People: Perfect weather for convertible ride.....

South California weather is excellent for outdoor fun activities. Be that hiking, biking, dog walking, horseback riding, birding, jogging or driving a convertible. Little surprise, a good number of swanky convertibles are being spotted rolling on the streets with their enviable owners at the helms.

Fauna: Resourceful honey bees.........

The honey bees in our neighborhood seem to me a happy, well-endowed lot. With countless varieties of flowers blooming in profusion spanning from winter to early summer, there is no dearth of nectar for them to gather. Every time, I gaze at a flower, a bee is seen siphoning off the honey. Another symbiotic relationship in operation. Plus ocular treat for the beholder.

Callery pear.........

Pink Indian hawthorn.......

Cotoneaster..........

Rosemary.............

Baby sun rose...........

Yellow gazania...............

Iceland poppy.........

Hardy ice...

On encelia.....

One bee rests on a California pepper bough.........

Bumble bees...

They are just everywhere, sucking nectar, pollinating and building hives. Sighting this hear-warming natural phenomena of bees pollinating a swaying poppy fills my day with cheer.....they should be everywhere........please be wise in using pesticides in your garden.......we don't want them to perish..

Plant: Pomegranate blossoms and the fruits......

With the arrival of spring the pomegranate (Punica granatum) shrubs in our garden, barely skeletons few months back have sprouted tender leaves. Now, the trees are not only cloaked with zillions of pretty leaves but also myriad scarlet red blossoms. I just can't have enough of the delicate beauty of the flowers against the green backdrop. The ground is carpeted with the fallen petals as well. Apart from the visual appeal and the source of toothsome fruits, the blossoms do have medicinal importance, as documented in the Ayurveda. Also, the pigment rich flowers are ideal candidates as textile dyes.

Does not this burst pomegranate, exposing the attractive, pearly, juicy, scarlet aril, peeping from the autumn-touched golden foliage look tempting? I wonder, how come the ever-hungry squirrels or the birds have not eyed  it yet?

 

Another beautiful, young pomegranate plant bearing blood-red ripe fruits...

Abundant..........

People: Beach-hoppers in Crystal Cove beach.............

Summer is yet to arrive and California beaches are already being thronged by revelers. Yesterday, we dropped in Crystal Cove beach and were amazed with the flurry of fun activities unfolding on the sand. Flocks of old folks, youngsters and juveniles clad in beachwear seemed to have unwinding and de-stressing themselves. The beach was buzzing with lots of tanning, relaxing, castle building, being buried in sand, reading, jogging and kite flying....and it was the beginning only...

Place: Spring flowers in El Moro Canyon hiking trails.....

Yesterday we had a fabulous hiking along the scenic trails of El Moro Canyon in Crystal Cove State Park. It was a balmy, sunny morning, imbued with fragrance of wild flowers and resonant with chattering of myriad birds. As we navigated our way up the No-name ridge and down the pole trail, joining the West-cut across trail and finally exited on the beach, we sighted countless variety of wild flowers. Every creeper, bush and shrub in the chaparral was abloom. Though large swaths of the canyon was predominantly covered with golden blooms of mustard;  bush monkey, common deerweed, poison hemlock, scarlet pimpernel,  blue elderberry, blue fiesta and milk thistle were conspicuous with their brilliant blossoms.

Check the floral cornucopia........
Wild mustard.........

Bush monkey...

Common deerweed...

Poison hemlock....

Scralet Pimpernel.....

Blue elderberry.......

Blue fiesta........

Milk thistle.........

Observation: Spectacular ripple patterns...........

Ripples on water bodies enchant, enthrall, enrapture and captivate me....Sunlight, wind, tree reflection, clouds, depth, water current, sand or pebble bed play critical role in creating the unparalleled bewitching, abstract arts...
I was flabbergasted with the immense variety of ripple patterns on the surface of the local park pool as the spring breeze caressed it. Though I was the firsthand observer, it seemed incredible. It's an effort to capture the distinct transient art on water canvass............

Some breathtaking ripplescapes shot in Pacific Ocean at Huntington Beach..........