July 18, 2016November 6, 2016 susanfarese

More Hummingbirds: Tiny Magnificent Creatures!

I continually marvel at hummingbirds…such tiny magnificent magical creatures!

Their stunning colorful beauty, their speed, their zest for the “hummingbird life”….

It beats watching the news these days. It inspires my creative spirit and hope!

I’ve combined some poetry (Haiku), video footage and photographic images just for you!

Hummingbirds: A Haiku:

Susan J. Farese, SJF Communications

1. Fluttering about

Zooming, oh, so rapidly

Marvelous colors!

2. Hummingbird magic

Unique, beautiful creatures

Don’t fly away, stay!

Here is a short video from today. See these lovely hummingbirds in action as they fly continuously over to the feeders and enjoy nectar, hover, and then dance away!

And now…some photographic images!

Hopefully these hummingbird images will captivate you and yours too!

Enjoy!

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hummer1 — Red-headed Male Anna Hummingbird looking up at the nectar!

hummer3.winner — Beautiful aqua and green coat Anna Hummingbird

happyhummer — Anna is almost at the nectar finish line!

hummer.stick — Anna Hummingbird on a twig

hummer2 — Male Anna hummingbird enjoying the afternoon!

hummer26.comingin — Circling the nectar feeder

hummer23.lookinatyou — Doesn’t this male Anna hummingbird look like a halo above his head? Wings!

hummer22 — I can taste that nectar already!

hummer21.two — Two hummingbirds negotiating!

hummer18.red — “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid”, said the male Anna hummingbird!

hummer17.red — Headshot! Male Anna hummingbird

hummer12.matte — Which way did they go?? Male Anna hummingbird

hummer10 — Male Anna hummingbird looking up to the sky!

hummer9.two — I was there first! No, I was! OK, let’s eat!

hummer3.branch — Male Anna hummingbird on a palm leaf!

hummer2.branch — See? A palm leaf! Told you!

Hope you enjoyed the poem, video and photos from SJF Communications!

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June 25, 2016June 25, 2016 susanfarese

A Photographic Journey through the San Diego State University (SDSU) Campus

I recently spent some time strolling on the beautiful campus at San Diego State University (SDSU). Our daughter is enrolled for Fall, 2016 and we love taking the time to explore every chance we get!

Here are some photos I captured that gloriously beautiful day! I wish I could have photographed the entire campus! Perhaps I will visit again soon to capture much more! Feel free to click on each photo.

Subscribe and leave comments and let us know if you have any links, photos or blog posts about SDSU as well! Enjoy!

sdsu1 — Hepner Hall with the Hardy Memorial Tower in the Background

http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/virtualtour/ped_bridge.html

Conrad Prebys Student Union

Conrad Prebys Student Union Walkway

sdsu26 — Capturing another view of the Conrad Prebys Student Union

sdsu63 — Between Performing Arts area and Hepner Hall

And here is some of the gorgeous foliage seen that day. Click on each photo to enlarge it. Such vivid color and so many beautiful varieties of trees and flowers!

And a few more images of the “bench art” and more!

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October 27, 2015October 27, 2015 susanfarese

Aha! A Monarch Butterfly Visits Us!

Welcome to Our Balcony in San Diego, Sir or Ms. Monarch!*

A Magnificent Beauty Arrives!

I had just sat down looking out at our 2nd floor balcony, when all of a sudden, a beautiful Monarch butterfly visited!

I grabbed my Nikon Coolpix L830 and put it on the “close up” setting and snapped away!

This post will be super short and sweet..

-Just a way to share how gorgeous this colorful butterfly was!

Enjoy these photos, feel free to like, comment and share this post link.

Beauty in nature abounds, we just need to look for it, spot it and savor the beauty of it!

Enjoy!

p.s. (*I didn’t get a chance to determine if it was a male (black spot on hind wing) or female (no black spot)!

(Check out http://www.monarchbutterflygarden.net for more info)

Funny thing is, I just bought those two plants a few days ago and haven’t even planted them yet!

Lucky enough to catch the butterfly in flight, although a bit blurred!

Hope your day is as delightful as this butterfly’s has been!

April 30, 2015April 30, 2015 susanfarese

San Diego Zoo Animals on an April Morning!

Thoroughly enjoyed a great visit to the world famous San Diego Zoo yesterday morning!

Here are some photos. Feel free to click on them individually!

Just couldn’t resist this camel’s expression!

Smile for the camera!

The koala exhibit is an amazing natural habitat

Check out this condors wings!

A condor in deep thought??

Fun spotting this “Secretary Bird”. Love those colorful eye shadows!

Captured a view of this “contemplating” orangutan

This colorful lone dragonfly landed on a perch!

Gorillas in our midst!

Caught some glimpses of this Tasmanian Devil!

The pelicans greet visitors to the zoo!

Merely Meerkats!

And a few more animals we visited!

Fox meandering throughout his cage

LIons oh my!

Elephants never forget!

Turtles lounging

This jaguar is a new MOM!

Tell me, is there anything cuter than a mama duck and her little one?

And finally here are a few of the gorgeous flowers at the zoo!

Such a fun way to spend time with friends or family, get some exercise walking, and observe the animals!

March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 susanfarese

Spring has Sprung! Cormorants Perched at Torrey Pines State Beach (San Diego County) Plus a Few Flowers to Enjoy!

I can’t get enough of the natural beauty at Torrey Pines State Beach!

Simply sharing with you a few glimpses from my “low tide” TPSB stroll where I spotted two cormorants perched atop a rock.

Besides viewing the cormorants, enjoy these snapshots of gorgeous spring flowers (seen on the neighborhood), a cool rock formation and a “heat map” of hangliders!

Have a fantastic week and try to do something creative each day!

Spring has Sprung! Torrey Pines State Beach & Flowers

February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 susanfarese

Torrey Pines State Reserve & Beach Hike: Magnificent Nature (Even a Drone)!

This morning I enjoyed a wonderful hike with my friend Ninon at Torrey Pines State Reserve. We walked up the hill from the parking lot. (Usually $12/day, but for locals like us, it pays to buy a “California Explorer” Annual Pass which gives access to California State Parks).

Looking North West from Torrey Pines State Reserve

A lone Torrey Pines tree at Torrey PInes State Reserve

We spotted a “Scrub Jay” blue bird

Scrub Jay in Tree at at Torrey Pines State Reserve

We both admired the beautiful Pacific Ocean views from atop the cliffs

Susan at Torrey Pines State Reserve

Ninon at Torrey Pines State Reserve

We admired several rock formations

Susan admiring Rock Formations at Torrey Pines State Reserve

And savored the gorgeous ocean views from atop the cliffs

Cliffs Overlooking the Beautiful Pacific Ocean

We finally made it to the view of Flat Rock!

We took the beach trail and observed several wild yellow, and orange flowers blooming.

The trail led us to gorgeous majestic views of the blue-green hued Pacific Ocean. Then we took the steps down to Torrey Pines State Beach below.

View of La Jolla at Torrey Pines State Reserve — View of Flat Rock & La Jolla in the Distance at Torrey Pines State Reserve

Then lo and behold…all of a sudden, as we ventured down the steps to Torrey Pines State Beach, we spotted a DRONE in the sky!

JIm Gleason's Drone in the Sky at Torrey Pines State Beach — JIm Gleason’s Drone in the Sky at Torrey Pines State Beach

Here’s a short video of the drone landing!

Which led us to meet “Droner” Jim Gleason, a freelance videographer, originally from San Diego but visiting from Austria with his wife Camille, who is a Scientist with Novartis Pharmaceuticals.