hello & howdy!
i’ve returned from my sojourn by the sea. in total i went on 14 long beach walks and logged 58k steps for the week. that’s my most ever! if you think i’m a power walking superstud you’d be wrong. but i can go much further than before without getting exhausted or breathless. i can also motor up stairs and hills with much less cursing & complaining. in my world, to quote katagiri roshi by way of natalie goldberg, making positive effort for the good is my lodestar.
by the way i started natalie goldberg’s new book the great spring yesterday. i have no illusions that the great spring will be for my 50’s what long quiet highway was for my 30’s, but we’ll see.
i’ve only just begun this post, but i can tell it’s going to be a long ramble. you might need refreshments.
this was my last sunrise beach stroll. the moon showed up to say goodbye.
and looking east…
on my last sunset walk in carpinteria i ran into 3 of the #carpsunsetseekers. including my very own sharron whom i spent the previous monday with playing in our sketchbooks. she had brought me a bag of avocados from her ranch the day before so i enjoyed thanking her in person.
with the advent of the spring equinox, our star no longer sinks into the water on this part of the south-facing coast. and so it goes.
on thursday after our visit with penny, mary & i headed off to coal point for a trek on the cliffs above the water.
santa cruz & santa rosa islands were blue smudges on the far horizon.
whale counters were watching the whales swim north for the summer.
we slip-slided our way down the bluffs and onto the wild beach below.
i found this perfect pismo clam.
the odd black piece is called a “mermaid’s purse” and is the egg case of some species of sharks & rays. i count on my beach peeps to inform me of these things (syd, mary, sharron, joyce). a city dweller like myself is not privy to that kind of secret info. but i can learn!
i’m planning to make a zillion drawings of my beach treasure.
by that i mean i will probably make a few more sketches then move on to something else.
like squirrels for example.
i thought it would be clever to tag my sketches with numbers as i’ve seen some sketchers do, but of course i’m working in too many different books and have no head for numbers so my system is inaccurate at best.
whatever.
will be of no use whatsoever if used for identification purposes
while out for dinner one night in downtown santa barbara someone from a church put a flyer in my hand. ordinarily i resist such things, but isn’t this one beautiful? i thought enough of it to paste into my sketchbook. wish i knew the artist who created it, but alas i do not.
by the way the cottage i rented is HERE. i loved it and would stay again were it not for the fact that i’ve already found a new place for next time in a quieter location. this place had a bit of road noise from the 192. nothing to quibble about really, but worth noting if like me you prefer NO road noise of any sort.
it’s a cool bright easter sunday in the city of angels. i wish i had a soundtrack to go with this post…which would be of birdsong and woodpeckers and the great whoooosh whooosh of wings flapping from a giant bird that flew low over my head this morning while i was out walking. and waves and gulls and parrots. and cats purring. all that.
be well.
Such an enjoyable post. Hope your week has been well as you are back to work.
I’m having some serious shell envy! Your photos and your art have made me feel like I just took a little mini break vacation…thanks M.A.!
Kristi xo
I love Santa Barbara! And Mendocino too! These pictures are bringing me the sweet aroma of memories!
I have a question, I learned to handmade journals because of you, BUT ….. Is there any plans in the future you making them for sale? I would love to own one made by you, a MAM journal!!! –in fact I want two, a big one and a travel size if possible.
And Also a book of all your favorite pictures ?
Maybe in your next sabbatical?
No pressures.
I’m sure, there are more like me who would love to own one.
But no pressure.
Thank you!!!
afraid not. i don’t have the right temperament to be a full-time bookmaker. and also i’d have to take less naps, scribble less, play less, etc., no can do…:-)
Lovely photos, lovely scenery, lovely sketches/paintings. I enjoyed this post.
Oooh Dios mío! Adoro el catálogo de tesoros de la playa. Como siempre “super fun”!
I’m sighing. And grinning. How I love those ocean pictures. And the mermaid’s purse. You and I have been on the subject of mermaids before – I think my credibility is getting a boost, thanks to your friends. And shells and gulls and the hint of whales. I feel a little like dancing. I also obtained a chocolate Easter bunny, but his head is still in association with his body (possibly not for much longer).
Thank you for bringing us along on your beach journey. I have not seen the ocean in several years and I miss it. I’m sad today because I lost my pet rabbit yesterday, and the ocean is bringing comfort to me.
oh i’m sure sorry to hear about your little friend. it’s so so so hard to lose an animal companion. sending ocean breezes and the sounds of surf your way xo
How awesome! You know, every time I visit your blog it makes me want to move to California!!! It would be so nice not to freeze your butt off for 6 months of the year!
I love your page of seashells and your photos are always a treat, but I have to say I am most excited about the Natalie Goldberg book you mentioned. I have read each and every one of her books and I adored them. I am not a writer nor do I aspire to be one, but I love her books. Have you seen the book that has all of her paintings in it? It’s called Living Color–a wonderful book! And I just found out that I lied saying I had read all of her books because when I looked on Amazon trying to find out the name of the book with the paintings I discovered several I have missed! Will have to remedy that right away!!
Another great adventure with you. You had me at the first photo and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Love seeing your travel photos. And Love Natalie Goldberg too. Did you ever read her Living Color Book? It made a big impact on me art wise. Hope we get a few more travel photos from this vacation journey. When is your next beach trip?
oh erika i LOVED that book so so much. it’s a part of my permanent library. next beach trip is alas too far away to think about. unless i can manage a 3-4 day escape…hmmmm….
ha ha about the numbering system. i ran into the same problem for the same reasons…. so i decided to jump to random numbers in the hundreds. it seems a safe bet that there will be no repeats with this system. ; )
xoxo
Such beautiful paintings, Mary Ann. I am very fond of the apple blossoms and the gull. I really love all of the pics of the ocean and shells etc. But where is the pic of the headless Easter bunny??? That flyer is GORGEOUS! Even though I live on a farm South of Seattle, I have a beach room, and collect beachy, lighthousey things, so that is so beautiful to me. I am very picky about beachy things. Don’t like them to look too kitschy (I think that is the word) but more ethereal, rugged and wild beachy things. Thanks for the great journey, once again.
I spent the morning making raspberry mojito cupcakes (no booze) for the grandchildren, and coloring Easter eggs. I didn’t have the store bought dye, so used food coloring instead. Then I tried to stamp designs on them with tiny little stamps, which wasn’t exactly as I thought it would be. The stamps slid and smeared on the surface. Eesh! Also, Stazon ink managed to get on the inside to the eggs, but just in tiny amounts. Not really a success, but they weren’t particular about it.
I saw that the item I alerted you to is sold. I sure hope it was you who bought it:)
MA
Once again thanks for taking me along. I enjoyed the trip , the noise did not bother me at all. I look forward to our next journey.
my husband and i just got back from a walk on the trail in back of our house. sounds of tree frogs and bull frogs completely engulfed us. we saw turtles sunning on logs.. we watched a garter snake rush away as we approached. The squirrels are out in full force. we have red squirrels, gray and black squirrels and now we have black squirrels with red tails? of course, the birds are singing and swooping.
i also see the winter damage and debris in our yard…
looks like a great place to stay…thanks for the heads up re: traffic noise.
The GULL!!!!! Let me say it again – THE GULL!!! is simply spectacular. Second only to the paw print identification page which I have carefully copied and placed in my hiking pack should I need it.