Yaquina Head Lighthouse & Cobble Beach

(+6 insets) Harbor Seal Pupping Season at Yaquina Head Light House! Everywhere along the coast of Oregon, there are so many wonderful things to see! One day we went out to the mouth of the Yaquina River, which featured the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We read that there were tide pools and seals, trails and magnificent views. We were not prepared for the wonderful things we'd see that day! As luck would have it, we arrived during harbor seal pupping season! Furthermore, I nearly vibrated with excitement when I found out the area around Yaquina Head had a colony of seals there! In fact, to keep them safe, part of the accessible beach where the mothers and pups frequented was cordoned off and watched by eagle-eyed caretakers who were quick to tell anyone too close to please stay behind the tape. Yes! With all of the selfish ignoramuses out there, were very pleased that the seals had protectors looking out for them! Today's Picture Who doesn't love to watch seals?! They are like huge sea puppies and I adore them! Although the main attraction was the mothers and pups laying around on the algae-covered rocks, spotting them swimming around was a great game! I managed to get this incredibly lucky shot of an adult popping out of the water on its back and turning over, with a spray of water launched next to it. It's one of my very best sea life pictures! :) Today's Insets Inset #1: The main draw of this area is the gorgeous Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Viewed from the rocky beach near the Harbor Seal pupping grounds, you can see the wonderful tide pools found all up and down the coast here. Inset #2: The algae-covered rocks where the Harbor Seals raised their pups were full of rolly-polly moms and their babies. I couldn't stop cooing as I took pictures! :) How nice it was to have my Sony RX10 IV bridge camera with its 24-600 lens! I couldn't have gotten any worthwhile seal pictures without this super camera! Inset #2: At the far side of the accessible part of the beach I spotted a little cove where a mother had come out of the water, her pup just visible at her side. She looks rather non-plussed, don't you think?! :D Inset #4: Cormorants and other sea birds covered the rocks at the far side of the beach and Steve and I enjoyed watching their antics. I was happy to see that the area was cordoned off too, as the birds were busy planning families too. They were far enough away that I wasn't sure any pictures would turn out and I was delighted when I found this picture turned out so nicely! Inset #5: Yaquina Head's Cobble Beach was very unique because it was covered with true cobble stones, something we'd never encountered before. These polished rocks were slippery to walk on--warning signs were posted!--and they created an incredibly loud, almost musical tone as you walked carefully over them. Inset #6: The tide pools next to the rocky beach were teeming with life! This image shows some anemones and mussels that we saw, surrounded by different kinds of algae. Thank You For Visiting! Every time I check on my new presentation my face breaks out is such a big smile. It makes me so happy that you folks come to visit, even though I've been so negligent in my reciprocal visits. We've been getting so much frost in the mornings but in the afternoon it's warming up and Steve and I, with Pumpkin too, are going on walks in preparation for our upcoming adventures! Hope you're all healthy and doing well! Explored on 2/3/22; highest placement #1.

(+6 insets) Coastal Travel Steve and I have been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time now along the Oregon coast. Both of us are familiar with the unpredictable nature but it's interesting to experience it first-hand. Everything from crazy storms to still beaches and everything in-between. We'd had so much wind, rain and stormy conditions during our stay at Beverly Beach that when a sunny day greeted us one morning, we immediately made plans to visit the nearby lighthouse at Yaquina Head. Today's Picture A couple of days ago I shared a panorama showing the walk out to the lighthouse. This sight had us taking pictures from many angles to appreciate it completely! What a lovely building and beautifully cared for. It was built in 1873 and the lands there also included housing, farmyards and gardens for the caretakers--they had to raise and grow their own food, since they really were a long way from civilization! Steve and I walked around the remaining foundations and tried to imagine their incredibly lovely but lonely existence there. If you're like to know more, this article goes into much more detail: The History of Yaquina Head Lighthouse Today's Insets Inset #1: The lovely Salal Trail led up a tall hill near the lighthouse and Steve and I were just wowed at the incredible views. Steve had to force me to keep moving because I couldn't resist taking a million pictures! Inset #2: We saw lots of Black-Striped Sparrows who foraged on the blueberry-like Salal berries covering the bushes which lined much of the trail. I was delighted to get this picture--they were careful to fly away when we got too close, and I kept getting bushes with no birds! :D Inset #3: Down on the cobble beach near the seals, I found countless pretty vignettes to photograph. There were so many lovely groupings of stones in this setting, and this one I especially liked. Inset #4: This is another grouping of cobbles that I appreciated which also included driftwood, of which there was plenty scattered on the beach. Inset #5: Seals are so itchy! I found that they spent a lot of time scratching their sides and faces. This is a well-fed baby rubbing its face with its flipper. (Have you ever seen the skeleton of a seal? Their flippers reveal 5-fingered hands! (here is a mounted skeleton) Remarkable!) Inset #6: This darling baby, with mama nearby, looks back in my direction as if it knows I'm taking a picture! I'm so far away that I'm undetectable with its poor on-land vision, but I like to think that it's posing just for me! :D This is also the last picture of the seals from this trip! Thank You For Visiting! It's hard to believe that February is nearly through…how did that happen? Steve and I are making our last preparations before we depart on our next trip and our house-sitter is stopping by to drop off supplies for his long stay too! We are feeling better about things with restrictions easing, I hope you are all doing well. Thanks so much for your visits, comments and stars! Explored on 2/21/22; highest placement #8.