here we are, going on month 4 of life in the time of the pandemic. the beginning of week 16. time to send you a simple postcard. a smoke signal from my porch to wherever in the world you happen to be. watch for a pale blue ribbon of smoke on the horizon. it’s meant for you. send me one back if you wish, in the form of a comment or a thought.
the pandemic continues but life goes on. it’s with great pleasure that i receive regular visits from my old friends paul & joe. we have art dates with our sketchbooks outside on my patio where it is easy to be together, yet physically distant.
the jacaranda continues to rain her purple blossoms down on the west side of moss cottage. i enjoy the cascades of loveliness outside the windows, peeking over the roof, and waving at me from the front porch.
i painted a few on some pages of my sketchbooks.
i’m continuing to make progress on my virtual camino de santiago mission. these map images are not current, but i just happen to have them in my phone at the time of this post. as of today i have come 75.2 miles and just left lorca, spain. 16% of my mission has been completed.
carol and i had a trip planned to santa barbara in june. she was here with me last june, but alas due to the pandemic she was unable to come with me this year. so i made the trip alone. here in my home-away-from-home on the santa barbara coast.
wyatt did his best to prevent my departure, but he was unsuccessful. i get daily dispatches from the house-sitter/cat minder. the cat posse are scratching tally mark countdowns into the wood floor by the back slider.
oh cruel mistress, how many days till we can climb trees again?
for the last week i’ve been walking in new neighborhoods and along the bluffs and sandy shores of carpinteria, montecito, summerland, santa babs.
each night when i return from my socially-distanced beach stroll with a local friend, i watch the sliver of moon follow the same path the sun took over the western horizon from inside the warm and quiet hot tub. by the time i go inside, the moon has disappeared behind a thick veil of fog.
it is foggy and cool here in the mornings. when i wake up everything is wet and misty. no sunrise to speak of, but it is good to walk on the beach and drink in the layers of lavender and gray. a few days i ago i counted 9 snowy egrets in the tide pools of hammond’s beach. yesterday evening, 2 great blue herons at the salt marsh of carpinteria. one flew directly overhead and landed a short distance in front of me.
carol and i have face time art sessions and plan future post-pandemic trips.
international trips will resume one day, but for now i stay in california. it’s a good place to be, this state i love, with her wild coasts, headlands, deep forests, and tall trees. the state i was born in and where i hope to one day die.
i am filled with love for this place.
this california.
so here i am, walking her beaches and salt marshes.
studying the various treasures that wash ashore and live in the tidal channels.
ON MY BOOKSHELF
i am listening to THE DUTCH HOUSE again! i rarely revisit books i’ve already read, but i couldn’t resist. loving it just as much as i did in december when i listened to this reading by tom hanks.
THE END OF OCTOBER is simply fabulous. a novel with factual information about pandemics. a page-turner. enjoying it immensely.
From one paradise to another – and you took us with you. Thank you Mary Ann!
Hello there, I just finished reading “The Dutch House”. WOW, I couldn’t put it down. Thank you for the recommendation.
Your California is so beautiful! I had never seen jacarandas until you posted a photo. How beautiful! I hope to visit California again one day. Stay well and thank you for showing us around.
I always enjoy seeing what you are up to. Thanks for taking us along on your meanderings.
So many beautiful photos and those last 2 are living artworks, right there on the sand. The compositions of what the sea left behind could only be done by natures natural movement. Ma nature always slays me in the best of ways. I could be happy there in your California. I most definitely could!🥰
it’s all a beautiful wonder isn’t it, Susie?
Once again, you’ve made me homesick for the CA coast!
The hospital where I worked in SLO was surrounded by Jacarandas ~ it made coming to work a joy!
Stay safe ~
memories of the natural world… so good.
Seeing a new photo pop up on your blogsite signaling a new post makes my heart so happy. Your photos are so alive and clear and let me travel. The hydrangea in the photo with the ivyed house thrives in my Kentucky garden as well. Curiously, though, its neighboring lemon tree (in your picutre) would not. Wonder how they can be so happy together there but not here? Anywho, thank you for sharing your thoughts and travels and vistas. Blessings to you!
hi emily,
i think the absence of freezing temps allows the citrus to thrive here. as for the hydrangea they must like the coastal fog and sun.
I see. Thanks for the response. We do, very sadly, have freezes here:( Well, some folks aren’t sad about it, but they’re just wrong;) Have a great day!
Hello from the UK as we have reached Day 100 of lockdown and a turn in the weather . It’s raining,?windy and cold, so your beautiful photos are a pleasure to see.
I hope you all remain safe in these strange times.
