailed it back to the curb.  Why he didn't just fly across the street is beyond me.  He or she didn't seem injured.

At the La Jolla Children's Pool (which is really sort of a cove), an area of the rocks are populated by first on lower rocks, cormorants, secondly, closer to the water, seals (perhaps Elephant Seals), and thirdly, on a higher portion, the Brown Pelicans.

Brown pelicans

Cormorants

Seals

The Children's Pool at La Jolla Cove

The photo above shows the total area at the La Jolla Cove.  There is a small beach for swimmers and there were some.  Swimming so close to the large seals would not be my "cup of tea." 

Please feel free to share a
comment

Check out my other photos

Check out The Book of Micah