Good-by January

I'll say adieu to January with a few photos taken over the last couple of days.

Some sunrise shots

 A stop at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Park - there seem to be a number of names for a group of butterflies........ a swarm, a rabble,

a flutter, and my favorite.....

a kaleidoscope.

 And a couple of photos taken at Morro Bay on Sunday.

This Shillelagh has seen better days!

 

Hello, February!

Sunny California

Today California lived up to it's image "Sunny California"!  71 degrees - TL and I played 9 holes of golf in short sleeves.  Wish you could have been here!

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' ON SUCH A WINTER'S DAY

I know, I know......California has earthquakes, mudslides, floods, forest fires, too many people, too high taxes......but......there's also some pretty awesome winter weather!  After church today we headed north on Highway 1 (otherwise known as PCH -  Pacific Coast Highway) to Cambria where we had lunch out on the patio at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill.  The weather was lovely - 65 degrees, no wind, and sunshine! 

 Oysters Rockefeller for Mom

 And ham and cheese Monte Cristo with maple syrup for me!  Yum!

And mimosas.

 Then a little walk on the beach

 Beach Thing

2 Beach Things

Not a bad way to spend a sunny winter day!  

Lunch and other things

Some weeks are just not very exciting, but fairly expensive.  For example - last week.  Tuesday: took the car into SLO for tune-up and also managed quick trips to Costco and Wild Birds; Wednesday: dentist appointment; Thursday: hair cut and color; back to SLO for a podiatrist visit; and finally Monday: a visit from the plumber.  $$$$$

I did manage to take a few pictures while I was doing all that running around and spending money!

 A blue heron looking for lunch

 A road running about to find a lizard for lunch



 Two otters lunching together in Morro Bay

 A zebra (who lives on a ranch near us) lunching on tree bark

And a sunset just because I like the colors. 

And speaking of lunch, we tried out a new barbeque place in Paso - smoked chicken with beans and cole slaw....pretty tasty!  (We passed on the fried pickles and friend green beans - maybe next time.)



Rainy Sunday

Another rainy day.....after church, we drove over to Cambria for lunch at Linn's.  Couldn't resist a few beach/sea photos.

All the rain has really "greened-up" the countryside. 

And the oak trees are festooned with lacy lichen

Down one windy narrow road there is a tree that serves as a neighborhood directory

On River Road we spied a flock of turkey buzzards drying out their wings.

And it's still raining!  I'll bet our golf game will be cancelled on Tuesday!

Christmas in California

We drove down to Santa Barbara on Christmas Eve day to pick up Kristen, who flew in from Denver to join us for Christmas!  We enjoyed a nice late lunch at Brophy Brothers seafood restaurant which is located in the harbor and since we were sitting out on the deck with a view of the water, I had time to check out all the beautiful boats. 

We exchanged our gifts on Christmas Eve, as we planned to drive to San Francisco on Christmas Day.

We drove up to San Francisco on a rainy Christmas Day and enjoyed hanging out with the family at Denise and Tim's new house.

 Tom, Helena, Tim and Grant

 Kristen, Helena with Ginger, and Denise

After spending the night, we headed for home, after checking out the Golden Gate Bridge.

Weather

Yes, we've had "weather".  It's been raining off and on (mostly on) for a week - so far the total rainfall (collected in our garden) has been 5.40 inches.  Not bad.  The Salinas River, which normally is just sand and bushes is running bank to bank with muddy water!  And the little dry creek behind our house actually has some water running in it!

Casey, who loves to spend her days outside prowling and sleeping in the sun, has not been pleased with becoming a "house-cat".

The storm passed over Monday afternoon and we were lucky enough to be able to view the lunar eclipse.  My photos aren't very good - don't have a powerful enough zoom, but here's a little sequence.

And this is my favorite....couldn't hold the camera steady, but I like the results nevertheless.



Little orange mushroom like plants have sprung up all over the entryway into Spanish Lakes.

This afternoon the sun was shining while it was raining

and we had a lovely sunset.

Next storm is due in a couple of days - just in time for Christmas! 

Hope you're enjoying this beautiful season!

Foggy Morning Walk

I walked over to the small lake this morning. It was very foggy, but I was hoping to find some wildlife or capture the sunrise. I'm sure the sun rose, but the fog did an excellent job of hiding it. As for wildlife, I noticed signs of deer and coyote and saw mallards and coots on the lake. Since I couldn't see very far, I concentrated on things close to me.  Come join me - you won't even get your feet wet!

Each moment of the year has it's own beauty.

Ralph Waldo Emerson