Posts Tagged ‘Weekly Photo Challenge’
Posted by Jody on May 21, 2013
Rip Currents – Break the Grip of the Rip!
Rip Current Safety Sign Posted on Lifeguard Tower
If Caught in a Rip Current
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Don’t fight the current
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Swim out of the current, then to shore
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If you can’t escape, float or tread water
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If you need help, call or wave for assistance
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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), rip currents are the #1 safety threat at beaches.
Rip currents can be really hard to spot, so exercise caution if you see the following:
- a channel of churning, choppy water;
- an area with a noticeable difference in color;
- a line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving steadily out to sea;
- and/or a break in the incoming wave pattern.
If you get caught in one:
- Stay calm, don’t fight the current.
- Swim sideways out of the current and parellel to the shore, then at an angle back to the shore.
If you can’t escape it:
- Float or calmly tread water. The rip current will eventually fade.
- Try to face the shore, wave your arms, and yell for help.
If you see someone caught in one, DO NOT try to rescue them yourself, instead:
- Get a lifeguard or call 911.
- Yell instructions.
- And if possible, throw a life preserver or floatation device.
These things may help you save a life.
The ocean can be a source of fun and excitement, but you should always be careful of hazards that exist. Only swim at lifeguard protected beaches. Before your next trip to the beach, know how to spot a rip current and how to break the grip of the rip.
Source: Ocean Today (NOAA)
Lifeguard Tower with Posted Rip Current Safety Signs
Please take a look at these very helpful links:
“Don’t get sucked in by the rip…” Rip Current Science and Safety Video: Australia
The Grip of the Rip – NOAA Video
United States Lifesaving Association Rip Current Survival Guide
How Rip Currents Form
Have a safe day at the beach!
This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge topic is Escape.
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Posted in Beach Safety Tips, Tuesday Tallies & Tips | Tagged: beach, beach safety sign, escape, NOAA, postaday, rip current safety, Weekly Photo Challenge | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jody on May 14, 2013
~Patterns in the Sand~
Art on the Beach
~ Making Patterns in the Sand ~
On Manhattan Beach, Southern California
This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge theme is Pattern.
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Posted in Sand and Shoreline, Southern California Beaches, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, Manhattan Beach California, pattern, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jody on April 22, 2013
Looking up at the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast:
Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon
Gazing up 92 feet:
Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon
Peering up inside the Yaquina Head Lighthouse tower – 114 stairs to the watch room:
Inside Yaquina Head Lighthouse Tower
When the lighthouse was constructed in 1872, the children of lighthouse keepers and lighthouse visitors were not permitted to climb the 114 stairs in the tower to the watch room because the US Lighthouse Service feared they would trip and fall on the steep stairs or squeeze between the posts of the handrails. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse retains its historic stairs and handrails and thus the safety of children climbing the stairs is still a concern. Today, children must be at least 42 inches tall to climb the stairs of the tower. Additionally, adults must accompany and assist children ascending the lighthouse tower.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
I will vouch for that justifiable feeling of fear on the part of the US Lighthouse Service! On our last visit to this splendid lighthouse and the surrounding Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, our 5 year old grandson was “tall enough” to climb the 114 stairs to the top of the tower. I confess to being the big sissy of the group. The little guy waited patiently with my understanding hubby and quizzical son-in-law as I whizzed by them to climb to the top and back by myself. My very prudent and proper “respect” for heights seems to quickly blossom into a full blown scardey-cattedness when I’m with little ones (I know I’m not alone in this*)!
Come on up!
Glancing up at the first order Fresnel lens, manufactured in Paris in 1868 by Barbier & Fenestres:
Yaquina Head Lighthouse Lens
About the light:
The light has been active since Head Keeper Fayette Crosby walked up the 114 steps, to light the wicks on the evening of August 20, 1873. At that time the oil burning fixed white light was displayed from sunset to sunrise. Today, the fully automated first order Fresnel lens runs on commercial power and flashes its unique pattern of 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on, 14 seconds off, 24 hours a day. The oil burning wicks have been replaced with a 1000 watt globe.
Source: Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses
Looking north from the top of Yaquina Head Lighthouse toward the beautiful beaches of the Oregon Coast
It was a “Great Day for UP!”
*My case in point: The Coastal Path, 36c – Kingsdown to St Margarets at Cliffe
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WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Up
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Posted in Lighthouses, Monday Miscellaneous, Pacific Coast Beaches | Tagged: beach, Newport Oregon, Oregon Coast lighthouse, postaday, up, Weekly Photo Challenge, Yaquina Head Lighthouse Newport Oregon | 20 Comments »
Posted by Jody on April 5, 2013
Color ~ The Old Point Loma Lighthouse Lens
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse – Illuminating the Past
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse stood watch over the entrance to San Diego Bay for 36 years. At dusk on November 15, 1855, the light keeper climbed the winding stairs and lit the light for the first time. What seemed to be a good location 422 feet above sea level, however, had a serious flaw. Fog and low clouds often obscured the light. On March 23, 1891, the light was extinguished and the keeper moved to a new lighthouse location closer to the water at the tip of the Point.
