Looking toward Point Pinos Lighthouse—it’s been operating in Pacific Grove since 1855.

Risso's dolphin-Grampus griseus — Risso's dolphins (*Grampus griseus*)

Two eastern North Pacific gray whales (*Eschrichtius robustus)* on their impressive annual southbound migration

casper the risso's dolphin-Grampus griseus — I’d like to go back in time and bump my shutter speed for this one, but I can’t pass up including a shot of the Monterey Bay celebrity known as Casper. This was my second time seeing said albino Risso’s dolphin.

northern kelp crab-Pugettia producta — northern kelp crab (*Pugettia producta*)

California mussel shell-shells at Asilomar State Beach — shells at Asilomar State Beach

Menzies' wallflower-Erysimum menziesii — Menzies' wallflower (*Erysimum menziesii*)

northern snowy plover-Charadrius nivosus nivosus — northern snowy plover (*Charadrius nivosus ssp. nivosus*)

black oystercatchers-Haematopus bachmani — black oystercatchers (*Haematopus bachmanister*)

Monterey cypress grove at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

coast redwood fire survivor-Sequoia sempervirens — coast redwood fire survivor (*Sequoia sempervirens*)

western sycamore leaf with charred coast redwood — western sycamore leaf (*Platanus racemosa*) with charred coast redwood (*Sequoia sempervirens*) at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Rio Grande turkey-Meleagris gallopavo ssp. intermedia — Rio Grande turkey (*Meleagris gallopavo ssp. intermedia)* is a subspecies of wild turkey introduced to the state in the 1950s by the California Fish and Game Commission (now the California Department of Fish and Wildlife).

Cypress Cove at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

North American osprey-Pandion haliaetus ssp. carolinensis — North American osprey (*Pandion haliaetus ssp. carolinensis*)

I watched this southern sea otter (*Enhydra lutris nereis*) hunting for awhile in Cypress Cove. Despite the churning waves, it made an easy snack of a decidedly overabundant purple sea urchin (*Strongylocentrotus purpuratus*). The high urchin numbers are decimating kelp forests on California’s Central Coast.

Here’s a magnificent wall of Dudleya farinosa. My farinose form (powdery white) was purchased from Annie’s Annuals in Richmond. I also scored a green one at CNL Native Plant Nursery in Marin last year. My point is there’s no need to poach members of this genus with so many specialty nurseries propagating them responsibly.

Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) in 2009 is where and when I saw my first cetacean in the wild, a mammal-eating transient killer whale. Since moving to San Diego, I’ve been able to observe many more species between Cabo San Lucas and Victoria, including around the Farallon and Channel Islands. One of my favorite things to do is park myself on a bench at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and watch the eastern North Pacific gray whales hugging our coastline for relative safety. They make trips between their feeding grounds in the Arctic and where they most often give birth in Baja, California (Mexico). Some do so along the way and I’ve been lucky to see a newborn calf in San Diego waters that still had its natal folds. They make these perilous semiannual journeys in the presence of large ships and pods of killer whales that prey on the young grays. It’s about 6,000 miles each way.

Being up in Monterey for a few days recently afforded me the opportunity to head out with Monterey Bay Whale Watch again.