All God's Creatures Big and Small

This year, we decided to take a day and go exploing at the tide pools in La Jolla. I was in absolute heaven because in the process we ran into all kinds of wildlife, which I promptly photographed. I won't share them all ... no, no don't beg - you will not change my mind ... but here are some of the best!

A sea anemone ... both girls touched it ...
and grossed out a little at how sticky it felt!


Looks like this little green crab ...
perhaps a relative of Michael Crabson? ...
likes seafood as much as we do!


We thought this little guy must have spent some time working out ...
just compare the size of his claws with his friend's above...


This is Casa Cove, a tiny cove that is protected by a concrete breakwater, which used to be a be a swimming area for children ... that is until the seals and sea lions moved in! Now it has been set aside for them, and people can visit and watch them frolicing in the surrounding waters.


One of the seals that we watched for awhile as he did flip after flip in the water, splashing the water with his fins like he was Shamoo!


These two guys were playing their version of Ninja ... they would take turns moving and trying to bite each other. Check out the teeth on the one in front!


The coves surrounding Casa Cove are part of a preserve where people can snorkle and observe sea life ... this curious seal thought it worked the other way around and was caught checking out the local human life! An article I read online said that they often will come up and pull on a snorkler's fin playfully.


Who doesn't love squirrels? The girls were absolutely smitten with these little guys and even fed them a few peanuts before we saw the signs that told us not to do so. It was obvious, however, that the rule is constantly broken because the squirrels were so brave ... they would literaly charge the girls the minute they held out their hands!


This little guy must have been a squointer ... a mix between a squirrel and a pointer ... check out the great hunting position he took as he watched the peanut dropping to the ground.


A close up ... I felt like Dori and the jelly fish ... I just wanted to pick one up and love it and hug it and call it my squirrelly.



This is a species of June Beetle called a Fig Beetle. It is only about an inch and a half long ...
love the macro setting on my camera!
(NO we did not hold this one ... just on the rock ... when it tried to walk onto my hand I dropped the rock and it flew off!)

OK .. now for my favorites ...

When we were at the tide pools, I decided to venture along a sand stone cliff and get pictures of seaguls flying .. or rather taking flight from the cliffs ... the following are 3 of the best shots I got. They make me happy ...





And so do you ....

Lisa

Boogie Boating

Every year when we have gone to the beach, we have brought some sort of flotation device for the kids to play with in the ocean. (After 7 years of boogie boards, we had to get a little creative!) Last year my friend Julie brought inflatable rings for the kids, which were a huge hit! So much so that the ocean was sprinkled with them the day after we brought ours out. :) This year the O'Rileys brought their big raft (affectionately called the "Y-Wing" because it resembles the Y-Wing Ship from Star Wars) to the beach. It was a super hit with the kids, who took to it really quickly and spent a great deal of time out riding the waves in their "ship." Kt was a little concerned that the raft would flip ... and it did ... a few times ... but it did not damper their excitement over riding the waves in it. Here are some pics ...

Pushing down the nose to try and catch the wave and ride it in to shore.

Looks like a flip waiting to happen ... but slapped down just in time!
(Much to Jillian's relief, I am pretty sure this was the last wave she rode that day!)

The 3 big kids catch a big wave ... sideways ...
determination fills their faces as then hold on with all their might.
(It's either determination or holding their breath and gritting their teeth ... I cant tell which!)

KT getting showered with the white water as the wave broke ...
notice the drop about to land on her nose ...


Look at the wave crashing down upon the raft ...
which would fill with water ... and still float..
BUT
would he incredibly difficult to get back on land
with pounds and pounds of water between the liner and the boat.
Julie and I tried to pull it ashore by ourselves one day ...
let's just say that the lifeguard was probably laughing so hard
that he could look at nothing else!

By the Week's end the kid's had created their own company:
JC Water Rides

Here is a little video that explains their rules ...
just in case you want to go on one of their adventures!

