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September 29, 2006

The Shaftels Torts

The Shaftel Family sent us some photos of their tortoises.

This is a photo of (Left to right) Dupree, Betty and Kali.
You can tell they are really enjoying the cactus we grew and sent to the Shaftels.

Yum-Yum.
We've gotten so many e-mails telling us that their torts actually run to the cactus when it is laid on the ground for them.

Here, Betty shows what fun it is for a tortoise to eat cactus.

Kali, Dupree and Althea eat cactus to their heart's delight.

Althea and Dupree chow down on cactus.

September 28, 2006

The Road to Gaviota

    Gaviota is some thirty miles north of Santa Barbara on Hwy 101. The sign says it has some 75 people, but therre are no houses here. I think that counts just the farm and ranch houses for ten miles around.

    This is some rugged ground. Gaviota means 'Pelican' in Spanish. There are a bunch of pelicans around here. There is a really decent beach at Gaviota. It is widely known as the only boat crane for some miles around. So this is where local people for thirty miles around come to launch their boats. It is always fun watching people raise and lower their boats. Rarely does it happen without some snag.

Nice Country. The deceased President Reagan had his famous ranch not far from here, just a bit to the right of this photo and some miles up the hill.

The famous Gaviota Tunnel. The Northbound lane of Hwy 101 goes right through this solid rock. The pass is only wide enough for two lanes. The Southbound lanes go thorugh the pass, the Northbound lanes were cut into this rock.
In the twenties and thirties when people were taking the dirt road in cars, it would take half a day to travel from Santa Barbara to Lompoc. Now we can do it in an hour or so.

September 26, 2006

The Rivenrock Truck

    The Rivenrock Truck outside the 'La Conchita' Market in beautiful Downtown Nipomo. The La Conchita has some really fine Mexican food.

Nipomo is a nice little town, with open and friendly people.

September 25, 2006

Walking in two worlds

    I've always felt as if I was walking in two worlds. One is the Europe of my mother's family in which I spent so much of my young life. The other world is the American life of my father's family with their mix of backwoods Southern farm family of mixed Northern European and Cherokee. Even in this American life I am in two seperate realities, one is the Big City and Los Angeles travel (like a dream), and the other is the country-life I live in my day-to-day reality.

Here is the sunset from our orchard looking over to our neighbor's 'grassy knoll'.
I drive by the jewel dealers on Rodeo Drive, but none of the jewels sold by the vendors match the stars and the sun that I watch rise and sink in all of God's majesty.
If asked to choose, I'll take the hills with the verdant pastures, the animals and the arching sky, and pass over the excitement, skyscrapers, and museums of the big city.

September 24, 2006

    A tribute from Bindi Irwin, Steve Irwin's daughter.

A Los Angeles Flowery Wall

    Los Angeles has a lot of different aspects. Sometimes gritty and cruel, and yet the higher aspects of human nature do shine through. Such as this delightfully decorated wall.

Decorating one's local habitat solely for the purpose of 'making pretty' is a uniquely human proclivity. When one sees work such as this, it illustrates the higher aspect of what it means to be human.

September 23, 2006

The relentless march of technology

    Technology continues apace, bringing us marvels both good and ill.

    But when it comes to hybrid vehicles, I think it cannot be brought onto us quickly enough. While one can drive the freeways and still see tons of SUVs sporting dealer plates showing they are recently purchased, I do believe the American people will buy hybrids and other high gas mileage vehicles once the technology is proven, and the economies of scale make the purchase of such vehicles cost-advantageous.

    As the years progress hybrids will likely become more well accepted. They will be the commuter cars of the future, and we will be getting around in vehicles that will be getting 100 mpg.

    A website with information on this new technology can be found at The 100-mpg car is coming

September 21, 2006

LA Freeway

    Sunset, that time when the sun shines through the atmosphere from a sideways angle, the illumination of dust and other material in the sky will light up our desert sunsets with brilliant reds and oranges.

LA Freeway, seen from my little Toyota truck at sunset.

September 19, 2006

Life in the Fast Lane

    As I was driving along these Harley Riders came onto the Highway from an on ramp. The thunder of those massive V-Twin engines sets my heart to thumping. I rode a couple of these some years ago. It was always a lot of fun and a great period of my life I never regret having lived. In those short years, I lived a lifetime, and enjoyed life so immensly.There may be a time in the future, when I am ready to slow down from work, and I'll get the bike back together, and join ones such as these for a trip down the Ventura Highway, in the Fast Lane.

These people had patches on them identifying them as 'Fast Tribe' M/C.

September 18, 2006

My own private island

    This little island is off the shore of Ventura. When I was a kid we'd go driving by it and the family would all talk about moving there someday, so we'd all be together and away from the world.

    We never made the move to the private island. And now we are strewn across this great land. We all have our own seperate families, and are together as a large family on special occasions.

    And now, all these years later, when I pass this little island, I think of those old times and smile.

