Today is our last day at La Jolla. After the cruise yesterday, I'm tired with a few stiff muscles. I took time early in the day to sort through the images from yesterday to see what I had gotten and also to get some ready to post for the blog and website.
When it was time to head over for an afternoon shoot with the seals, it was somewhat overcast. We did the verbal checklist to help make sure I had everything and drove over. I could tell that sunset had potential because there was a break in the clouds right at the horizon.
I decided to go over first and survey what the ocean level was. The low tide today was a negative tide and the sea was at the lowest level I had seen it here. I finally figured out where "Seal Rock" was, because for the first time it was high and dry and there were seals on it. The water around the rocks was crystal clear - so pretty - no wonder people want to scuba and snorkel here.
I was also hoping to get to talk to one of the Friends of the Seals people. I wanted to check on the mother seal that had not gone over to the water with her pup. And I wanted to find out what was the current status on the lawsuit that threatened the seal's presence on the beach and the legal stay that is currently the binding document. I walked up just as one of the seals had her pups, plus this was Sunday afternoon with lots of people around their information table. I did find out that the seal and pup that I was worried about had gone out to sea and were doing well - but they had been worried as well. After realizing this was not a good time for an "interview," I walked on over to the wall and enjoyed watching the new mother. The lighting was not good and I decided that since this was my last night here, I would just enjoy being here.
The new mother was very territorial. She had not fully delivered her placenta and there were a couple of gulls that kept hanging around hoping for dinner. She kept chasing them off. She actually had moved around enough in circles around her pup that there was a big demarkation circle around her and the pup. She was very aggressive toward both seals and gulls that tried to encroach into her territory. She and the pup were bonding nicely, touching noses and interacting together. I had a chance to tell people about which baby was "newest." Yes . . . I was excited about seeing the "newest pup."
As sunset approached, I also decided that since this was my last night, it was better to just enjoy my surroundings. The sun's last rays had that beautiful rays from heaven look. The sun was hitting the lowest clouds with a flaming yellow glow. The thought passed through my head that this was such a good representation of God. God is light, the brightest light we can imagine - this light from the setting sun on the clouds was so bright that it almost hurtsyour eyes to look at it. And that was just the reflection. When the actual sun is in the sky, it is even brighter - painful to look at (and potentially damaging to the eyes.) When Moses was in the presence of God, he had to shield his eyes. Yes, for that one brief moment, I felt myself in the presence of God - or at least I could imagine God's glory.
The brilliance of the sun was also being reflected in the waves. Golden streaks in the water and in the last rays of the sun backlighting the waves with golden light.
Had I been photographing . . . yes, I might have gotten some good shots, but I also might have missed all of the glory around me.
And the final glow of the sun lit the lowest layer of clouds with that beautiful crimson strokes.
A new pup, a beautiful sunset, a quiet tranquil evening . . . yes, a great way to end this time at the sea.
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