I’ve completed my Lockdown blog post for day 100 with gratitude for all we have.
Best wishes
Lynn
i enjoyed clicking over to your blog, lynn, and reading your thoughts on the lockdown. the area you live is certainly lovely! i’m in constant contact with my sisters via the marco polo app (free version) – highly recommend!
Such a lovely, gentle post with fabulous paintings too!
I hope to come visit California one day, purely because of your blog, it looks so beautiful but I fear a 2 week trip will never be long enough to see it all.
I read The Dutch House as per your recommendation. I literally couldn’t put it down and wondered around the house with it. Consequently I finished it in a few days and was very sad to come to the end.
Thank you for another wonderful post.
give it 6 months and have another listen. it’s marvelous the second time around.
i like to spend 2 weeks at a leisurely pace in one area when i travel versus a whirlwind trip to see everything
Lovely trip! I love Jacarandas. Did not know they existed till we moved to California.
Thanks for always bringing me along.
they’ve been a source of wonder since i moved to LA in 1989. they originate in brazil and argentina according to someone somewhere that i read some time.
I love reading your posts so much. Always have! I am still working everyday since the world slowed to a stop, but the buses have to continue so people’s can get to where they need to be.
I am learning how to dry and press flowers in the microwave so I can add them to my journals. It is quite interesting. Many old You Tube videos available. My fave is using a book with flowers between a paper towel sandwich in the middle. And then the book rubber banded shut. Into the wave for 1.5 minutes. (Who would have thought you could put rubber bands in a microwave). And when you bring in out and un band it, everything is properly flattened and dry. Take care, Sharon Bennett
I love this! I will try your flower pressing method!
sharon thanks for the flower pressing tip, i will try it! i’ve been adding many to my writing journal lately.
I just always love your posts, the writing, the photography, your painting, all the best. It is always positive and always gives me hope. 3 more years. 🙂
it will FLY by!
I loved California when I lived there, now I’m in love with Washington State. I hope to fall in love with West Virginia because it looks like it will be my next stop, but not quite yet.
I started following your blog because of the photography, but it’s been such a treat to watch how your painting has progressed.
I’m so happy to get your dispatches, especially in these trying times, thank you.
hi sue,
may your wandering take you to special places you could not have imagined.
Being a 4th generation Californian, I really can’t imagine living somewhere else. I lived in Hawaii part-time (half the year) for 12 years. It was lovely but I never “belonged” there. I was happy to come back and live here full-time. With the pandemic I am so grateful for a large house and big garden to wander around in. Love your adventures and current reading list. I am currently reading “Just Mercy.”
i too am grateful for my surroundings during this pandemic. tucked away in a quiet corner of LA – but all that will change around the 4th. but…it will pass as it always does and summer will resume. “The End of October” is turning a bit silly, but I’ll keep reading to the end. will investigate your book. thanks for telling me! waving to you up north.
Oh! And yes to the second listening to the Dutch House. It’s so good and made me stop and think quite a bit. I love Danny and Maeve. I’d like to spend time with them again.
Yours has always been and now I’m certain, will always be my favorite of favorite blogs. Such beauty! And fun. I like thinking you’re not too far away in the LA environs, but I’m becoming quite used to the Santa Barbara jaunts and recalling how much I love the place. (I may or may not have been married right there at the Music Academy of the West. Sigh. On a surprisingly rainy day. Sigh again.) I think if you were to produce this particular post as a book I should buy it quickly. And now I’m suffering trying to decide whether or dear MAM, if I like your painting more (the jacaranda are as breath-taking as the jacaranda!) or if I like your photography more. It’s a fair consideration. Regardless, I’m happy as a clam in Morro Bay to see this post as I stare at my paints and dogs. It may be time to revisit Sketchbookery! That’s a cure for the pandemic blues. Mwah!
oh ! i’ve walked around the music academy this week (via butterfly beach path past bellosguardo estate) and even found a tiny path leading to a gorgeous lily pond and some groomed hedges. what a lovely place for a wedding. rain or no rain. xo
My gosh Ms. Mary you sure have me California Dreaming. Fabulous photos and watercolors and Corky and Wyatt and your ever trusty suitcase, sunsets and orange gates. I love your life. If things were different I would just have to come visit somehow. Hugs to you all.
you are always welcome at moss cottage. or even to meet me in SB sometime. would love that Corky! xo
What a lovely post and photos. And I agree about California. I really love our state. Xxx
do you have the The California Field Atlas by Obi Kaufmann? if not you will need it. all californians need a copy. my friend sharron told me about it a couple of years ago. waving to you up there in SF!