People: Family beach day.................

People having gala time at the beaches of South California with their kith and kins.........

A family at Rialto beach, a rainy blustery day..

Thought: Colors of humanity.........

Humanity...the highest of all virtues..
It has many colors..
Such as feeding the old, hungry heron..

Thought: People who inspire me...

Many people inspire me..

Well...almost everybody have something to motivate..

I am an avid reader...Writers do influence.........

Beverly Cleary..despite being only child,she fell out with her parents for her decision to marry a man of different faith.. yet, she resolutely produced great books for children literature..

Indira Goswami..She  overcame the sorrow of her husband's sudden death and generated moving stories..enriching Assamese literature..

Ved Mehta....the fact he has lost his eyesight to meningitis in early childhood yet has a brilliant writing career makes him extraordinary. Of course Homer, John Milton, James Joyce were blind too..but, they did not live in our time..so I am not sure, how much is truth and how much myth! Ved MEhta lives in our times..

I was reading his interview..how he built a house in a Maine island..asking the architect to built his own 'dream house', as himself has no visual ability to see it!

  

Theoretical physicist, cosmologist Stephen Hawking ...the way he never allowed his diability in his path of research..

Aerospace engineer and ex-president of India Abdul Kalam ...overcame abject poverty

Bird: Colorful birds..........

Colorful birds at San Diego zoo.................
The brilliant plumage-displaying birds.................falling in between the two extremes of snow white egrets and pitch black ravens.............

Knowledge: Plants and mushrooms with the common name 'Devil'..

Every pant has a scientific name.........though common names can be multiple......
Its funny that how many plants have names with the name Devil in them...
Some of my observation...
Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens)
Devil's club (Oplopanax horridus)
Devil's tongue weed (Grateloupia turuturu Yamada)
Devil's backbone (Kalanchoe sp.)

Especially fungi and mushrooms..........
Devil's Snuff-box  (Lycoperdon perlatum)
Devil's Finger's / Octopus Stinkhorn fu (Clathrus archeri)
Devil's Cigar (Chorioactis sp.)
Devil's Urn (Urnula craterium)

Passion: Blooms in my patio container garden.....

Some shots of  patio container garden......Any given time more than half dozen variety fo flowers are blooming...what more can I ask for?..

They add zing to my daily life with their color, shape, size, fragrance..

I feel amazing to have developed a personal oasis amidst scorching heat of South California..

Hope you enjoyed..

Joy: Movies.......

I was  not raised or encouraged to watch much movies....I had hardly seen any English movie till I turned 25...

On the other hand, my spouse had watched thousands of movies in English or other international languages...
He showed me 'Harry Potter;', 'Lord of the Rings' series, 'Christmas carol', 'The exorcist'..which I absolutely loved...also, 'Ip man', 'Thor', 'Ratatouillie', 

I always preferred reading over watching.....my English vocabulary was and is rich...

But, in the TOEFL examination (required for non-English speakers to study in the USA), when I got almost full score in listening, writing, reading sections, but got much less in speaking section, I decided to watch a movie every now and then...to pick the accents...

Not many movies interest me enough to watch for 2-3 hours...
Though sometimes I do choose.......after all mood and taste changes...
Some other movies I watched in last few years are...

Classic/black or white movie: Anna Karenina; To kill a mockingbird; Sunflower; Schindler's list; On Golden pond;The Godfather I and II,
Romantic: A walk to remember; A notebook; Christmas Card; Barefoot in the park; Sophie and the Rising Sun
Inspirational:  Forrest Gump; Tracks; Cast Away; Into the wild; Dead poet society;
Based on books: August: Osage county; The magic of belle isle; Kite runner; Our souls at night; 

Different culture: Troy; Memoirs of a Geisha; Painted veil; An unfinished life; The great Gatsby; Frida; Enchanted April; Cold mountain; A country called home; 1922, Sunset Song
Thoughtful: Atonement; Life of Pi; Mona Lisa smile; Black and white; Autumn in new York; Hachi; The other woman; Last Love; The Holiday; Mudbound, Midnight in Paris
Biopic: Diana; Papa; Cezanne et moi, Grace of Monaco, The young Victoria
Other international languages:  Little England; The Servant; Renoir; The girl with the dragon tattoo; Amelie; A Tale of Love and Darkness; Sand Storm; Ipman; 
Comedy: Easy Virtue; Bridget Jone's baby; Wild Oat; Pulp Fiction; The men who stare at goats
Horror: Exorcist; 1922; 
Children: BFG; Secret garden; 

Others: Clouds of Sils Maria; The immigrant; Eco park; 3 generations; Murder on Cape Cod, Wildlike

TV Series: The Crown; Friends; Downton Abbey; Escape to the country, That 70s show
Animation: King of the Hills

They indeed widen ones outlook on the world...

Place: At Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park...

Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park...located at above 6,000 feet..overlooking the Olympic mountains...
We visited it in late summer...some shots...

The visitor center...

Hard to believe, this place gets covered in heavy snow in winter...

This one is my favorite.......layers of conifer-covered hills..the gradient of blue colors!

I can't help imagine a cup of coffee from this porch...while enjoying the view of the mountains...

Cloud and smoke floating over the road...

Some wildlife viewed there.....
A deer with fawns..

Another just beside the visitor center..

Photography: Taking pictures in night...

Night photography is not easy..even for seasoned lensmen..
Some of my efforts, as I hone my skill...subjects are from my neighborhood...

Though: Dream houses...

Who does not dream for a palatial house..by the sea shore..by the lake...deep in the forest...at the foothills..

Some of such beautiful houses that I came across during my travels..