blue ocean, yellow flowers, green hills, hot sun, and blue sky.
We went to Malibu this morning to celebrate Earth Day. We didn’t walk on the beach as it was high tide, and the waves were lapping right against the pilings of the houses.
Coral Canyon Trail
While Coral Canyon Trail isn’t a long hike, it’s right off Pacific Coast Highway which means every bend in the path offers one another splendid view of either ocean, or hills, or both at once, and because we had a lot of rain last winter, the chaparral slopes are blooming with wild flowers of every conceivable color. Truly gorgeous, almost as though the hillsides were painted especially for Earth Day.
field of flowers
red flowers
white
little orange
Mr F and Monte Carlo
hot and thirsty
snake skin lying in the path
In addition to the flowers, the Pelicans also put on a show for us.
a long line of pelicans
While we ate our fish and chips at Malibu Seafood – mmmmm very tasty as always – we watched them fly past.
The sky was full of flocks of birds, twenty or thirty birds at a time, going in a northerly direction along the coast. I have never seen so many pelicans flying together before.
They don’t migrate do they? Or perhaps it was an air show for Earth Day 
We loved it all.
We sure are lucky to live in such a beautiful planet.
I was also out trekking through our rain forest – photographing all the homes of the little creatures who work graveyard. Friends have told me of the transformation that a bit of rain brings to your part of the world. Isn’t is amazing that the earth just holds all that glory, patiently waiting for the rain?
Thanks for the photos. Your joy comes through.
souldipper I think you live in Canada? We’ve hiked around rain forests on Vancouver Island. So beautiful and lush.
This past winter people in L.A complained that it felt as if we were living in San Francisco, because of all the rain. But no one’s complaining now.
I’m glad my photos show you our lovely day.
Thank you, Rosie. You’ve brightened up my day. I want to keep coming back. For the pelicans, the flowers, the joy your saw. But mostly, for the joy on Monte Carlo’s face in the picture with him and Mr. F. Beautiful.
Thank you Priya. Isn’t it amazing how I can share my lovely day with you, half way round the world?
Monte Carlo’s a very contented dog after his wonderful day. When we got home Mr F gave him a bath, so now he smells nice and fresh, and after all the fresh air and exercise he’s sleeping like a log.
What a beautiful day you had with your family on this lovely nature walk! Thanks for giving me a peek into your part of this amazing planet – I’ve never been to California before. I enjoyed the scenery yo captured, the sweeping vistas, the flower close-ups, and the flight of the pelicans!
I love how the internet allows me to share my day in my one little corner of this huge continent with you. I feel very fortunate to live here – California’s a beautiful state: as you noticed.
I still don’t know why the pelicans put on the air show.
mmmm… how lovely! thanks for sharing with us. Mr F and Monte Carlo sure looked they they were having a splendid time. Can’t wait to do that hike with you all again!
Mr F, Monte Carlo and I agreed it was a splendid day. We saw all those flowers and the pelicans, but you know, I need to go somewhere where I can HEAR the birds. I need to hear birds chirping up in the tree above me.
I hope some of my readers living here in S. California can recommend a place I should go to.
Oh boy I also look forward to doing that hike with you
All so beautiful, Rosie – and how wonderful is it to see pelicans flying overhead!
Val I’m glad you wrote because I know how you also love birds. It was an incredible experience to look up and see the long lines of pelicans flying overhead. You would’ve LOVED it.
It was hard to photograph them: one had to look up into the bright sun, and hopefully aim the camera at the place where they were flying. Mr F managed to photograph them. Oops, I forgot to give him the photo credits! Sorry Mister F.
Ah, so beautiful! I’m really enjoying all the flowering plants around LA this time of year. And this year I’ve started to harvest the seeds from native plant species that grow in the park where I work to plant throughout the city! Just doing my part to help Angelinos remember that we’re not in England or in New England, as our manicured urban landscapes sometimes try to convince us.
I’m also going to try to harvest the seeds from a ubiquitous non-native: black mustard (the yellow flower in the first photo of this post). The story goes that the Spaniards who first came to the New World planted these seeds to mark the path between the missions. It worked so well that we now have black mustard like there’s no tomorrow! Black mustard is used to make Dijon mustard, so I’m going to try to harvest the seeds and make my own mustard. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I’m always delighted when you stop to comment e fullstop because you share so much with us. I love learning the history of the trees and flowers. I had no idea and I’m sure that Mr F didn’t know, and no doubt most of the readers of my blog didn’t know that the beautiful “yellow flower” is the black mustard flower, which is used to make Dijon mustard, or that the Spanish planted it to mark the path between the missions.
Wow what a great story! On behalf of all of us who read this I thank you e!
Of course, I greedily also look forward to tasting your homemade mustard. Please do let us know how it’s going.
What a great post! I can’t believe you’re in LA and surrounded by all this fabulous nature! Thanks for the great photos — the pelicans were amazing in their arrow-straight formation! — and especially for the happy one of Mr. F and Monte Carlo. Your joy in the day was absolutely contagious!!
I am grateful to live in such a beautiful place
Isn’t it great how I can post my photos here and people all over the world are able to vicariously enjoy our lovely spring outing?
I think I should frame the photo of Mr F and Monte Carlo!
Hi dearrosie,
Great photos and looks like a fantastic walk, and what a beautiful dog as well. Spring is the best time of the year I feel, all the beautiful colors of the flowers, everything is renewed. Here in OZ we are in Autumn coming into Winter, so it is lovely to see some great photos of Spring.
Thank You for visiting my blog.
A very warm welcome magx2 – always a pleasure to have a visitor from Oz. I’m glad you enjoyed walking with us, now you can say you’ve been to Malibu! We adopted our little Monte Carlo from an animal rescue last Christmas. Poor thing had been there for SIX months.
Spring is my favorite time of the year and after all the rain last winter even the gardens in our neighbourhood are looking great. I must do a photo shoot of the roses!