hendry’s

see that top pillow with the vintage case? i left it behind!

staying in the mission canyon area of santa barbara these last few days has been marvelous.  i am now adding it to my dream-big-or-go-home list of places i must live when i retire.  heretofore montecito was no.1 on my list.  but frankly i’m certain that any old caretaker’s cottage, cabin, carriage house, or converted barn on either side of old hwy 192 will suit me just fine.  for that matter i wouldn’t frown at life on the mesa, especially in one of those charming cottages adjacent to the douglas family preserve.  one never knows where the dream seeds one casts to the wind may germinate.   and for that matter, just how large they may grow once they sprout.  with you as my very own verizon team (remember that commercial?) i have eyes and ears on the ground!

i spotted this house in the mission canyon area yesterday morning and have decided that the wing above the garage will suit my needs very well.

i think i shall print it and paste it into my journal for safe keeping.

when i sleep within a few miles of the ocean i wake when it’s dark.  i move towards the water at dawn like the needle of a compass being pulled north.

the spell is broken if i arrive after the sun has risen.   i want to see the water vapor moving off the water.  fine droplets of pale mist.

dark pools of salt water.  and each one holding a secret!

i walk across the connecting islands of smooth sand.

yesterday morn my dawn beach walk was at hendry’s.  winter storms have churned up lots of large shells.  i think these are called whelks, but maybe one of you california beach peeps can properly identify it for me.  i believe it was home to a predatory sea snail.

in all my visits to these beaches i have never found so many large specimens.

i don’t remember what the middle structure is called, but i know it was made by a house builder!

when me and the kiddies took a field trip to cabrillo aquarium our guide showed us a sample and enlightened us, but i can’t remember the exact name of the architect or what his house is called.

i wish ed rickets was around.  i have a lot of questions i need to ask him.

i stuck around after the sun comes up.

the bluffs are teeming with birds who flock to the carpet of yellow flowers.

there are piles of driftwood everywhere.

                                                                                                                   someone built me a house!

by mid-morning i returned to my private lane nestled above the mission.

my pockets were full of big shells and very sandy!

i’m home now.  back in LA.

i drove back through the beautiful santa clara river valley this morning after another dawn sojourn to the beach.

i have a couple more santa barbara posts rattling around inside my head so you haven’t heard the end of it.

see you soon.

let me know about those shells!