John & Anne Wiley

2011/03/26

Fall Guy

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 01:07

The title of this post might become one of my Santa Barbara nicknames, because like last year I’ve been having lots of fun flying around the Santa Ynez Mountains spotting seasonal waterfalls. After so much rain over a prolonged period, waterfalls appear where you’d never normally see them. Today I spotted this one next to a road, that I haven’t seen before. I got a better pic that I’ve sent to Edhat and will put a larger version of that one on our Photo Page.

6547 Goleta Motor Falls

6547 Goleta Motor Falls

Another one I enjoyed today was this wispy mist off a rock ledge on the North face above Nojoqui Falls. I wonder how many people know it’s there, and have ever made the arduous trek up for a look.

6501 Mist & Stone

6501 Mist & Stone

I love the wizened stone, and imagine Indigenous people taking vision quests in those little caves.

2011/03/24

Back to School

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 07:31

I know. Pix of UCSB might actually get boring for some people. For me though, especially lately with clear weather and lots of water and green and clouds… Well, lately I’ve been asking ATC for takeoff from funway 25 (meant to say Runway 25 of course, but the slip fit so well I left it in). Anyway, by going from that runway there’s a great view of UCSB and the islands as the first visual greeting aloft. sigh…

6295 Molly Factor

6295 UC Factors

The fact that Molly and Erin went there adds a lot too, almost like the shimmer of the slough is a mirror back into years of warm memories.

OK, so tomorrow I’ll start sharing more pix from this 3/22 flight. Unless we fly between storms again and get something so fun I get jolted back to the present. 🙂

2011/03/23

Another Look

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:02

We flew a little earlier today for another look at the local waterfalls, but I haven’t yet downloaded the pix into my computer and besides there are some from yesterday I’d like to share first. Cachuma Lake’s spillway in Bradbury Dam, for instance.

6221 Water Slide

6221 Water Slide

From this far way, doesn’t it look like a water park ride? Maybe not so fun to actually slide down it maybe. And the hills, good golly the Hills!

6216 Wearing the Green

6216 Wearing the Green

Massive patches of light and dark beneath the clouds seemed to struggle over whether it was night or day, Winter or Spring.

6231 Back to Winter

6231 Back to Winter

There were zillions of waterfalls as you’ll see on our Photo Page as we upload them, but one last pic of yesterday to share here is a bit of chance dusk magic. It was the first time we’d seen many twinkling lights on Oprah’s estate. It was enchanting in that dim light, how there seemed to be flocks of fireflies.

6245 Oprah's Magic

6245 Oprah's Magic

After snapping this, it turned into many small yard spotlights coming in and out of view between the trees. For that first moment though, we saw faeries.

2011/03/21

Rain Seekers

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 02:17

I stayed dry today, unlike my Seattleite wife who relished the chance to weed her rose garden.

6200 Not Blue

6200 Not Blue

Despite the intermittent heavy rain and the amount of blue in this pic, she was quite happy. She came in smelling all fresh and green, and now enjoying the warm fireplace and the welcome she received from a happy dry hubby. Now as darkness falls, the rain gets even heavier, and as I write this, another scene outside caught my eye.

1866 Guard Frog

1866 Guard Frog

When we moved into this place, the previous owners had left behind a massive cement frog that we instantly adopted. We enjoy putting him in various poses around the yard. A few weeks ago he took up this watchful position near the dry fountain. As you can see, it is now overflowing with all the rain. Is it just me, or does he look happy? Can he have spent some years in Seattle too? I hope the xeriscape plant with bright red flowers is happy with all this water, because it took root on its own and we haven’t watered it in this normally dry climate. I hope we can get a break in the clouds to take a quick flight tomorrow, because I’d like to dry Tripp out and get some pix of the local seasonal waterfalls that must all be spectacular right now.

2011/03/18

Happy Green

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 02:33

Aye and here’s wishing you a happy St. Patrick’s Day! We seem to have reached the age where going to one of the great Irish pubs downtown for a green beer no longer holds much appeal. Instead, we’re watching the festivities online and TV here at home with some green soup (homemade split pea) with our dear friend BD.

BD St. Pat's

BD St. Pat's

Bette Delores (her real name) has been wearing seasonal flourishes since I got her started on it with a santa hat at the end of 2010. Yes, that’s a Portofino poster behind her, that we bought on our glorious visit there with family. When we led a tour on a different trip to Europe, we enjoyed weeks of Ireland culminating in a transformational retreat with the late John O’Donohue whose skills as a naturalist, scholar, philosopher and poet infused us with a deep draught of Irish and Celtic consciousness.

But this year, Anne tried to help BD discover jauntier ways of wearing a green scarf.

BD Scarf Experiment

BD Scarf Experiment

Happily, they decided against that look. To me it’s evocative of a burka. Or perhaps WWI-era head wound dressing.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Blog at WordPress.com.