A Pelican Feeding Frenzy

The greatest thing about moving to California is definitely the nature watching opportunities. I can’t tell you all the wonderful things  my eyes have seen since we’ve arrived! I will do my best to show you what I can, though!

Perhaps tonight I will finally download all the kayaking pictures we took using Alan’s cell phone. Kayaking with the seals, sea otters, and sea lions was incredible, and we managed to get a few photos of them. Wildlife fascinates me.

One thing I have always loved about the beach is that it’s different every single time you go. On Monday, it may be covered in sea weed, or kelp, as is the case here. On Tuesday, there may be less of it, but lo and behold, a dead sea lion has washed ashore. The next day, you may see him again, not looking so great. A week later, all of that is gone, but there are billions of tiny shells and rocks everywhere. It is always different.

In the past 3 months, I have seen:

-a sea gull harassing a sea otter, in hopes of obtaining some crab scraps

-a sea lion, just as interested in me as I was in him

-A seal was stalking us when we were kayaking, for a while–freaked me out a little bit…

-sea gulls devouring a family’s McDonald’s picnic, as they posed for pictures by the water…….Poor family.

-homeless people sleeping on the beach

-a dead sea lion washed ashore, with a giant hole in his side–a little disturbing

-billions of tiny, molted crab shells

-seals, leaping out of the water

-one humpback whale, leaping out of the water—-If awesome weren’t such an over-used word… how to describe this…It was a breathtaking sight that I will never forget.

-two sea otters mating….while the baby chased them, squealing at the top of his little lungs….haunting and embarrassing…

-jellyfish–thankfully from afar……I was stung as a young teenager. That’s something I’ll never forget.

–and just the other day……a pelican FEEDING frenzy. There were literally hundreds of pelicans. Pelicans are favorites of mine, so I was delighted to be there!

Of course, this sea lion buddy was there too. You can’t go to Monterey Bay without seeing a sea mammal!  I love it.

I wish this picture were clearer. These birds have such long beaks.

By this time, it was getting darker. After all, I have to wait for my childcare to get home from work to do things like this. 🙂

Come back soon for sea otters and redwoods! Hopefully, I’ll get those up by the end of the week.

Update on Caleb:  The “coke in the morning” was a complete disappointment. He acted more like a caffeinated child than a medicated child. That would point in the direction of this NOT being ADD that we are seeing in Caleb. I may not want to try the caffeine thing again!

Meanwhile, the baby just woke up from his nap, so this is one momma that needs to become a lot more like the caffeinated child…..Where did I put my coffee cup…..

5 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Matthew 6:25-27