Tag: beautiful

The many birds of Famosa Slough.

Yesterday I headed to Point Loma to walk by Famosa Slough, a protected wetland I have driven past on many occasions. This was my first time walking the trails of the slough south of West Point Loma Boulevard, and along the channel that runs north toward Interstate 8 and the San Diego River.

The more I walked along the water and natural vegetation of the Famosa Slough State Marine Conservation Area, the more birds I saw! There were bright white egrets, and gulls and cormorants and ducks and various shorebirds. As you’ll see in one photo, I also spotted an osprey!

My photographs begin beside the slough that motorists see from West Point Loma Boulevard, then I crossed the street and followed a dirt pathway north up the channel to the end of the path.

Famosa Slough is part of a statewide network of Marine Protected Areas. It includes open shallow water, riparian habitat, wetland upland transition habitats, and four treatment basins to protect water quality.

Here is where I crossed over West Point Loma Boulevard. First I checked out the following information signs near the path up the Famosa Channel.

Birds one can see at Famosa Slough include the great egret, American wigeon, black-necked stilt, snowy egret, little blue heron, California brown pelican, and blue-winged teal.
Famosa Slough is a 37-acre coastal wetland owned by the City of San Diego and cared for by the Friends of Famosa Slough. It is home to many rare and endangered local and migratory bird species.
Looking north up the channel through the remains of an old bridge.
A kiosk. I couldn’t read the weathered words, but enjoyed the image of two gulls.
Heading up the dirt path.
I could see many birds in the distance.
A snowy egret.
A nice bench for resting and birdwatching.
An osprey soars high overhead!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Edward Moores paints Point Loma sunset beauty.

A color-splashed sunset in Point Loma materialized before my eyes this afternoon.

I was walking through Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park, when I paused to watch an artist working on a canvas in front of Studio 26. He was painting the Bessemer Path along San Diego Bay in Point Loma. The scene that flowed from his hand was suffused with sunset light.

I soon was talking to Edward Moores, who has been a local artist in Spanish Village for over two decades. He has lived in San Diego most of his life, and you can see a deep love for the city in his paintings.

Ed showed me inside his Studio 26 and I recognized many San Diego places that he has painted. I saw the Hotel Del Coronado’s elegant Victorian boathouse. I saw Balboa Park’s light-filled Lily Pond. When he learned I lived on Cortez Hill, he brought out a wonderful sketch of the historic El Cortez!

Marveling at his careful dabs and streaks of color, I was privileged to see our beautiful city through his eyes. He described his art as somewhat impressionistic. It flows from a place inside him. He said no work of art is ever really finished.

I found the visions and moods he creates to be both subtle and powerful.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

December beauty from San Diego River bridge.

Along the San Diego River leaves are turning bright yellow, then brown. It’s December.

A couple of mornings last week I was waiting for a bus at the Fashion Valley Transit Center. To pass the time, I walked the very short distance to the new Town and Country river park.

I gazed down at still water from the pedestrian bridge. Through willow leaves I saw carpets of green duckweed. Ducks were floating quietly on silver and gold reflections.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

The gazebos of Balboa Park’s hidden garden.

There’s a hidden garden in Balboa Park that almost nobody visits. It’s called the Administrative Courtyard.

The Administrative Courtyard is green, peaceful and very beautiful. There are fountains. There are arbors with vines and trees. To me, the most wonderful part of this courtyard garden are the gazebos at its corners. They give this special place personality. They are both cheerful and elegant, welcoming visitors with their bright tiled domes and nearby benches.

As I walked through and around the gazebos on a sunny winter’s day, I found many interesting contrasts of light and shadow for my camera.

If you’d like to find the hidden Administrative Courtyard, head to Balboa Park’s Inspiration Point, east of Park Boulevard, and walk behind the Developed Regional Parks Administration Building. That’s the handsome building that stands with its double towers atop a hill.

This corner of Balboa Park, including the Administration Building and nearby Veterans Museum (originally a military chapel), was once part of San Diego’s United States Naval Hospital, which was built in the early 1920s. When the hospital moved into Florida Canyon, Inspiration Point opened up its wonders to you and me.

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A sculptural monolith made for shady sitting.

During my visit to Liberty Station in Point Loma yesterday I noted several works of public art that I hadn’t seen before.

The one I liked best is titled Tessellation #1. It’s a sculptural monolith with a bench for sitting in the shade of magnolia trees. This beautiful work of art, made of hand-cast tessellated concrete and wood timber, was created in September 2019 by local artist Jason X. Lane.

