After going to Mt.Solidad on Saturday, and to the Coronado Beach on Sunday, V took us to La Jolla while V, N, and A went home…and we were just amazed by La Jolla.

Several factors came together to make the very short visit a very memorable one, too. San Diego has been having a lot of rain, and this meant that the wildflowers were out in a riot of colours; apparently, the La Jolla trails are not so vividly colourful.

It was just on sunset, and the light was really wonderful, too….and the last thing was that neither DnA nor I had any idea that we would see any wildlife!

The wash of the Pacific was so lovely... The wildflowers bloomed in profusion along the steep cliffs: And then, I started spotting the birds...one of the cliffs was dotted with DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS: I found one element of correspondence that was simply amazing to me. Just look at the ruffled feathers as this bird preens...and then at the cones of the tree it's sitting on. I couldn't help marvelling at the way Nature matches things up, even if the similarity isn't always apparent: Here are two of the Cormorants: This video zooms into the cormorant cliff: On another cliffside, we saw plenty of BROWN PELICANS: Here's another view of one beauty, preening itself: Nature can he harsh, too, I found a dead pelican on one of the cliffs: They were flying in and out, landing and taking off again: Here they are, coming in to land at the Cove: and when we were going back, they flew off in formation into the sunset: The CALIFORNIA SEA-LIONS (thank you, !) were a real treat to watch, especially as they were so unexpected. Here's a Seal family on the rocks, washed by the Pacific: Here's the family, with one thoughtfully scratching his nose! In that video, after you see the sea-lion pup, you can see the Ocean Goldfish faintly in the water, too, if you look carefully. Here are some more of them, lying barrel-fashion: Here are some of them, at home in the water: And here's a cute little pup, looking for his mother! The WESTERN GULLS, of course, were everywhere..look at the beauty of the cliffs with the gulls on them! I like this image of Mrs Gull in her nest, looking confidently at me: Here are various flowers, berries, and buds,whose names I don't know...any help would be appreciated! In the cove, some canoes and kayaks made a pretty picture, too: Here they are, in action: And in one place, I found someone had eternalized his name (of French descent, obviously)...in 1922..wonder how he looked....it was an instant trip into the past! </lj-cut> Now this, at last, is the photo that I promised . Just look how artistic that bird poop guano looks against the rocks! I never knew that poop could be aesthetically appealing! (No, there was no smell, either, for some reason, probably the sea breeze.) La Jolla...V,thank you for a magical, if too-short, visit to this wonderful Pacific sea-cove!