Double Rainbow
You might have heard, but we had a really intense winter storm this week. It rained for at least 48 hours straight from early morning Wednesday through early morning Friday, and then off-and-on showers. Very un-California-like weather. They called it an “atmospheric river.” We needed the rain, but it’s better spaced out from October to April. Even with nearly five inches in Paso Robles, and a foot in Cambria right on the coast, we are still behind our normal rain totals for this point of the rainy season.
So just as I had quit telework, I was going to pick up my Talley Farms produce box down the street when I saw a sliver of this rainbow from my yard. Of course, I chased it, looking for just the best spot to see both ends. Fortunately, it lasted for at least an hour, giving me a chance to find this place, just down from where I live.
I love how it seems to emanate from this oak tree. I took quite a few photos with my iPhone and the rainbow was just as intense – no editing necessary.
I cropped and intensified the glow for this one.
Dozens of people stopped to take photographs of this amazing display of nature. The storm did some damage to homes and streets, and took out a huge chunk of the Big Sur highway (again.) Last time two parts of the highway were covered with a mudslide. This time a part of it in the Dolan Fire burn scar is just gone, slid into the ocean. Not sure how they can fix this one without building a bridge.
So a double, intense, long-lasting rainbow seems to be nature’s way of apologizing for the havoc. I was even able to post a couple of photos to the KSBY weather guy’s Facebook page and it made the TV weather report!
Even with a wide angle it takes two photos to complete the panorama, stitched in Photoshop.
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
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2021 Begins with Birds
I didn’t realize the above photo of the gnatcatcher at Morro Bay would be so popular on the Birding California Facebook page. Last count it had 1200 reactions and 83 comments. It’s reminiscent of the Angry Bluebird that was popular several years ago. This little fluffball was uncharacteristically cooperative, as they are generally in constant motion catching, well, gnats.
Read the rest of this entry »Even the surfers wouldn’t ride the waves
A huge storm far offshore generated HUGE waves that we don’t often see here in Central Coast California. I went out to Morro Rock on Sunday and then to Estero Bluffs just to the north and marveled at the beauty and power of the ocean. Enjoy these images!
Read the rest of this entry »A Saunter at Pinnacles
“I don’t like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains – not ‘hike!’ Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, ‘A la sainte terre’, ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.”
― John Muir
Autumn Coastal Birds & Scenery
I’ve stayed close to home since my big trip north (which I have still yet to post, my bad!). Here are some autumn birds and scenery in Central Coast California.
Acorn Woodpeckers and Their Granary Tree
Acorn woodpeckers abound in this part of California, which is known for its oak savannahs. Blue and valley oak are the most common, with valley oak tending to be larger and the blue oaks more likely to grow on hillsides.
Read the rest of this entry »Montana de Oro Oct. 2020
After a month of smoky skies from numerous wildfires, it was nice to encounter just plain old fog on a trip to the ocean last week.
Read the rest of this entry »Montana de Oro
When I first came to California in 2015, I fell in love with Montana de Oro State Park. I was living in Apple Valley at the time and had a job that gave me a 3-day weekend twice a month, which I took full advantage of.
Now that I live much closer, I feel fortunate to live so near to the most beautiful part of the California coast.
Read the rest of this entry »Lagniappe
Lagniappe often means “a little of this, a little of that.” Since I have many hangers-on images that didn’t quite fit into a themed blog, I’m tossing them all in here like a stew.
This sapsucker-drilled tree has a cavity just perfect for this pair of western bluebirds.
Read the rest of this entry »Big Sur
I’ve driven the challenging Nacimiento-Fergusson Road from Fort Hunter Liggett to Big Sur two or three times before, but last weekend was the first time I’d started in Big Sur going home.
The N-F road had been closed by the Los Padres National Forest because there were complaints of too much traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway (State Hwy 1, aka Big Sur Highway) during the COVID-19 lockdown. The campgrounds had already been closed and folks were availing themselves of road pullouts or wherever they could to camp.
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