Tuesday, March 24, 2009

From the Prairie to the Sea




Shortly after leaving the wide expanses of the Carizzo Plain, heading for the coast, we found ourselves in the green grass hill country of central California. Pictures can't begin to show the shades of green we passed along the way. And brown. Wow! American Bison were grazing


on a hill right beside the road. These are really big guys. It's hard to tell the size, but I think they may even be larger than a rhinoceros. At least alot hairier, and snortier. They are not like horses or cows for sure, they had no interest in people, they just walked slowly by, without even looking up...


enjoy your day buffalo...



...taking a detour off the main road we found a sweet meadow to have a picnic lunch in. Spring is definitely here on this patch of mother earth. Everyone was there, the magpies and meadowlarks, the bees and butterflies, caterpillars and even more wildflowers...




... pretty Baby blue- eyes...

This is my 5 star restaurant, lunch made for me (again!) by my lovely husband and served in a field of fragrant flowers (and no cell phone service again)...it can make you think...





"Can one desire too much of a good thing?"


~William Shakespeare


...a couple hours later, we've arrived at Morrow Bay, not our original destination, but taking a chance the Sea Otters might be around, we went to go find out. There they are! See that mass of brown? I am sorry i don't have better photos, at least not on this computer. They are really cute. There are six out here, two are mamas with their babies on their chests. They wind up in the kelp to keep from drifting away, floating on their backs. And then they nap. So peaceful. We, watched until they woke up. They preened and rolled around cleaning up. They are so animated and funny to watch. All the big lenses were pointed at them, it's a fabulous place for photo's...



...here is my husband and his pride and joy,(this lens needs it's own separate backpack!) see the gull? I think he was feeling leftout, everyone filming the otters...




...alright then, pose for your portrait!...


...and not to forget you silly squirrel ;) ...


...and then these two ran up to me for attention it seemed (i know, i know, they want food) and then suddenly got shy, whispering to each other...









I climbed down the rocks to get a better view once all the otters were awake, I was hoping they might move a little closer. And then an amazing thing happened. I hope my video will work, but just in case it doesn't, one of them broke away and swam directly towards me. It was one of those moments, making eye contact with a wild animal. I know I smiled at him and I'm sure he winked at me...


...time to head north and look for a hotel for the next two nights, I'm really excited for tommorrow (and right now and tonite and oh, you get the picture!) hot showers, warm beds, more adventuring...




xxx love, lori







18 comments:

  1. Lori, you are showing California at its raw beauty, away from the hustle and bustle of city lights. This is a view most Californians do not see often.

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  2. Great post lovely pictures & you were lucky to see all those Bison :-)

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  3. Those wild flowers are amazingly beautiful, what a place to have pic nic, 10 stars!!! And those Bison, I´ve never seen them, fantastic!!! I´ll look for the Otters video, thanks!! Have a nice day!!

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  4. I loved all of it! pretty little flowers, Bison, otters.....Thanks, Lori.xx♥

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  5. What a lovely post - loved the field of purple flowers with green grass and blue sky! And the otter!

    We are taking a California coast trip soon - be sure to let us know if you find great places to stay, or must-do's. Thanks!

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  6. I love otters! What a great experience that must have been! If I'm ever in that area, I'll have to find out where you went so we can go looking for them too!

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  7. I wanna visit! I wanna visit!!

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  8. Thanks everyone, we hope that by photographing and writing about wild animals and wild places that we love, others will love them too and want to care for and protect them.
    It's always my pleasure to find beauty and share it.
    love, lori

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  9. That curious Otter! I bet she wished she had a camera, too, to take pictures of you to show on HER internet blog! And I loved those blue flowers, they are breathtaking! And the cute vain sea gull and the whispering squirrels and the bisons not taking any notice of you (no bloggers, them)...lovely beyond words. I just mentioned that old song to Mandy "Home, home on the range where the deer and the antelope play..." If you need a picture for that, take Lori`s blog site!

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  10. Bisons,meadows,wild flowers,otters,seaguls and squirells....sounds like heaven to me.The picture of the meadow filled with wild flowers was so captivating.Such a beautiful picture!!You are wonderful as always.I cant wait to see where you will be going next :D

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  11. Bellissimo! The tatanka American Bison are very impressive, and so many of them in tat meadow! The flowers, the wildlife, the sea... As usual, Lori, you never cease to astonish us with your great posts and photos. I agree with Rosaria, you give us a view of what California may have looked like before industrialization. A pretty awesome place.

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  12. Hello Lori. so glad you stopped by to visit! Yes it can be over whelming at times. You must have been chosen as blog of choice as well..lol..I love how you have chosen to portray California here. I have never been there, but after seeing your post may change my mind. Didn't realize there was that much beauty and nature in a place so touched by humans..Whats up with Africa on your phone..? was this a planned trip or a surprise? thanks for sharing

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  13. Bison! It's been years since I've seen those huge things! I had no idea there were otters in California...
    Thank you for the beautiful pictures :-)

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  14. Beautiful as ever, Lori - I do love going on your journeys with you! I"m convinced those cute squirrels were really after some attention, not just food :) I love learning about your flora and fauna over there - so similar, yet so different! x

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  15. Beautiful, beautiful Cali - fornia...she sings. Lovely photos, Lori, love the bison all so self-possessed and unflappable. Oh, and the otters, and the one who came to say hello to you. A blissful day.

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  16. Bison! Awesome Lori.
    I love the otters too

    You've got me curious about the size of bison and rhinos so I'm off to research that!

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  17. Lovely shots - and what a great appreciation of the life around us.

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  18. Geli, i love your take on things, that is so good about the otter! I do believe you may be right, great! thank you for your always lovely comments.

    Dear Recipes, it's so nice to hear from you! how was Holi? I will come and visit you now.

    Lola, you know the American Indian name for Bison. So cool.

    Stacey, a kindred spirit. I love your site, and thank you so much for coming to see me. I appreciate it very much. Africa has been in the plans for months, we've just added a bit to our trip, thanks to my beautiful blogging friends I've met. We will be meeting in Botswana and hopefully Johannesburg too. So when we got an unexpected phonecall one morning from Capetown, it was very exciting!

    tulsa, it's my pleasure, we were just as surprised to see the Bison! the otters are great.

    Karen, thats what I think too, so different, yet so similar. I hoped you'd like this.

    Tessa, that's the perfect word for sure. Bliss. We are so lucky.

    Janet, I told Chuck what I wrote, he said the Buffalo are taller, but he thinks the Rhino are the larger of the two. Well, i guess it depends really, some of those Bison are huge!

    David, welcome! thank you so much for stopping in and leaving such kind words, I appreciate them very much. We are blessed. I think.

    Thanks friends. Your comments are what keep me sharing.
    xxxlove,lori

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xoxo lori