Arroyo Verde Park

The main attraction of Arroyo Verde Park are some insanely steep trails. As an enthusiast of insanely steep trails, I didn't mind. Looking back, you could just see the ocean in the distance.

Ojai letterbox revisited

This was a new experience: revisiting a letterbox that we found over four years ago. It was a good memory exercise - seeing which details our memories preserved, and which ones were altered. We almost gave up trying to find it - letterboxes do get lost, removed or relocated - but there it was in all of its four-and-a-half-year-old glory. 

King Yellowman

Sometimes, without expecting it, you see King Yellowman perform for a second time in your lifetime. The first time I was in college; some 30 years later I am astonished to see an unstoppable cancer survivor, courageously weird as ever, losing his voice but still full of his famous stage moves. Yellowman has long been a fixture of my psyche, singing in my head since I first heard him in the early 80's. This show was at Discovery in Ventura.

Ventura Harbor part 2

A boat entering Ventura Harbor the way it was intended to. Meanwhile the islands appear in relatively sharp relief, despite all the clouds. One notices early on - there are clear days when the islands are invisible, and cloudy days when they are fully in focus.

Ventura Harbor

Ventura Harbor: clouds, drama, the channel, the islands, an impending sense of storm clouds, and the drama that comes with that.

lemon eucalyptus

One evening we were struck by the beauty of this lemon eucalyptus tree (Corymbia citriodora) standing next to the Santa Barbara public library. By intention or by accident, the smooth trunk catches the evening sunlight and matches the color of the building.

The Sacred Space

The Sacred Space in Summerland, CA is a delightful place for tea and meditation in an Asian-inspired garden environment full of ponds, Buddhas, and other spiritual statuary.