California dreamin'

After the cold and rainy weather has finally stopped, or at least given us a break, and the sun started to spoil us again, I realized anew at what a breathtaking place we live.

So I decided to put together a homage to my beloved California coast!

STUNNING SCENERY

        Pigeon Point Lighthouse

   Montara coast line

 the surf

 UNIQUE WEATHER

   a storm brewing

        coastal rainbow

PEOPLE ENJOYING THE WATER

       kite surfers

 in action

            and of course surfing the big waves 

     at the famous, or infamous? Mavericks

WILDLIFE

 Otter

 Pelicans

TIDE POOLS

  sea stars

 and sea urchins

INESCAPABLE SUNSETS

view from our balcony

Princeton harbor

AND OF COURSE THE ICON OF THE WEST...

not much writing this time,

a real case of  "a picture is worth a thousand words"...

And all of you, who don't live here can now do a bit of California dreamin'



Little Red Fox

As I was working on the Conservation Tips posted below this afternoon, I happened to look out of my office window and saw this red fox lying in the middle of the pasture in perfect late afternoon light. I took the hint, left the computer, grabbed the camera and went quietly outside

After a few minutes people walked by, which alerted her

and she got up, ready to run

away from the human voices towards the cows,
safety in numbers

or in size?

What a treat!

January Conservation Tip

How many New Year's Resolutions did you have? And how many did you break already...;-)?


Well, I thought I give you some ideas for some "easy to do" resolutions, that also will help our planet:

10 NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR A GREENER FUTURE

1. BYO
This is an old one, but a reminder won't hurt: Bring you own reusable bag or basket when you go shopping! Even the produce plastic bags can be reused a couple of times, so you don't have to get new ones every time.
Click here to find really nice baskets.

2. BYO, again...
Going to Peets or Starbucks a lot? Read here how many trees we could save, if everybody brought their own cup.

3. Use dryer balls
Your dryer and your refrigerator are probably the two appliances that suck the most electricity. Except setting the fridge to the right temperature (meaning not too cold)and getting an energy efficient model in the first place, there is not much you can do. BUT you can save a lot of energy by line drying whenever the weather permits it and using dryer balls every time you use your dryer. More Info.

4. Bottle your own water
Water is good, water is a resource, water is scarce, water is necessary, but did
you know that two gallons of water are needed to produce a bottle/bottles for one gallon of drinking water. Now, how stupid is that?
Tap water, or filtered tap water is, in most occasions, as good, if not better, than bottled water. Just get some metal, BPA free plastic or glass bottles and bottle your own water!
My favorite bottle: Life Factory

5. Opt out of mail in
How many catalogs did you get right before Christmas? Through how many did you actually look? And how many did you really like and use??
There is an easy to use website: Catalogchoice.org, that helps you to get rid of unwanted mailings and catalogs.

6. TP
Luckily the time where recycled toilet paper was rough and unpleasant are long gone. So next time you go shopping, buy recycled toilet paper.
Because, regarding to the NRDC: "If every household in the United States bought just one four-pack of 260-sheet recycled bath tissue, instead of the typical tissue made from virgin fiber, it would eliminate 60,600 pounds of chlorine pollution, preserve 356 million gallons (1.35 billion liters) of fresh water and save nearly 1 million trees."
Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/green-new-years-resolutions-10109#ixzz1AsEvPreM

7. Eat less meat
With eating less or no meat you can achieve three important goals in one:
a. Water and fuel conservation: Numbers fluctuate, but it takes up to 2000 gallons!! of water to produce one pound of edible beef (includes everything, from raising the animal to cleaning the stalls to package etc.). In order to produce 1 calorie of beef , 28 calories of fossil fuels are needed, to produce 1 calorie of soybeans, only 2 calories of fossil fuel are necessary.
b. Health: You miss out on all the yummy antibiotics and growth hormones! And, how many overweight vegetarians do you know??
c. Care for the animals: In order to produce meat cheap and in high quantities, animals are raised in factory farms under unimaginable conditions...
More Info

8. Shop local
You will know where your food comes from, have less environmental impact and support the local community.

9. Don't throw away - Donate
Now with spring cleaning ahead of us, consider donating all the toys, clothes, books and unwanted household items, instead of just throwing them away. Your junk could be someones treasure...btw I found one of my coolest photo prop at Goodwill, as I was turning in our stuff...instant reward ;-)

10. The 3 R's
Reduce - Reuse - Recycle, keep that in mind at all times and little thing will make a big difference!

Happy New Year!