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Rocky shoreline, dramatic scenery, salty breezes, cool temps. A breathtaking home for a clever brown pelican like Nigel Pellie, who lives unconstrained with dozens and dozens of other seabirds on a private beach in Palos Verdes. Nigel is one of the most recognized birds with his long neck and iconic throat pouch. He is sleek and well fed...an ace diver...those fish never see him coming. He spends most of his carefree days fishing and preening and is known as being very social in the flock he travels with. But there is more to Nigel then just that. Nigel is a collector. Seashells, feathers, colorful pebbles and small trinkets left behind by local beachcombers. He stashes his treasures undetected beneath a large misshaped sepia colored rock close to the shoreline. No one the wiser. Yes, his days are full and quite satisfying, a life he feels is well lived indeed.

The soul of a horse

"To understand the soul of a horse is the closest human beings can come to knowing perfection."

~ Author Unknown~

In my quest to photograph western theme subject matter for an upcoming exhibition I found myself on Memorial Day at Tom Sawyers where my daughter works taking care of their beautiful horses! I have to admit that I've always liked horses but they were a bit intimidating to me. But after taking photographs and helping water them I developed a much deeper connection with them...in fact I even feel in love with many of them!! Cornbread, the cream colored one in particular was soo sweet!! Yes, there is now a horse in my future!!

In plenty there as well, were ground squirrels, rabbits and birds all pillaging the horses tender alfalfa hay! I enjoyed photographing their thievery and antics as well!!

An amazing morning spent in the company of such majestic creatures...hope I can create a drawing of equal beauty!!

you remember Pete

you may recall a recent post of mine, filled with photographs from one of the most beautiful beaches (i think) in southern california. a private beach in palos verdes. 

that's where i met pete!

 it was a warm overcast afternoon, he was just hanging out with his pelican buddies and seagulls on the rocky shoreline discussing the days catch. pete was the only pelican who didn't fly away when i approached them stealth-like, as i didn't have my zoom lens with me. he definitely was not camera shy!

for being soo cooperative and gorgeous, i am creating a drawing of pete (in between my commissions). there will be a surprise twist to this drawing that i am very eager to add! i'm not going to say what it is yet, so we can all be surprised with the end results. for you because you've never seen it here before and for me to see if it actually works!! 

you won't see it till the very end so please stay tuned to this channel for the final results!

The ocean is not silent

a beautiful overcast sunday afternoon spent in palos verdes, california

the birds of san buenaventura, ca

my boyfriend and i took a mini vacation to san buenaventura this past weekend. we intended to spend it riding our bikes in town, along the ocean and into the seaside wilderness park but it was sooo cold that we mostly just rode our bikes a short distance and sat on washed up logs and watched the bird show! i can't tell you how much i love doing that...just observing animals in their natural habitat...i find it fascinating, i learn SO much!! i just wish i had brought my binoculars, which i always seem to forget!!

Ojai magic

at the beginning of the month my wonderful friend julie and i spent a long, glorious weekend in ojai, california.

we had some really cool experiences there, such as a huge tree filled to the brim with egret nests...they make the funniest sounds, a cross between a frog and a child babbling!! we also came across a gorgeous bullock's oriole and a beach lined with seals and a variety of sea birds! we hit up a story telling festival at the local park, a large outdoor book store and a small vintage shop in an alleyway with the cutest french bulldog named sunny! we found a micro brewery tucked away from the main drag and the best tangerine margaritas ever! seriously...they were delicious!!

i am truly blessed to have such a great friend that i can talk to for hours and days on end with and share such an incredibly magical place with. if you've been there you'll know exactly what i mean and if you haven't, for sure put it on your bucket list!!

The devil is in the details...

 Natalie Wolchove, from a huff post article about drawing

this drawing has actually progressed pretty quickly this past week...must have drawn more that i realized!! cool!

i have another drawing i want to start of a pathway i took at my sister's home last week...so kinda excited to finish this one up and get going on the next!