Tessellation #1 was installed in Liberty Station’s ARTS DISTRICT by the NTC Foundation in partnership with the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. You can find it on the west side of the Dick Laub NTC Command Center building. (It’s located across from some sheltered seats where people are encouraged to interact with each other–more intriguing art brought to Liberty Station by Mingei that I blogged about here.)

I particularly love how Tessellation #1 fits within its surroundings. It’s like some sort of ancient throne or monument, discovered unexpectedly among living trees. To me the entire effect is strangely pleasing.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Beautiful art painted on The Nola in San Ysidro!

This September I enjoyed a special tour of murals that had been painted in San Ysidro for an international cross-border exhibition of urban art. You can revisit those photos by clicking here.

Today during my walk along West San Ysidro Boulevard I noticed one of the murals, which had been a work in progress at the time, is finished!

The stylish artwork is by Filipino artist Mary Jhun. It beautifies an historic apartment building called La Nola, located across the street from The FRONT Arte Cultura gallery.

I learned that The Nola is presently being renovated. The front of this building will be stuccoed so that it more closely resembles its original appearance.

I also learned that artist Juan Carlos Galindo, known as GRVR, who participated in the same cross-border exhibition, will be adding his unique graffiti-like artwork to this very cool building as well!

As an extra added bonus, please enjoy these photos of new street art that I found in the vicinity of The Nola. They were painted by Gerardo Meza, whose fun art can be found all over San Ysidro!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

A morning walk on Balboa Park’s West Mesa.

This morning I enjoyed a stroll through Balboa Park’s West Mesa area, from Marston Point up to El Prado.

The sun had just risen and was sending horizontal rays through leaves and across green grass. Few were about. Just some walkers, joggers, squirrels, birds.

A walker and a squirrel ahead.
The squirrel got a good look at me before scampering up a nearby tree.
More walkers heading in the opposite direction.
I was tempted to sit for a moment in the early sunlight.
Sculpture of Kate Sessions near Balboa Park natural beauty. She was responsible for much of it.
Regarding a pine cone.
Who left these shoes here? Why?
Looking back as I walk on.
I became aware of squawking above me. A huge flock of parrots was passing overhead, high above the eucalyptus trees! They look like tiny dots in this photograph.
These two little birds–white-crowned sparrows, I believe–were content to sit on the low wall along El Prado.
People and pooches hang out at Nate’s Point Dog Park.
Looking south toward downtown San Diego from the west end of the Cabrillo Bridge.
Several twisty old Australian tea trees can be viewed along El Prado near the lawn bowling greens.
It’s still early morning. Electric scooters at the ready in Sefton Plaza, near the west entrance to Balboa Park!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

More sunset photos from the Embarcadero!

This evening I arrived at the Embarcadero around sunset. I intended to photograph the County Administration Building, which is illuminated at night this week with blue and white to celebrate Hanukkah.

But as the sun set, I had to turn my camera to the west to capture more beautiful photos over San Diego Bay!

Sun setting over Point Loma, beyond the Grape Street pier.
A sailboat passes behind one of the docked Hornblower ships.
San Salvador and Californian a few minutes after the sun vanishes behind Point Loma.
HMS Surprise darkens while sunset colors linger.
Lights are strung high above on Star of India.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Fantastic morning clouds and a mystery!

Can you see it in the above photograph? There seems to be a rainbow painting the clouds around the sun!

This and the following photos were taken a couple mornings ago in Mission Valley perhaps an hour after sunrise. I was going through the images just now, wondering if I should use them, when I noticed the rainbow colors!

What’s odd is the sun was in front of me, not behind. Perhaps this mysterious “rainbow” was caused by an interesting combination of refraction and reflection within the layered clouds. Or was this ring of color merely produced by my camera’s lens? That’s probably the explanation. That seems to be the case in the second photo.

These clouds might also be tinted by the last remnants of smoke from a recent wildfire in Mexico, south of Tecate.

I’ve added a little contrast and sharpened most of these photos so you can see more fantastic cloud detail.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Live webcam of Star of India on San Diego waterfront!

Sunrise above the city. EarthCam image of tall ship Star of India on San Diego’s waterfront, from the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s steam ferry Berkeley.

There’s a new live webcam that features a stunning view of the Maritime Museum’s beautiful tall ship Star of India and the Embarcadero!

The downtown skyline rises behind historic Star of India, as it appears from the city’s waterfront.

The cool EarthCam camera is mounted on the smokestack of the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic steam ferry Berkeley.

To view the live webcam, click here!

Then, while your at it, cruise around the museum’s website and learn more about one of the top three maritime museums in the world, which is located right here in San Diego!