Welcome Fall!
August disappeared into a cloud of construction dust and September zipped by as usual! My birthday, my daughter's birthday, and my mom's birthday are all in September but I also managed to squeeze in a visit from my bestie, lots of baby time, two out of state family trips, and a big work conference - PHEW! I have not had much time or inspiration for blogging but I am feeling a need to slow down and reflect before I move into embracing the next season with October only two days away.
I just returned from San Francisco for the Restore America's Estuaries Summit, followed by a weekend of yummy food & drink indulgences with my Uncle and his family who live not far from the city. My team and I went tide pooling together on the final day of the conference at Linda Mar State Beach - side note, this beach has a Taco Bell Cantina with a full bar!
These black oystercatchers caught my attention bc they look very similar to their protected American oystercatcher cousin that we have in Florida. This species is not listed (in theory, this means they are relatively common) and they are adapted to the more rugged coastal shoreline habitats of the Pacific. I am starting to play more with manual photo editing, a whole new aspect of photography to learn! I found with these photos that I really enjoyed playing with the contrast, highlights, and vibrancy settings. I think my favorite one of this series is the one where the wave and splashing water are in focus instead of the birds. The ones that highlight their colorful eyes are cool too! I always love when I catch an animal making eye contact w/ me and my camera. I think the photos display best if you click on them and then scroll through. We also saw a ton of beautiful sea stars, anemones, limpets, and lots of surf grass and bull kelp washed up on the beach.
Coming out of navigating homeowner struggles solo while prioritizing a ton of family time, travel, and leaning into professional expression - I am tired but also so soul satisfied and looking forward to relishing a bit of down time in the hush of fall <3
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