Dexter’s Camera, a VERY famous old camera store in Ventura
A December trip to Ventura was pretty fun. Main street is the place to wander and look at all of the very old stores… many full of curios.
~America~
‘Ventura Highway’
Chewin’ on a piece of grass walkin’ down the road
Tell me, how long you gonna stay here, Joe?
Some people say this town don’t look good in snow
You don’t care, I know
Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger
Than moonshine
You’re gonna go, I know
‘Cause the free wind is blowin’ through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying, no despair
Alligator lizards in the air
We’ve been getting lashed with our version of storms the last two weeks straight. Oh yes, we’ve gotten a few days with little or no rain here and there.. and we’re happy for that as continued rain would have resulted in much more flooding. As it is, there have been many California locations hit by small amounts of flooding. But in general we don’t get the widespread flooding of many places in the Mississippi watershed or drainage. California flooding is more likely to be confined to a neighborhood along the base of a hillside, or alongside a creek.
Here are some photos I took of the local area around Nipomo on the 23rd of December 2010. Toppled trees, muddy roads, high winds, and green hills show colorfully.
Spain is a very pretty country. In so many ways it reminds me of California, with a wide range of ecosystems from sea-coast, to semi-desert, to alpine conditions. Spain is also blessed with a wide range of wildlife, that they have done a reasonable job of protecting in recent decades.
Ibex grazing on a dam face
Spain also has some interesting geological and architectural features and attractions. This is a concrete dam in the Pyrenees in Spain. These photos were sent in an e-mail by a friend… I thought them interesting enough to share.
Ibex grazing on a dam face
When I saw this photo above, I wondered why the builders went through the detail of statues of animals inserted in the concrete facing. But anyone who’d build a concrete dam faced with stone is liable to do anything! And heck, if you build statues into such a structure… you’d space them nicely and in some pattern, right?
Ibex grazing on a dam face
Oh, here’s the real deal… sure-footed Ibex… they are a type of goat. You can see these guys on TV, and marvel at their abilities to move about on steep or sheer faces…. but this is ridiculous. They are browsing the rock faces for lichens. Sparse grub for the amount of energy they must expend. But I guess with their supreme adaptations, this is almost a walk-in-the-park…. meanwhile, nothing else is going to be browsing this area…. so they have this food resource to themselves.
Ibex grazing on a dam face
See the salts precipitating out? They are after those also. So it’s a mineral resource also.
Ibex grazing on a dam face
Anything is cute when it’s a baby… even a potato bug…
and baby goats are adorable and curious due to their native smarts.
Santa Monica is a pretty special place. It’s a town that is always a thrill and a pleasure to be able to visit on occasion.
Any time I’ve been in Santa Monica I had a great time, even if all I do is wander the beaches, pier, Promenade or wander around the buildings with their interesting architecture. Anyone visiting Los Angeles would do well to make Santa Monica a short-term base-of-operations for the northern Los Angeles area attractions. You are right between Venice and Malibu (my two other most favorite Los Angeles places). You’re right on the 110 and the 405 for quick jumps to other parts of the Los Angeles basin, Hollywood, and ‘The Valley’.
The Promenade in Santa Monica is a few blocks closed off to traffic.. it has nice statuary and fountains, a wide avenue for sightseeing, seeing and being seen (promenade in Spanish)…. you’ll see all kinds of people of every stripe in this little few blocks. You might hear a dozen languages being spoken…. and it’s a pretty easy, open and low-crime area…. friendly people…. there’s a free parking building at one end, park there for free for a few hours and avail yourself of the lovely beach just a few blocks away.
The pier is thrilling…. it caters to tourists… but that’s half the fun is seeing all the people from all over. Some mornings when it’s just sunup there are jogging tours…. dozens of joggers led by trim tour-guides take a quick look-over of the attractions before the place becomes crowded with tourists. There are homeless you’ll often find coming out early… one morning a few of them offered me a beer, perhaps seeing my ragged appearance and thinking I was homeless. But don’t worry, the Police know most of these folks… they’re just panhandlers, not dangers in the large.
The cannon at the Santa Monica Pier
The cannon at the Santa Monica Pier
The Sauropod at the Santa Monica Promenade
The Sauropod smokes at the Santa Monica Promenade
The Dimetrodon at the Santa Monica Promenade
Flowers for sale at the Santa Monica Promenade Farmer’s Market
Potatos for sale at the Santa Monica Promenade Farmer’s Market
Berries grown by our neighbors for sale at the Santa Monica Promenade Farmer’s Market
Freeway Mural in Santa Monica
Parking lot Mural in Santa Monica
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Pier attractions
Santa Monica Pier attractions
Trailer that blew out its tires and travelled tooo long on the rim in Santa Monica
Fine Art black and white cactus images by French photographer Philippe Perrin. Taken in Mexican deserts. As part of the book ‘La memoria inmòvil’ that will be soon published in Mexico
info. email: photoandfashionstudio@gmail.com
Pismo, Hwy 101 and Avila Bay from 4th st looking north
Pismo, Hwy 101 and Avila Bay from 4th st looking north
I’ve been spending a lot of time in Pismo this year.
Usually I just drove through it on the way to the beach….
I never realized just how much of a resort town it is…
And as I explored the back roads and small narrow streets…
I was often reminded of the Iberian Peninsula.
Avila California has a few really nice piers.
The Sea Lions have taken to sleeping along some of the lower access walkways.
It’s illegal to try to get them to move.. as this may be construed as harassing them….
They are also wild beasts… so if you try to get past them.. they might get scared and bite….
In fact… these critters are like dogs with flippers and no ears. They are beautiful creatures when in the water…. they transform from the ungainly creatures we see on land.. to swirling and twirling flying dancers in the deep kelp…..
beautiful and astounding.
Sealwoman/Yundah
Mary McLaughlin
Over the waves you call to me
Shadow of dream, ancient mystery
Oh how I long for your sweet caress
Oh how I long for your gentleness
Torn between sea mists and solid land
Nights when I’ve ached for a human hand
I’ll come to you when the moon shines bright
But I must go free with the first streak of light
Over the waves you call to me
Shadow of dream ancient mystery
Oh how I long for your sweet caress
Oh how I long for your gentleness
Yep, this looks like fun.
I wonder if I could get one with a small bed that would hold a few hundred pounds of cactus in boxes?
Chevy Nomad
On the other hand… this looks like a lot of fun also! And I could carry a lot of cactus in the back of that wagon. the long spring travel on that beast might smooth the ruts of our dirt road out pretty nicely.
It’s summertime now… the freeway is crowded with motor homes, Subarus with luggage on top, antique automobiles cruising… and motorcycles