You can also see a good view of one of the rubber marks made as someone goes out of control and does a plow into the median barrier. On these Southern California highways, rarely can one go one hundred yards without seeing these marks, and rarely do I make a full trip to Los Angeles and back without seeing at least one accident.

September 17, 2006

Don't make a stink about the things that aggravate you!

    It's coming onto Fall now, and that means that the wild animals shift their living areas to accomidate changing food possibilities.

    For us it means that we get our winter lodger back., the notorious Pee Pee the Phew, our little skunk that lives under our patio. He's not French, the Lord and my wife wouldn't like it if I let a French Skunk live under our porch. He's a native grown legal resident, and although it's a hassle having him always at arms length, like the Sword of Damocles, it keeps me alert and aware (usually).

    I took some photos of him eating the cat food (which is why he comes here, so I can't put the onus on him). He is really a beautiful animal, and it is a marvel to see the shimmer of his fur, the long hairs hanging in their graceful way from his coat. Someday he might be hanging on our wall, but for now, he's eating his fill of Friskies, and enjoying our company, even though he does always overstay his welcome. Skunks do have a way of doing what they want in general, they aren't too used to hearing arguments against whatever little notion they take a mind to.

The Skunk, Pee Pee the phew!
You can see the little gland at the base of his tail, it's uncovered and open, ready to squirt me if I get any closer. He was a bit perturbed with me getting so close and taking photos. He knows better though than to squirt the hand that feeds him. I swear, if he squirts me or Vickie, I think me and him are gonna have to have a short, sharp confrontation.

Here's a skunk by our front door
he's been hanging around the same spot for nearly fifteen years now!
I dressed the animal out and tanned the hide myself.

Most folks'l never skin a skunk
But then again some folks'l
Like Dicus the slack-jawed yokel

    There's some things you just naturally can figure out how to do, like the best way to skin a porcupine. But skunks are something you just have to kind of learn how to adjust to. And there ain't no way to do it other than just jump on in and get-r-done!

September 16, 2006

Let's go get a pick-a-nic basket Booboo!

    Vickie is invited to go with some neighbor ladies to a nearby lake called Oso Flaco for a neighborly picnic.

    Oso Flaco means 'Skinny Bear' in Spanish. In the 'olden days' there were many thousands of Grizzly Bears in this area. And some place names reflect the predominant species of the time. Names like Los Osos (the Bears), Rio Oso (Bear River), and Rancho Oso (Bear Ranch).

    It is said that when the first Spaniards came to Los Osos there were so many bears fishing in the river for the annual Salmon spawn that they decided to name the estuary for the bears. But when they got to Oso Flaco Lake (which is a bit lower on food resources) the bears there were hungry and skinny, ergo the name Oso Flaco.

    I am sure the neighborhood ladies will all have a good time socializing, but I am afraid that some skinny and hungry bear might sneak up and steal their pick-a-nick basket when they are not looking!

    I found some online photo albums that show the Oso Flaco area. Some also show the surrounding Nipomo/Guadalupe Dune Complex. This is a very interesting and rare area. It is a dune complex of many thousands of acres, right on the California Coast. Much of it is protected from vehicular traffic. It is also an area that has been featured in many movies including DeMille's classic 'The Ten Commandments', G.I. Jane, and will be a scene in the upcoming 'Pirates of the Caribbean III' movie as well.

Oso Flaco and Nipomo Photos
Photos of a San Luis Obispo Field Trip
And photos of local birds some taken at Oso Flaco and other local areas. Be sure to view them in the slideshow setting. I especially like the sparrow section. We have lots of sparrows at our home, and they are such delightful and cute little birds.

September 15, 2006

When the Tigers Broke Free ~PINK FLOYD~

It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that's how the High Command
Took my daddy from me.

    When the Tigers broke Free video by Pink Floyd from 'The Wall'.

    It is not good for children to grow up without a father, whether this is through war or a society that tolerates men abandoning their children.

September 14, 2006

Bright Lights, big City

    I went down to the Valley Film Festival to view some new indy movies. We saw Eating Alone, and Mojave Phone Booth. Both are fine films, and I really enjoyed the evening.

    There is an interesting history on the real Mojave Phone Booth, click on Google search for the google results.

    Here is the link to the 'El Portal Theatre'.

September 13, 2006

Little cars, big City

    The further North or South you get from the Central Coast, the smaller the cars become. In the cities people don't need to haul loads of wire, fencing or lumber and animals. They are commuting and many prefer a quick agile vehicle that can quickly change lanes.

    This photo is taken as one is entering the Northern areas of the Los Angeles megalopolis. The Los Angeles area has many hills that jut from the basin here and there. These areas are relatively undeveloped, and are areas that wildlife can still exist. Therefore the Los Angeles suburbs often have bears and coyotes wandering in. It is an interesting amalgam of refined city broken by pockets of wild lands.

