Birding - Purposeful Lollygagging

Birding is the second fastest growing sport in America. Sixty-five million of us are rising at ungodly hours to steal through estuaries and woodlands hoping to spy the flash of a wing. Some of us spend fortunes enticing our avian friends to our back yards. Why?

   (1) Birding is an opportunity for purposeful lollygagging. We must go slowly to catch a glimpse of the vast variety of birds that share the planet with us. A stroll through dew-laden meadows can garner sightings of warblers, finches, bluebirds, and meadow larks swaying on a stem. The seldom seen sora and the ubiquitous great blue heron are found in wetlands along with egrets and dabbling ducks. White pelicans that we associate with the sea migrate to fresh-water stopovers during winter like many other long distance travelers. Slowing down allows you to spot all of these wonderful variations in nature.

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Great Outdoor Day in L.A. #17 - Get Your Zzzz's Zuma to Spruzzo's

One of the less-traveled trails in the Santa Monica Mountains is hidden in Zuma Canyon. Enjoy a leisure cruise up Bonsail Drive off Pacific Coast Highway, opposite Westward Beach and past celebrity haciendas with mounds of brilliant bougainvillea spilling over white walls to a dirt road that deposits you at the trail head.  A steep accent to ocean view and canyon views is a favorite of equestrians so you may run into the horsey set on this trek. Most hikers take the trail up canyon with

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Surf’s UP - Master of the Waves

 Did you ever try to imagine what it was like to be an expert surfer riding the biggest waves in the world? I spent hours watching surfers sift in and out of the waves at Surf Riders Beach in Malibu taking note of their every movement trying to capture in words what it must be like for them to ride the waves.

Clark Little’s incredible photography allowed me to be with him in the belly of thirty foot waves on the north shore of Oahu where he lives. He has mastered the fine art of capturing the dynamic energy of the waves with his camera. He rolls in the surf dangerously close to the crushing monsters to get the best shot.

If you look closely at this iconic shot you will see King Kamehameha the Great standing on the tip of the curl with his crested Helmut and sword in his hand. In my novel Wai-nani, High Chiefess of Hawaii, I describe the royals skittering across the waves on long koa boards. Wai-nani swims with her dolphin friend Eku and rides the waves with him, as well as her lover Makaha. Clarke’s award winning images inspired and excited my imagination. He took me as close to the shimmering heart of the waves as I ever will be.

Clark opened a second gallery on the mainland in Laguna Beach a year ago. Go to his site www.ClarkLittlePhotography.com

to view his gallery and receive notices of future events.

Blog Jog Day is today Aug 7

Welcome to Blog Jog Day! Please enjoy my site then click over to, From A Writer’s POV to see what the next Blog has to offer! Lost in the links? You can always go back to the main Blog Jog Day Blog at and find a new link to jog from. Thank you for stopping by my site!