Scrub Jay
Beach bird
Where are the birds?
B/W birds
Sep 052010
Aug 192010
Everyone I speak to agrees that this must be one of the gloomiest summers in Santa Barbara in a long time. The marine layer sticks around till the afternoon, hiding us from the warming rays of the sun. But once it clears out, we do get to have a few pretty clouds in our otherwise so frequently featureless blue sky. Which is actually a nice change.
Summer waves on a Summer Day at Summer Beach - brrrrr!
Yep, a (pretty) cloud in sunny Santa Barbara
Sunset colors
Love how the blue transitions to orange
A quarter rainbow in Santa Barbara is as special as a "Double Rainbow" elsewhere
Aug 082010
On the night before the El Desfile Historico Parade, we joined a group of volunteer Newcomers in making the flower arrangements for the parade.
Newcomers check-in
And the magic beings...
(With some adult supervision)
They had a ton of flowers to work with
Halfway done...
3/4 done...
First one done!
And now we have two of them
Hitching them to the wagon
Ready for the big parade
Here they come!
They seem very happy with the flower arrangements
Aug 082010
I think the horsemen and -women were at least as fascinating as the wide variety of horses in the parade.
Yeah, just wow!!!
Nice flags on the Rainbow Riders
Baroque Horses of Northern California
The Kings County Sheriff's Posse (I am just copying those names from the official list)
And this group was part of the 1836 De la Guerra Wedding Party...what a party!
Oh great, now my helmet is stuck!
And some very fashionable ladies and their horses...Mexican...
...Spanish...
...and Wild West.
Ok, because he was so cool...El Charro Mexicano!
The Black Cowboys of the Golden West (no, I am not making that up)
Note to self...guys with lassos are cool
Wonder what he's texting..."Hey dog, I am in a parade...on a horse!"
I
Note the guy on the bike...good luck trying to steal the show!
It's a long parade...one could get a little sleepy
Aug 082010
Old Spanish Days are a big event in Santa Barbara, and the El Desfile Historico Parade is one of the largest equestrian parades in the country with hundreds of horses and riders (which I am saving for the next post). We’ll start out with the coaches, floats and bands.
The parade is coming up State Street
Coach,...
...,coach...
...and coach.
One of the marching bands (Oxnard High School)...
...and another (SB High School Marching Dons).
Kids con confetti
I think Smokey was the only celebrity in the parade
Yeah, he was THAT good
I don't think that it was her first parade...
And the boys from the Fire Dept. were bringing up the rear - literally
Jul 052010
Lots of cars on Route 1
Could it be empty...?
Nah...no way!
But fun was to be had...
Jul 032010
Julia Child Rose...like butter
Bouganvilla on the patio
Roses at the Mission
Roses at the Mission
Jun 132010
California here we come
One of many Joshua trees
One last shot of the road
Home, with 2090 miles worth of bugs
Jun 122010
Back on the road
New Mexico roadscape
Gallup, the last bigger town in New Mexico
And we even hit a little traffic
But then it's back to the middle of nowhere
And finally the border to Arizona
And here's a view of Arizona
Jun 122010
Saint Francis Cathedral
Bronze Origami horses...?!
Yep! They are the work of Kevin Box...
...whose studio we briefly visited
Big clouds rolling in on our way back to town
So we went back to our favorite Apache Mountain Spirit Dancer
And visited the Museum of Indian Arts
But the clouds would not leave
Neither would the Apache
But I think he kept the clouds at bay