Tijuana River ESTUARY -- Imperial Beach, California

The Tiajuana River Estuary is located at 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach, California. Call (619) 575-2704 for scheduled nature and bird walks, speaker series, volunteer programs, hours of operation, etc.

After Sunday worship at Ocean View Church, i headed to Imperial Beach to nourish my soul with one of GOD's expressions of grandiose beauty -- the Pacific Ocean. But as i headed out on Coronado Avenue, i heeded the inward invitation to finally explore the Tijuana Estuary for the first time.

These are the gifts that SPIRIT caused my eyes to see so that my heart was nurtured as i meandered leisurely on the well-kept trails.

The Tijuana Estuary -- where the river meets the sea...

These were like swaying cotton puffs in the breeze...

Splashes of color brighten the approaching autumn days...

Tijuana, Mexico... our neighbor down south -- a far-off plateau from this vantage point.

The birds might have heard my singing and hid themselves!

BLESS the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! (Psalm 103:1)

Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song. (Psalm 149:1)

The Way is way up!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150:1)

The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship. (Psalm 19:1)

And if GOD cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't He more surely care for you? (Matthew 6:30)

This was shot "from the hip" -- a literal "point and shoot" -- not knowing what would come out. i like it -- it feels like a shower of red berries from the blue sky.

Sometimes a shot is made more alive and interesting when a person walks into the composition without even knowing it... i heard her before i saw her... and was quick to take opportunity given.

The three cactus pictures were my parting shots... as i exited towards the parking lot.

At the parking lot, i looked up and saw pine cones on the trees but none on the ground. i drove away without that coveted souvenir -- but i came away with a nourished and thankful heart.

Let the whole world bless our GOD and sing aloud His praises. (Psalm 66:8)

Some DAY... at the BEACH

(Imperial Beach, California)

Some DAY, there'll be no more tears --
Forever gone are all our fears.

Some DAY, there'll be no more cryin' --
There'll be no more dyin'.

Some DAY is just around the corner --
No high fences beyond this border.

Some DAY we will see the One --
Victorious is He...He has already won!

Some DAY is but a breath away --
Just a blink away...but soon, i pray.

Some DAY has already come --
i see the Light, i see the Son.

Some DAY is near --
The waiting is over...Heaven is HERE!

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

Imperial Beach -- my Nature Fix

i've been feeling homesick for GOD's nature for a couple weeks...my heart feeling little sharp jabs like a pin cushion.

i would see a fiery patch of late afternoon sky in between the roof tops...and wistfully imagine how that orange patch might look stretched out over unobstructed horizon.

Or a sunrise with blushing clouds through a dusty glass window...and i would press my nose to the glass to see what's beyond the neighbors' roofs.

Or a glowing sickle moon hanging in an already dark sky after a Zumba class...and i would remember other moonlit skies in the bush.

And i would feel compelled to be physically embraced by GOD's nature. So i finally decided to make time to be comforted -- to encourage myself in the LORD, through His creation...

By the tang of the ocean breeze...by the sight of waves foaming and curling...and eddies rippling.

i talked to fishermen on the pier, practicing my Tagalog with a wrinkled old man from San Narcisso, the little town just after Castillejos in Zambales, where i was born. i spoke rusty Spanish with another old man, who was using a net with mussels for bait. He had three (myself and a married couple, Indians from the Navajo tribe visiting from Arizona) as rapt audience each time he pulled up the net, twice with fish.

Then i checked out the "mussel farm" -- the fisherman's ready bait.

i took this photo of the sitting seagull, posing for me like a sitting duck (i like taking pictures of reflections...and i like reflecting at the beach).

Before i became a CHRISTian, i loved His marvelous handiwork, calling it Mother Nature, as if it were itself a god to be worshiped. Today, of course, i worship the Creator, and stand amazed at all His creation.

Here's a gift from above by way of the sea...though i did re-arrange it a little for this photo-op.

And another...someone else had drawn this, but i knew SPIRIT made me notice it so that my heart may be uplifted. And for me, the bottom line always -- it was from GOD.

This is usually how i put myself in the picture...and this is how i want all else in my life to be -- mere shadows compared to JESUS.