Stacking Stones

The Southern California beach access was just opened for walkers, joggers and those who need some fresh air.  (It was opened earlier for the surfers, swimmers, and paddle boarders.)  No, you cannot lay your blanket on the sand to enjoy natural vitamin D, you must keep moving.  And you are officially reminded of the local rules by the bland voice constantly blurting out threats over the loudspeakers calling out the malingerers.

So up and down the beach the masses strolled without purpose.  Some stopped beneath an overhanging bluff, wet from seeping water from above, where there was a line of stones stacked one on the other:  Rock balancing or stone stacking, they call it.  Some reached out and added to the formations, but most just looked and admired the handiwork and patience of those unknowns who balanced the rocks, one atop the other.

Were these freshly constructed?  Were they built before the beaches were closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic?  Are these a sign that, “We’re back?”  Are these a monument to the sacrifices we have made waiting for the beach to open?  A sign of remembrance?  A trail marker showing that you are on the right path?

Rock stacking is popular along the California beaches where these ocean rocks and stones are easily found.  It takes time to find the perfect stone in the surf, smoothed over time from pounding waves, grinding them down to the flat mass that is perfect for beach stone stacking.   And in solitude a hand is dipped into the cold wave and the perfect rock is retrieved to add it to the shrine being built. 

With a bit of imagination and a steady hand, the rock stacks are carefully constructed.  Each stone is selected with purpose:  some for color, some for size and some for shape.  The work is slow and intentional, as each stone is judiciously placed on the stack.  A balancing act, so to speak.  

Some do it for the simple fun or challenge, some do it with a spiritual purpose, others do it to leave their mark: “We were here… and here is an Instagram pic of the proof!”

As Joshua did thousands of years ago, rocks were piled in the middle of the Jordan River as a reminder to the future generations of what had happened at that spot.   But tonight, I would like to think that the chimneys of rocks are as a footprint of those who, through creative and meditative activity, rejoiced in the spirit of their freedom as we begin to put the pandemic behind us. 

  

Lonely and Homeless

“Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
Oh, I'm so lonely…..”

That song came to mind as I watched “Birdman,” a homeless person in the community lean on the cold rail near the beach and stare out over the Pacific Ocean at a recent sunset before the local police began giving tickets for watching it from your car!  How many sunsets has “Birdman” seen over his lifetime as he hangs around familiar territory?  What was it in his life that led to his predicament?  Mental illness?  Addiction?  Adjustment disorders?

He pointed out the rocks below and reminisced that he began sleeping on them at nights when he was sixteen years old.  He felt safe down there, he said.  But on this night, he was hoping for a motel room which the town was giving to some of the community homeless due to the spread of the COVID19.  He wasn’t sure he would qualify. He could no longer get down to the beach… it was closed.

Homelessness and loneliness go together.  His challenge is similar to ours:  he worries about food, clothing and shelter.  But his worry – and those like him – is daily.  Most of us are holding in place, hunkered down but with food, clean clothing and shelter.  That may change as the government inflicted shutdown continues and people lose their jobs and livelihoods. 

He doesn’t work so the lay-offs and shuttered businesses aren’t his concern.  Sort of.  But still, it is a dilemma because no one is on the streets to give him a handout.  Some of the local restaurants which feed the local homeless out the back door, are closed.  The social services are limited due to the pandemic and people of good will are confined to their homes.

The chronic homeless like “Birdman” are out there on the streets.  They may not be in our neighborhoods but look around, you’ll see them.  They aren’t going away; their numbers may grow as this pandemic lingers. 

“Birdman” is just one story out there.   

Graceful Mass

Along the southern coastal areas of the United States a large, but yet graceful  mass of a bird can be found residing in flocks, crowding about on ledges and spaces along the pacific ocean beaches.  It is the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis).  This large bird mainly eats fish, as it dives beak first into the ocean waves to catch its prey.

In Southern California, not a day goes by that I don't see a flock of brown pelicans soaring along the coastline in a follow-the-leader formation.  Often times, they will divert out over the ocean a bit, just barely clearing the heads of perched surfers waiting for that one special wave, as the big birds look for food.

