winter in the spring

the procession of geese

the garden at Krotona

a tree grows in Madisonville...

The big tree outside the old jail in Madisonville, LA.

Tennessee Williams in black & white

Tennessee Williams, black & white film and the year 1959 equals a fairly potent cocktail called "Suddenly, Last Summer" which I recognized when it recently aired on TCM because I had seen it a few years back. I have seen several of these Tennessee Williams adaptations and they have a slightly unreal, stilted quality that I like. It's also clear that around that time, cigarettes were holding the psyches of Liz Taylor's film personas together (watch 1960's "Butterfield 8"), I suppose much in the way I need my morning coffee. One wonders if the actual Liz Taylor needed a smoke as much as her characters did.

three views of Illinois

New Mexican fires

This is what a fire in the middle of New Mexico looks like from the train...

the rez

Amtrak's Southwest Chief seems to pass for quite some time through or along the Indian reservations of northern New Mexico...

wild cucumber

Wild cucumber, belonging to the Marah genus of the Cucurbitaceae family, is one of the first species seen growing on the charred hills of Arroyo Verde Park after the Thomas Fire.

charred moonscape, part 2

I like nopales cooked, but the ones below are burned!

Arroyo Verde Park (post fire)

Hiking the charred moonscape of Arroyo Verde Park. This was "ground zero" of the Thomas Fire in Ventura.

busy Ventura Harbor

What with the dredging and the tall ships and the waves and all, the harbor was looking like a curious hive of activity that day...

western grebes

Meanwhile back in Ventura... western grebes.

royal terns

Meanwhile, back on Leadbetter Beach... royal terns.

Arroyo Burro Beach, part 2

Arroyo Burro Beach

The beach that we always called Hendry's Beach is also called Arroyo Burro Beach. It was nice to explore the east side of it...

Santa Barbara Courthouse, part 2

The equally memorable interior...

Santa Barbara Courthouse revisited

That's the old jail below - a pleasant place to be incarcerated?

Sahara on the Pacific?

A beach in Ventura doing its best imitation of the Sahara Desert?

their finest hour

The US cereal industry's finest hour, in part because they heroically refrained from adding sugar.

Ojai tiny house

The tiny house on display in Ojai. Interesting to see, but not my tiny house cup of tea.

fiddle-leaf fig

Fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)

Krotona