    One thing I really like about this area is the high percentage of hybrid vehicles. On the highways of Los Angeles hybrids make even more sense than they do on our open roads of the Central Coast. At the normal highway speeds here of twenty mph during rush hour, the hybrids are not burning fuel, they are cruising along on battery power, which will be recharged when the highway speeds up again and the engine comes back on to power the vehicle while over 35 mph.
    This has the duel effect of not polluting as much, and of using less fuel reducing our dependence on foreign sources of petrochemicals.
    The governments here have also come up with an excellent piece of social engineering in which they permit hybrid vehicles to travel in the ‘diamond lanes’ which tend to be less crowded. This way they encourage investment in hybrid vehicles. It makes it more worthwhile having a hybrid when it will help you get about the area more quickly.

September 12, 2006

A water Tower

    A water tank in Santa Barbara County stands as a silent silhouette before a dark red sunset.

September 11, 2006

Tell us something we don't know

    So often the college-boy researchers come up with some real doozies that everyone knows already....like Why Teens Don't Care.

    They also have more stunners for us such as Why Teens are Lousy at Chores.

    And the new study that shows that raising kids is a lifelong challenge to your mental health. And it don't end when they move their own butts on out of the house (this is because they're still your kids even when they got gray hair, and you're always gonna be concerned and worried for them).

    It's great to see what inroads into the human mind a PhD can get you.

September 10, 2006

The pleasures of life in California

    There are many benefits to living in California's small towns. Clean air, a relaxed, friendly populace, and the wonders of nature at your doorstep. Here on the Central Coast we can drive to some of the world's best skiing within a three hour journey. We have the desert two hours away, and almost anywhere here are some fine beaches within an hour.

    On Friday I took a trip to Los Angeles, and as I am want to do, I stopped by a beachside cliff north of Santa Barbara to spend a little time gazing out over the waters.

    This view rewarded me with a view of some dolphins going about their daily swimming and food catching. I know the photos aren't much, but even seeing a dolphin dorsal fin is exciting to me no matter how many times I've seen this.

Dolphins, natures' little sea dogs.

Always lots of fun to watch.

September 08, 2006

I want one, and I want it now!!!

    Yep, Porsche (a two syllable word) has gone and done it again. They went and built up one of the greatest of the worlds’ supercars so that us folks in the back roads can travel down to bag a deer in record time. I mean this monster has almost 500 horsepower and all-wheel-drive resulting in no wheel spin even with the twin turbos boosted to maximum at take-off.

    Just reading of it made me remember my days in my V8 Vega with 12 bolt 4:11 Posi-trac rear end and that Turbo-Hydromatic 400 with the Hearst shift kit that I had in Germany. That car had phenomenal take-off from a stand-still (if it didn’t hop all over the place), and it was able to get to autobahn speeds quickly (except that gear ration was not that good for the high speeds) but it would boost you back into your seat like no body's bidniz.

    I also had a little Italian Fiat over there. It was not fast at all, but smaller and more maneuverable on those cobblestone streets and on the snow. I drove that thing all over Europe with my International Drivers license (before the EU open Borders).

    I’ve had a few fast cars, and I’ve had a few cars that handled well, but I’ve never been able to afford a car that was fast AND could handle well. And it has been some twenty five years now since I’ve had a car that was either. I’ve been just driving trucks around so I always have an open bed to throw in any lunch I find along the road, or assorted goodies like fencing and pipe I tend to use nowadays.

    Yep, life ain’t like it was for me, but maybe someday when I truly am an old fart, I might just be able to buy me one of them 2007 model 911 Twin-Turbo Porsches that’s about thirty years old and going for a mere pittance, like maybe $50,000.

Keep on dreamin’ boy

September 04, 2006

Building a Mystery

    I just really love that Celtic lilting sound in Sarah McLachlin's voice.

    It is interesting how when she was growing up in Canada as a child she got in trouble from a teacher who caught her daydreaming and writing poetry. He told her that she would never amount to anything.

    But she is full of talent, and blessed with a fine voice. She followed her dreams, and made herself into a singer on an international scale. You go girl!!!

Sarah McLachlin Building a Mystery Video, the Live Version.

And the so very well done Studio Video Version at Building a Mystery.

Building a Mystery
~Sarah McLachlin~

You come out at night
That's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light
And the vampires roam
You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died
Before Jesus came

Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in

    I have always had a love for poetry and music, and perhaps that comes from my father’s Scottish/Irish side of the family. They are hill people in the Ozarks of Missouri.

    One of my father’s uncles (by marriage) was the legendary Grandfather of Country Western Music, Roy Queen. He also had a singing cousin 'Liltin' Martha Tilton (her mother was a Dicus). When he was a kid my father would sometimes accompany the band to their shows, where he would be stationed at the door to collect the money from the visitors.

    Times were tough for those folks in that time. My father says that on Sundays they would go to church in the wagon hitched to the farm mules. Then all the folks would gather at someone’s house for supper after church, then when darkness fell they would start the long ride back home. Grandpa would get the mules going while the kids and granny bundled under blankets in the back. Then grandpa would jump into the blankets with them. When the mules stopped they would awaken, and they would be home.

    I don't think I'm in Missouri anymore.

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