San Diego - Land of Amazing Skies

It was about the middle of our week in San Diego and probably the hottest day there when we decided to hike the northern section of Torrey Pines.  It was a beautiful day that started with some excellent reference opportunities like this photo (one of many of pics I took as this boat tacked back and forth).

Which leads me to ask, "Can a boat of this type (using a motor) 'tack'?"  Anyway, this picture was taken from the balcony of BD and E's condo.  Then we went on our walk.

At first I thought I would concentrate on the flora we could see beside the trail.  Yellow and red is one of my favorite color combinations; throw in white and it's a ballet.

These two plants were all over this section.

Prickly pear again, and the blossoms were coming along at the rate of at least one a day.  Okay, that's a guess.  I looked at the spent blooms and extrapolated from there (I've always wanted an excuse to use that word!).

Pine cones; I love the shadows in these.  

Then there were these formations.  Again, absolutely wonderful shadows.  Both of these are interesting photographs and worth a lot when the right painting walks into my head.

But the next one is like the pictures I took at the beach.  

The beauty of rocks catches me every time - especially, as with these, when they have "arranged" themselves into a lovely still life.

So why "Land of Amazing Skies"?    Look at what we saw that afternoon:

Keep an eye on the clouds . . . 

Shooting off the trees . . . 

If I painted this one, no one would believe a cloud really seemed to curl around a tree like this.

And now, clouds like geese women in flight . . .

Here the vertical rays of the sun and the horizontal swoop of the geese clouds  . . . wow!

Do you believe this?  Stationary beetle-browed rock formation and fluttery clouds dancing above it and complete with the sun itself!

Finally, the sunset.  What a day!