Lessons From The Sea

God's Whisperings to Me

O.K. so one thing I have learned lately is that Nature is a great conduit for the Lord's teaching. The more I sit and observe it, the more I see that God's truths are intertwined throughout it ... just waiting for the soul willing to sit long enough to witness it. Today was no different. We went down to the beach at 9 this morning. The fog was perched out on the horizon thick and dark, but unmoving ... leaving us with blue skies and the morning low tide. Every year low tide has afforded us a theme gift. In years past the gifts have included: little red mini-lobsters (dead), kelp, and round river rock like stones. (Let me take a minute to clarify the word theme in the sentence above ... when I say theme gift, I mean that the beach was literally speckled with them.) Anyway, the gift this year is a littering of broken shells and pebbles, as shown in the photo above. So, this morning we set off walking the length of the beach looking for special finds. Our pace was fairly quick at first, and we found quite a few special shells. The girls, happy with their treasures commenced to build sand castles ... while I was compelled to search on ... this time a little more slowly.


As I walked the same strand of beach SLOWLY, I found more and more shells that I had not seen the first time around.

God's whisperings to me: Sometimes the things I want to show you are right in front of you, you just don't see them because you are going to fast.



Having reached the end of the beach once more, I turned and began to walk back ... even SLOWER. Once again, I was delighted to find shells that I could not have imagined were there just moments ago when I walked by.

God's whisperings to me: Sometimes I reveal things all at once, other times I choose to reveal things in layers. You need to remain seeking my voice at all times.



I dropped my shells off at our "spot," and turned to look at the ocean. I had the sudden urge to see what I could find in the water. What treasures awaited me there? Would I .. could I find a sand dollar? There had been many pieces along my walks, but could I find a while one? SLOWY, I walked along the shore ... in the water ... and within 5 minutes I had found an almost complete sand dollar!

God's whisperings to me: Sometimes I will ask you to go deeper to find something that I want to share with you. You must be willing to go the extra mile to find it.



Towards the end of the day J found an absolutely amazing, tiny shell ... which he gave to C, who is treasuring it as the most treasured find of the day. It is so small and fragile.

God's whisperings to me: Sometimes I choose to use other people to bless you, or to teach you something. Sometimes, I will use you. You need only to be willing to receive ... and give. Always remember that a blessing is not defined by its size. A small thing, can produce mighty effects.


We walked away from the beach this afternoon, we walked away hands full of treasures ... In addition to which, I walked away with a heart full of truths. May God have lessons for each of us in the simple moments of life ... and may we always go slowly enough to find them!

Meet Michael Crabson

Oceanside: Day 2
"Meet Michael Crabson"

Hello there friends! Today was our second day on the beach. Like yesterday, the morning started out really foggy so we went for a walk along the shore. The girls found all sort of shells and this little guy who was all covered in sand. They immediately commenced hollering for me, excited to share their most amazing discovery. It was decided that we would take him back to our spot down the beach to share with our friends, but we had no containers. I, feeling a little scared, picked him up in a kelp leaf, and we began our trip back to "our spot."












When we arrived, we washed him off and placed him in his newly built beach condo complete with a kelp bed ... built by C who was rather concerned that he would manage to get away if we did not create some sort of enclosure for him. Before moving in, he was treated to a luxurious bath ... which he was surprisingly not super excited about. (Don't ask how we knew that he didn't like it, it would be difficult to explain ... we just knew.) Free of all sand our crab was placed in his home, where he posed for this picture and then began to walk sideways up the wall of his home. C decided that it looked like he was moon-walking and proudly gave him the name "Michael Crabson." It was difficult to get great pictures of him in his house, so I tried to talk the girls into holding him ... which was not well received by them ... which meant it was all up to me. I tested his "pinchiness" with a piece of seaweed, and then (while holding my breath) picked him up. He quickly scampered up my arm, which sent the girls into a tizzy.




















I scooted him back down into my hand and spent some time letting him acclimate to the whole sensation of being held ... he watched me intently while I watched him ... just as intently. Then he began to simply rest on my hand, and which point I slowly took out my camera, put it on macro, and began shooting pictures. Being "Michael Crabson" this little guy was all about the pictures and sat through many a frame. Often moving to grant me another "gotta have it moment." In truth it became rather like a Hollywood shoot.












Like all famous crustations, Michael was quite awed by bling ... and he even tried to grab onto it with his greedly little pinchers. After watching me interact with this amazingly harmless little creature, the girls decided that they would hold him as well ... with the one condition that I remove him from them at their first request ... quickly and carefully. Both girls did hold him ... and managed to not fling him into the air at the first feel of his hairy little velcro-like feet. Shortly after, we took him back to the rocks where we found him and released him back to the wild ... where I am sure he instantly began the process of recuperating from the stress of being famous.

Michael's Official Headshot

and an "unoffical" movie
of his moonwalking