 

 
In La Jolla, CA, there is a special area where the brown pelicans love to perch in colonies to sun and clean themselves.   La Jolla Cove is a semi-protected area of rock formations which gives the flocks of pelicans a place to land and preen.

A numbers of species of birds such as the egret, Cormorants, and a variety of seagulls all fight for the limited space with the pelican to rest and groom themselves.

The brown pelican is an interesting bird to observe.  The agility of the pelican's neck to bend and cork-screw about his body to preen is amazing to watch.  The large beak helps as he separates the feather to search out the bugs and other objects which he plucks.

 
Out on the edges of the water, among the rocks, the harbor seals bellow at one another as a pelican is on short final for the edge of the rock while seagulls pay no attention to the intruder.

The brown pelican has a beautiful plume with various colors on its head. Some have a red area on the gular pouch.

But it is the flying and flight maneuvers such as the landing which fascinate me:  the big soaring wings with deep slots at the end of the primary feathers are used to precisely land the large mass of the bird.

   

The up swept and vertical wing helps the pelican slip through the air just before it opens its wing to almost hover down onto the landing point.

As with anything in the day in which we live, it takes a bit of time and observation to see the marvelous and glorious creations about us.  The brown pelican is just one of those amazing creations which deserves the time to stop and consider its magnificence.

A Bit Unusual

Are you always looking around you... looking for the unusual?  If not, you may be missing something nearby.  I was photographing surfers at Beacons, a local surf spot in Leucadia, a beach community located in the coastal city of Encinitas, California, when I saw a large lump of something down the beach.  So I moved down along the beach and saw this large female sea lion enjoying the spring summer warmth and sunshine.  The sea lion are sea mammals characterized by external ear flaps,  long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short, thick hair.

Soon, she became the object of the curious.  As surfers emerged from the water, they couldn't help but check her out.  One young lady decided to lay down and emulate the movements of the large beast.  I noticed that when a male passed by she would rear up and "bark."  Not so with the female human; she tended to ignore them.

So eventually, after taking lots of pictures because I've never seen a sea lion up in this area, I ignored her and hoped she would find peace among the humans sharing her natural habitat.

A Gracious Heart

This is Melissa.  I met her several years ago when she was involved in feeding the homeless at a local shelter on Tuesday nights.  Melissa is from Hawaii and living in SoCal; she hasn't forgotten her surf past, as she heads out when she has time to catch a wave.

The thing is, Melissa has a gracious heart.  I've watch her show concern and compassion for those less fortunate than she.  She has a smile for all.  Yet, she too has had a difficult life trying to make ends meet, launching a beauty product business, caring for children of a busy family and all.

So I was happy to do some life-style photos for her to use on her website.  You go girl!

Mouth Hanger

So I do a lot of surf photography; I have a super big lens which allows me to reach out there.  I am a land photographer... meaning I don't get out into the water.  Not that I don't get wet!  When the high tides are in, sometimes you just can't get away from one of those rouge waves.  And besides, the water is cold.

But I digress:  the other day, while at Swami Reef in Encinitas, CA, I see these young guys heading out on their boards:  groms, they call them (skilled young guys who love to rip on their boards!).  I noticed that one of the guys had a funny thing in his mouth so when he came ashore I approached to see the set up.  He had a mouth fixture to hold his GoPro Hero+3.  It didn't look really comfortable, chomping on it like a bit in a horse's mouth.

The guys were from Portugal and were enjoying the high surf.  Extremely friendly, enthusiastic,  but they were a bit out of their element with the high surf.  But they tried. So he posed for me with a promise that I would post it for him.

GoPro cameras are awesome.  The footage you can get with them, think POV (point-of-view), is incredible.  I have a couple and use them for various projects for added value to the assignment.  If you don't have one, check them out.  They can be fun for the creative.

Tech details:  Fuji x100s; ISO 200; f5.6; 1/640 sec.  Natural light.  Processed in Adobe CS6
©2016 James David Phenicie   All Rights Reserved.

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