The Elephant Seals Of Año Nuevo

Last Friday Connor took the day off of work so we could go on a guided walk at Año Nuevo to see the Elephant Seals. Mating and pupping season are just starting. We were hoping to see some of the giant bull males, but the first view was of the juvenile and some slightly older males. One of them had the long proboscis they are famous for and it was pointed down into the sand. Every time he exhaled, a cloud of sand would blast into the air. I giggled every time.

We were also lucky to see the first pup of the season. It's really hard to see, but the little dark lump alongside the leftmost seal is it. We heard it crying for milk.

It was starting to look like we wouldn't see any big bull males as we reached the last viewing point. Someone on the tour went to the far edge of the view area, looked down, and there he was. He looks like a giant rock, but if this guy had reared up, he would have been quite frightening indeed. He is the size of a good size car.

With the holidays moving full steam ahead, it was nice to get out and have some peace and quiet. After seeing these amazing animals, we walked back and had lunch by the Marine Education Center. Connor closed his eyes for a bit and I just took in the view. I can still smell the salt air and hear the loud grunting the seals made.

The house in the background belonged to the lighthouse keeper. It hasn't been maintained since 1948 and the seals and birds live in it now.

I had been to Año Nuevo before, but hadn't been on the look out for a patch at the time. I think the current patch looks great. We also got a magnet to add to our fridge.

In what ways have you all been able to reclaim some peace during the busy holiday season? 

Luckiest Girl In The World

Yesterday a mysterious package was left by our door. Usually mysterious packages aren't for me, but when I picked it up I was surprised to see my name on it. In my usual calm manner, I ripped the package to shreds only to find the most wondrous skein of yarn.

Remember when I went to Big Sur last month and said, "But just look at the color of the ocean. I want to find some yarn in that color." Well, Kiwipurler did, and she had this skein dyed for me in the colors of the ocean by Big Sur. Let's take a moment to review. Here is the ocean around Big Sur.

Here is the skein of yarn. I'd say it is a perfect match. Kudos to Anna Gratton for her amazing dye work. The yarn base is 40% silk/30% mohair/ 30% wool. It's 4ply, 200g and she's named the colorway Jade. 

I am the luckiest girl in the world. 

Cloud Tsunami

I spent some time last week with my Mum scoping out the next place to take more pictures for The Book. This time around we spent some time on a pier looking for good lighting and angles. It was an amazing evening. A wall of fog was rolling in and it looked like a tsunami coming at us.

Sea lions were making a real ruckus under the pier. I lamented the fact that the lens I had on my camera is a prime lens and I couldn't get a closer picture of this guy. He only came up for a brief moment before sinking back into the murky water.

We were pretty hungry, so eating at a restaurant located near the end of the pier was a must. I hadn't had clam chowder in a long while, so this was just heavenly. While eating, there was reminiscing that when I was younger I hated clam chowder. 

There were a fair number of pigeons hanging out and I noted that their presence really inspired quick table busing. I caught a picture of this guy right before he stretched out his wings.

The night was cool and windy and the clouds were sprays of ice in the sky. As we headed back home the moon winked down on us.

Picture taking is still going fairly smoothly. I'm rapidly re-knitting a new version of one of the designs before tackling design #9. There are massive improvements being made in the knit and the instructions.