Spring Images from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

The spring bloom is on in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park northeast of San Diego. We've returned home after a week-long visit.  This wonderful preserved desert area is known around the world for its spring wildflowers.  The bloom, though not as spectacular as some of the rare years, certainly was worth the trip.  And to brighten the spring spirits of readers of this blog, I am sharing here some of the images from daily hikes to view desert wildflowers and desert wildlife. If there are reasons not to cut funding of state parks in California, you find them in this park by the thousands. Enjoy the colors and the critters below.

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All Images Copyright by Tom Debley, 2011

All Rights Reserved

Natural rock garden in Palm Canyon

Desert Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua

Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa)

Dune Evening Primrose (Oenotheera deltoides)

Beavertail Catus (Opuntia basilaris)

Desert blister beetle (Lytta magister) feeding

Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Male Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)

Northern Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis dorsalis)

Desert Sunflower (Geraea canescens)

Desert Orangetip (Anthocharis cethura cethura)

Desert Dandelion (Malacothrix californica)

Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

Ghost Flower (Mohavea confertiflora)

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)

Wild Heliotrope (Phacelia distans)

Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)

Teddy Bear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii)

Sacred Datura (Datura stramonium)

Brown-eyed Primrose (Camissonia claviformis)

 

Female American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata)

Honors for Some of My Photographs

I am happy to share that my image seen here earlier, "Steeple Rock on a Winter's Day," picked up a 4th Place Award in the Advanced Pictorial inter-club competition of the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs (N4C) for February.  The image also is now featured in the New Members Gallery on the website of the Photographic Society of America.  You may recall it took a First Place Award in local club competition in January, allowing it to advance to N4C.

"Steeple Rock on a Winter's Day, Olympic National Park"

4th Place Award
N4C, Pictorial Advanced







Two other images in the Intermediate Creative inter-club competition of N4C in February took second and third place awards.  They are shown below.

"EmBARcedro Center After One Too Many"

2nd Place Award

N4C, Creative Intermediate

  

"Psychedelic Interpretation of  Embarcadero Center Architecture"

3rd Place Award
N4C, Creative Intermediate

Standing in Solidarity with Wisconsin Public Employees to Preserve Collective Barganing

At our house, we are standing in solidarity with the public employees of Wisconsin and other states as they battle to preserve collective bargaining rights.  On Sunday, Feb. 26, we joined the Save the American Dream Rally in San Francisco, one of dozens across the country.  To feel the spirit of this American protest movement, click here and take a look at my Save the American Dream Rally Slideshow.

A Beautiful Day in My Neighborhood

It is the time of year that flowers start blooming in neighborhood yards.  So as I take my daily walk I carry my pocket camera and use it to spend a few minutes with different blossoms.  Here are some results that I thought I would share...a beautiful day in my neighborhood.

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                             All Images Copyright by Tom Debley, 2011

                                                All Rights Reserved

 

Flowering
plum
trees
are in bloom.

Fushias

are

starting

to pop

Tulip
trees
burst
with
their
flowers

Rhododendrons

become

a riot 

of color

And some

flowers

surprise me,

and I don't

even know

their names

Holiday Photographs: San Francisco's Embarcadero

I was pleased to be awarded 1st Place (by one point) in the most recent "Mystery Field Trip" of the Alameda Photographic Society.  It's really more of a challenge and a lot of fun than a competition.  We show up at a designated meeting place and only then are we told where we are going.  With the mystery location revealed, we are given a list of 20 subjects to find and shoot.  In December, our location was The Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco and we fanned out for about two hours of late afternoon, early evening shooting.  Here are some of my personal favorites.

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   All Images Copyright by Tom Debley, 2011

All Rights Reserved    

Lobby of the Hyatt Regency Decorated for Christmas

Ice Skating at the Embarcadero

San Francisco Cityscape

Symmetry

Ferry Building Reflected in a Rain Puddle

Embarcadero Architecture in Black & White

Hyatt Regency Elevators

Contrasts in Architecture

Bold Colors - A Computer Enhanced Creation

Elephant Seals & Pups at Año Nuevo State Reserve

My spouse, Mary Jane, and I visited Año Nuevo State Reserve, a California state park on the San Mateo County coast, on January 26.  This is the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for the northern elephant seal (Mirounga augustirostris).  We wanted to witness the peak of winter calving, with hundreds of females and pups greeting us on the 3-mile guided hike.

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   All Images Copyright by Tom Debley, 2010            

The day was unseasonably warm, which makes life uncomfortable for the elephant seals.  Their blubber keeps them warm in cold water, and sand flipping helps them keep cool on land.  They toss it over their bodies so that the sand acts as a sun screen. At the right and below are examples.

Mothers and pups recognize each other through vocalizations. Immediately after birth, the mother and pup become familiar with each other by sniffing at and calling to each other.

The reason? Territorial disputes and stormy surf conditions can separate a mother and pup. This intensifies the need to recognize vocalizations or the pup faces almost certain death.

A pup weighs about 70 pounds at birth. The female nurses her pup for 28 days. She loses about two pounds for every pound the pup gains. An elephant seal's milk is extremely rich.  It reaches 55 percent fat during the final week of nursing. As a result, the mother loses 300 to 500 pounds.

A pup weighs about 300 pounds when it stops nursing. Mom, after mating again, returns to the ocean.

Here are some additional photographs:

Moms & their pups.

Females 'argue' over territory.

.