John & Anne Wiley

February flying reminded me of the “water cycle” that land-based life depends on, starting with this view of the Devereux Slough. Clouds over the channel South of Campus Point were inching inland carrying water picked up from the ocean, purified by evaporation.

In the hills to the North, water that had previously fallen on the mountain slopes above was finding its way down waterfalls on a private road just above Goleta.

0146 Private Paradise

Higher up the slope we saw many other seasonal falls like this one tumbling from a quiet pond, and carving shapes into sandstone laid down in ancient seas.

0149 Passing Delight

One of my favorite local waterfalls was running even during the drought near San Marcos Pass just below a bend in highway 154. After the strong recent rain there it was gushing.

0153 Fast Water

From a different angle you can see how ripples in the flow interact with undulating ripples in the smooth rock beneath.

0156 Dual Ripples

Revisiting the popular Seven Falls, even in light dimmed by gathering high clouds the flow there looked stronger too.

0162 Seven Falls

On maximum zoom the camera provided a better look at the many beautiful pools beneath this string of short waterfalls.

0164 Bubbling Pools

We relish how this region ranges from the austerity of near desert conditions sometimes, to verdant seasons of misty moisture. Looking toward the East along Montecito’s coast was this summary view softened by water in air, sea and vegetation.

0182 Season of Plenty

People worry. Folks we’ve met in other parts of the world ask if we worry about living in California. Topics often begin with earthquakes, and more recently may also include wildfires or the other disasters that have visited us here in the Santa Barbara area. In the instant after hearing such questions our thoughts usually turn to sights like this.

9716 A Favorite Scene

Anne has the best view of this just after we take off from SBA runway 15. The UCSB campus is simply breathtaking, especially given that we’ve explored it extensively on foot, bike and watercraft. Our dear Molly graduated there too, which always adds a level of sweet nostalgia.

After clearing this and other precious memories from our minds, we smile and reply that disaster fears haven’t reduced our delight in living here. Instead we prepare for and manage the risks as best we can, just like folks facing hurricanes, tornadoes, sea level rise etc., who love where they live. Lately we’re also seeing more rocket launches from nearby VAFB. We watched this one by SpaceX from our front yard when it came into view above mountains between here and Lompoc (snapped w/telephoto).

9916 SpaceX Launch Clears Mountains

The changes in the trail are always different and sometimes spectacular.

9923 SpaceX Into Thin Air

Altitude, atmospheric conditions, and rocket power level make for changes in the trail.

9934 SpaceX Space Edge

Long after the rocket is no longer visible from here, the trail often hangs in the air expanding and bending in the varying winds at the altitudes it passed through. One sunset launch created a magnificent colorful trail you may have seen pix of (alas, we heard it but didn’t go out to snap pix). Instead, here’s a more typical view of what the aftermath looks like.

9938 SpaceX Skywriting

You probably saw this region in the news (and this blog), first for our drought and then our fires. For example, flying near Camarillo the Woolsey Fire provided a tragic sort of beauty looking toward Point Dume.

Woolsey Fire

Wind was whipping the water from the Oxnard area toward sunset beyond the Channel Islands, making for a otherworldly scene.

9575 Surreal Sunset

The coastal slopes of our own Santa Ynez Mountains had begun to recover from the horrific Thomas Fire, but were still mostly bare. Tangerine Falls just to the right of the bottom center, was scrubbed clean and nearly unrecognizable.

9688 Thomas Fire Recovery

By 11/22/2018 the popular Casa de Maria retreat center was struggling to recover from our Montecito debris flow disaster, caused by a torrential January downpour on those bare slopes.

9668 La Casa de Maria 11/22/2018

Hiking the Tucker’s Grove trail later that day provided a welcome reminder of how our creeks usually look. San Antonio Creek was relatively untouched by the fires and floods of that year.  Just looking at this pic again now, of the lively boulder alongside it, triggered a deep nourishing breath of serenity.

9695 Silent Boulder Garnish