Old Point Loma Lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, California
Today, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse still stands watch over San Diego, sentinel to a vanished past. The National Park Service has refurbished the interior to its historic 1880s appearance – a reminder of a bygone era. Ranger-led talks, displays, and brochures are available to explain the lighthouse’s interesting past.
Source: National Park Service
About the light: The original Old Point Loma lighthouse lens was hand crafted by Frenchman Henry-Lepaute. His beautiful master work was constructed with polished brass and several hundred hand-ground crystal prisms. Classified as a 3rd Order Fresnel lens, and weighing in at 1985 pounds, the light measures 5’2″ in height. When in operation, the beacon could be seen from more than 20 miles out to sea.
The beautifully maintained Old Point Loma Lighthouse is still quite a lovely sight to see!
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Related link: A Visit to the Tide Pools at Cabrillo National Monument
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Color
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Posted in Lighthouses | Tagged: beach, beach photography, Cabrillo National Monument, color, Point Loma Lighthouse, postaday, San Diego coast, Weekly Photo Challenge | 9 Comments »
Posted by Jody on March 24, 2013
Happy Birthday to You!
The greatest poem ever known
Is one all poets have outgrown:
The poetry, innate, untold,
Of being only four years old.
Still young enough to be a part
Of Nature’s great impulsive heart,
Born comrade of bird, beast, and tree
And unselfconscious as the bee-
And yet with lovely reason skilled
Each day new paradise to build;
Elate explorer of each sense,
Without dismay, without pretense!
~Christopher Morley, To a Child
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WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense
Christopher Morley Knothole Association
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Posted in Today's Special | Tagged: beach, beach photography, children's poem, Christopher Morley, future tense, Happy Birthday, postaday, To a Child, Weekly Photo Challenge | 13 Comments »
Posted by Jody on February 22, 2013
I’ll race you!
A Perfect Morning in Bandon, Oregon
Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward
More about Bandon’s beautiful beach: Travel Theme: Animals – Tidepooling in Bandon, Oregon
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Posted in Pacific Coast Beaches, Today's Special | Tagged: Bandon Oregon beach, beach, beach photography, forward, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge | 60 Comments »
Posted by Jody on February 9, 2013
~Home Sweet Home~
Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, California
Take a closer look! You’ll find that this beautiful Southern California tide pool environment is home to numerous species of marine life. Sea anemones, gooseneck barnacles, California mussles, and black tegulas (among many others) all live here in the rocky intertidal zone of Cabrillo National Monument.
~A Rocky Bungalow~
Black Tegulas (Tegula funebralis)
Black Tegulas (Tegula funebralis) are extremely common finds along the Pacific coast of the United States. Also known as Black Turbans, they live along the shoreline and rocks of the upper and middle intertidal zones from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to the central Baja California peninsula. These little beauties are often found packed tightly into neat and tidy clusters on rocky surfaces and in crevices.
Would you like to know more about tidepooling in Southern California? Here are a few helpful links:
Tide Pool Etiquette 101
A Visit to the Tide Pools at Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, California
Picture Perfect La Jolla Cove and Beach, Southern California
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Home
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Posted in Southern California Beaches, Tide Pools, Weekend's Rock | Tagged: beach, Black Tegula, Cabrillo National Monument, home, postaday, San Diego tide pools, Weekly Photo Challenge | 20 Comments »
Posted by Jody on February 5, 2013
Common Fig (Ficus communis)
“Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world… if you do so, you are insulting yourself.”
~Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-founder
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Related post: This Common Fig Doesn’t Grow on Trees
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Unique
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Posted in Seashells, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, Common Fig, Ficus communis, postaday, unique, Weekly Photo Challenge | 8 Comments »
Posted by Jody on January 21, 2013
A Rainy Day in Manhattan Beach, California
“Baby, it’s cold outside!”
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Since I couldn’t decide which category this photo fit into best, it’s my entry for both!
&
Which Photo Challenge theme would you have chosen for this snapshot of a young couple, all snuggled up together, on a rainy day at Manhattan Beach Pier? Beyond or Weather?
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Posted in Southern California Beaches, Today's Special | Tagged: A Word a Week Photo Challenge, beach photography, beachy, beyond, Manhattan Beach California, pier, weather, Weekly Photo Challenge | 17 Comments »
Posted by Jody on January 12, 2013
Sunset Illumination at Bandon, Oregon
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
~Martin Luther King Jr.
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WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination
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Posted in Pacific Coast Beaches, Today's Special, Weekend's Rock | Tagged: Bandon Oregon beach, beach, beach photography, illumination, postaday, sunset, Weekly Photo Challenge | 34 Comments »
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