A Weekend Getaway!

Cormorants Visit Santee Lakes and Hang Out!
There is nothing like a weekend getaway to widen and relax one’s perspective.  We drove from Prescott AZ to Coronado Island CA and stayed at a friend’s lovely home.  The reason?  An early music concert by Concerto Koln http://www.concerto-koeln.de/home_welcome.php?lang=eng at Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall in San Diego.  What an amazing evening.  The baroque music was exquisite and the hall, designed for the San Diego Symphony, was perfect for the instruments.  The evening’s highlight for me was  Vivaldi’s ‘Concerto for Recorder, Strings, and Continuo in C, RV 443’ with Cordula Breuer playing the Sopranino Recorder.  I had not seen or heard this instrument before.  Picture the recorder you played in grade school and make it 6” long.  It was amazing to watch and listen to an artist playing with her fingers literally flying.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorder
Another day we went birding at the Santee Lakes.  What a show.  http://www.santeelakes.com/  Padre Dam Municipal Water District built this area to show how wastewater can be used in recreation areas as it increases the water supply at no cost to the taxpayer.  The area is periodically toured by international and national urban planners, architects and government officials.  This is a beautiful area. 

Snowy Egret watches for fish

The Osprey and the egrets were touring the day we were there.  I watched an Osprey sit high in a tree watching for food.  He targeted a fish in the lake and swooped down, caught it and flew away with his lunch.  Talk about good eyesight!
 
Osprey checking out his options
  
Osprey Going in for his lunch

 
Tri-colored Blackbird
The great egret was just popping up along the rise with a fish he caught.  It took about 15 minutes for him to eat it.  And there were tri-colored blackbirds, ducks, snowy egrets and great heron walking around not very afraid of us humans.  So I’m sharing some of the highlights with you while I remember the relaxing getaway. 
Great Blue Heron

Great Egret with tiny fish











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