16: unexpected

Dear Friend,

How are you doing today? You don’t have to answer right away. Take your time and have a think on it if you’d like. I do hope that things are going well in your world at this moment and I thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post!

In this letter, we’d like to share some of the photos that Frank shot this week. Over the past few days, we’ve taken several walks around the towns of Monterey and Pacific Grove, both of which (as you probably know) are on the California coastline.

 There were sea lions, of course...

...and lots of seagulls, mature and juvenile.

All of these creatures do what they do, each at their own pace.

Even the sea stars were on the move. We watched this one climb until it stopped where you see it now, at a height on the mussel-covered rock where the waves washed over it, now and then.

If you’d like, watch a short video: Some Facts about the Sea Star (Starfish).

And we were lucky to see this very cute Black Oystercatcher, hunting a patch of mussels.

Cormorants are amazing swimmers, flyers, and hunters and also dive to gather nesting supplies from the sea floor.

A sparrow finds insects to eat among the shells on the sand.

Our walks took us through town where there were a few unexpected things. I’ve seen lots of bottle brush bushes, but never a bottle brush tree…

 …and right around the corner from this tree, on a regular residential street, is a house, covered with brightly colorful butterfly art.

This is the Pacific Grove Butterfly House. It brings traffic to the, otherwise, quiet street, for sure, and is, as you can see, very loudly decorated. We’ve heard a variety of opinions about the house. What do you think about it?  More info about The Pacific Grove Butterfly House.

One of Frank’s favorite birds is the pelican. He even seems to attract them. Here’s a tiny sampling of his ever-growing photo-log of these amazing sea birds.

When visiting the ocean, it does not seem that unusual to see someone surfing. But when unpredictable wave-sets surge and crash between jagged rocks, a surfer is an unexpected sight. Frank came upon this surfer one afternoon. His name is Josh.

 An otter looks on.

When Josh finished for the day, he told Frank that it is unusual for people to surf tight coves between rocks like this. (That’s good to know).

Thanks for being here! Please Write to Us, (share your thoughts on the Butterfly House) and, even more importantly, please do let us know how you’re doing, we always enjoy hearing from you!

Wishing you a happy, manageable week ahead with many unexpected triumphs!

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank