Here in Malibu
 
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January 31, 2013

The sun also sets

The beach here juts out so it's just a few steps from the porch to a view of Point Dume:

point dume sunset


Where the sun sets:

point dume sunset


Every single day.

point dume sunset

January 30, 2013

A little seasick

between the storms

Which should be the horizontal line, the sand or the waves? And while you're deciding, a dose of Dramamine might not be a bad idea.

January 29, 2013

Egret in the rain

It was just me and this egret on the beach the other day.

egret in the storm

It was rainy but not nearly as cold as it is right now.

egret in the storm


The egret found time for a bit of grooming.

egret between storms


And then went off in search of lunch.

hello, egret

January 28, 2013

A bit of drama in the 'Bu

monday morning sky

A suspected kidnapper escaped from police last night and still hasn't been caught. Here's the story, from the Malibu Patch site. But all I have to contribute is a shot of the morning sky.

January 27, 2013

The rain over there

Full disclosure -- yes, the sun was out while I got these shots, but only for an instant.

IMG_0029

A moment later the clouds converged and the rain came down--

rain-over-santa-monica-vdt.jpg



And the Tiny Labrador confiscated the umbrella.

IMG_0033

January 26, 2013

Signs of Saturday: Arlington West

They call it Arlington West, a temporary memorial set in the sand from dawn until dusk each Sunday just north of the Santa Monica pier.

arlington-west-at-santa-monica-pier-vdt.jpg

It's the work of the group, Veterans for Peace:

Arlington West at the SM Pier


They measure the monument, smooth the sand, then place crosses for members of the American military who have died while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. As the numbers grew, the group switched to red crosses, each of which represents 10 deaths.

Arlington West at the SM Pier


Each month, the number of crosses grows.

Arlington West at the SM Pier

January 25, 2013

Maisie and Blue, the movie


No matter how often I watch, I laugh.

January 24, 2013

Miss Patsy at rest

I think it's partly that this is where the stream of warm air from the heater--

Miss Patsy


...meets the two-hour block of morning sun--

Miss Patsy


But, perilous as it seems, this is Miss Patsy's favorite spot on a chilly day.

Miss Patsy


And who am I to agrue with the wisdom of an 18-year-old feline?

Miss Patsy

January 23, 2013

The sunrise here this morning

There's talk of rain this weekend and the skies here say, yes:


morning light


morning light


downtown-LA-from-Malibu-vdt.jpg

January 22, 2013

Walk with me

So we're on the beach, tide kind of high, when suddenly, in the surf line, black and round and shiny, a seal.

hello, seal

We stop and watch a while, smile and wave and say hello, then move on.

seal

And so does he. (She?) Follows us as we head up the beach on our evening walk.

seal


And I'm thinking, cool, the seal can see me, nature girl, and we're communicating.

Magic, right?.

seal


Until I turn my head a bit, see what, black and round and shiny, the seal was actually looking at, was keeping pace with all along.

surfer girl


Le sigh.

surfer girl

January 21, 2013

See-worthy

The beach here vanishes when the tides get high enough, so our neighbor to the north has come up with this solution to keeping his boat at the ready:

blue boat


I still haven't figured out quite how to best photograph it:

blue boat


And since I'm obsessed with the blue of it, you'll probably be seeing it again.

blue boat



Just saying.

blue boat

January 20, 2013

Fair (weather) warning

morning light

It's already 75 degrees here and it's not even noon. In January.

Based on what happened to PCH yesterday, which is to say, gridlock, if you're thinking of a day at the beach, better stock up on snacks and music and something to read. In your car.

January 19, 2013

Signs of Saturday: For Sale

um, yeah

You guys? I made an offer on this place. A total fixer.

Fingers crossed.

January 18, 2013

Topsy turvy

The lawn at Bluffs Park is one of the Little Dog's favorite places and we often end the work day there. (Yes, Maisie works. Do you think all those gophers just friend her on Facebook?)

It's a great spot to lie down in the setting sun, to feel the crust and the curve of the earth. It's also great, apparently, for canine face time.


maisie-the-teacup-lab-vdt.jpg


The Muffinhead sets herself just so, able to monitor both her dozing human, and the far, far reaches of the park.

ok just lie there if you want to


She's usually camera shy, but ignores me when I'm shooting upside down. (And hasn't figured out the 'rotate' function on Photoshop yet.)

vigilant maisie


Of course there's a price to pay for such diligence:

the ball, please. throw the ball.


(Ignore the "throw the ball" command at your own peril.)

take it


If you're a fan of tiny Labradors with freakishly long tongues, there's a payoff as well.

xoxoxo

See?

lurve you, babe

January 17, 2013

Also, this

What else did I shoot a million more than one photo of yesterday in that magical light?

Tiny birds:

skitter


tiny birds


touch of sun

And this big shell.

ridges


We used to see lots and lots of them before the last El Nino.


pearly

Now, not so many. So I put this guy into a tide pool. Safe, for one more day, anyway.

ridge

January 16, 2013

Pearly

I suppose this photo:

pearly-light-in-malibu-vdt.jpg

...looks just like this photo:
pearly light



Fair enough. They were shot just steps (and moments) apart.

pearly light

But the light was so, well, lit up, I kept shooting.

pearly light


And then the sun came.
pearly light

sun up

January 15, 2013

Only footprints

We've had a series of super-low tides that leave wide swathes beach just wet enough to capture imprints, and just dry enough to preserve them.footprints

Add in the way light from the setting sun kind of skims across the sand this time of year and for a moment or two, everywhere you look, bird glyphs.
footprints

January 14, 2013

The view from there

Visiting a friend who works in the office of a council member at LA City Hall last week (it was during the day, but the only good photo I have of the place is this one, shot at night, from an LA Times building balcony) when she asked, have you ever been to the Observation Deck?

LA City Hall at night

The answer was "no", so we rode three elevators to get to the 26th floor, walked up some stairs, and then there we were, on the tippy top deck, a small, high square from which you get 360 degrees of the city.

The downtown high-rises (that's the LA Times building at the center bottom, from where the top photo was shot) kind of glittered.

view from top of city hall


And in each direction there were maps showing you some of what you're seeing:

map


There's the Hollywood sign:

the hwd sign from city hall


And because of all this cold and windy weather (look -- Union Station!) my favorite view, of the San Gabriel Mountains, looked like this:

view from city hall

Let's get that building out of the way:

view from top of city hall


Ahhh...

view from Los Angeles city hall

January 13, 2013

Wild thing

Walking at the lake the other day and there, at the top of the stairs, this coyote.

no regrets coyote


He didn't move, didn't run, just stood there and watched us. (Maisie, meanwhile, had to be restrained from whatever it is she's trying to do when she takes off after coyotes -- chase them? Join them? Beg for poop?)

It took a few rounds of "shoo!" and some hand clapping to get him to leave. Which he did, finally, regally, and oh so very slowly.

big-beautiful-coyote-in-malibu-vdt.jpg

January 12, 2013

Signs of Saturday: Ride 'em cowboy

What more needs to be said?

photo.JPG


photo.JPG

January 11, 2013

Optical illusion

Remember that storm last week? As it cleared, you could see what looked like twin twisters reaching down to El Segundo in the South Bay.

But just the words 'El Segundo' give it away -- it's the Hyperion Treatment Plant, and the Scattergood Generating Station, becoming one with the clouds.

scattergood

January 10, 2013

An anniversary

jake and nick

It's a year ago today that we lost Jake, and this afternoon, Dave and I are scattering his ashes. He was a great dog, and all of you have been great about putting up with repeated posts about how much he's been missed around here.

Maisie in particular has been bereft, and just as we once got a tiny Labrador to help lonely Jake, I'm now thinking about a puppy (it has to be a puppy; Patsy the cat is 18 and is retired and she wouldn't be OK with a grown dog) for the Tiny Labrador. Or maybe a kitten. Or maybe both. (That thunk you just heard is a very nice French woman fainting in her house in St. Thomas.)

We're combing the shelters and rescue groups and trusting the same serendipity that brought us Jake and Evinrude and Patsy and Maisie will kick in once again.

You'll be the first to know.

January 9, 2013

Beach clichés

There's today's pink horizon:

the creak of dawn

With the backlit pier:

pier view



And -- big fave -- sailboat sihouette:

sailboat sunrise

I love them all, tire of them never.

Coming soon -- gull in flight   pelican diving   dolphin fin   ___________ fill in the blank.


January 8, 2013

Piglet

Last time Maisie went to stay with Nick! while I was out of town, he sent me a video of her. And a tiny pig ran through it.

Blue, the tiny pig

Oh, Nick! said. Didn't I mention? I got a pig.

Blue, the tiny pig

Her name is Blue. (Well, Bleu, actually.)

Blue, the tiny pig


And Bleu and the Muffinhead are the best of friends. (Sorry, we were facing right into the sun and Bleu was on the move and I was afraid to miss the shot so it's pretty awful.)

Blue, the tiny pig


Seriously, a tiny pig.
Blue, the tiny pig


And she stands on her tiptoes.

IMG_0008



January 7, 2013

Walks on water

You'll see it out there, a white blob bobbing, and then suddenly, the egret stands up.egret on the kelp bed



It's a fragile-looking bird, long legs, long wings, white as a wedding veil, and the fact it's balanced on that bit of kelp, fishing from the seaweed's float of fronds and bulbs, well, that seems like magic.

egret on the kelp bed

January 6, 2013

It rained last night, and then...

It was the moon and me on the beach this morning:

morning moon


Kind of shocked that it's 2013.

morning moon


A seal swam by:

morning clouds in malibu

And things turned silver:

morning clouds in malibu


Then gold:

morning clouds in malibu


And blue:
morning clouds in malibu


And deep in the clouds, a hidden pink.

morning clouds in malibu

January 5, 2013

Signs of Santa Fe Saturday

One of the things I miss most about Santa Fe is the old Woolworth's store right on the Plaza.

the old Woolworths in Santa Fe


But in the Five & Dime that took over the space (this is the original sign from the Woolworth's days; the ampersand makes all the difference, doesn't it?) the spirit lives on.

woolworths


Let's shop!

5 and dime



For cowboy hats and place mats and sombreros:

gimme kitche




For postcards:

cards


And mugs:

legend

duk


And kitschy western-themed toys:

his 'n' hers

dolls

If you've been paying attention, a seductive scent has been drawing you, step by savory step, to the back of the store.

menu


And no, it's not the nacho cheese machine, not the burgers or the hot dogs:

nacho cheese machine

Frito Pie!

frito-pie-santa-fe-vdt.jpg


Served in its own bag, as God intended.

frito pie station


Cash only.

cash only!

Those were the days...

that was then

January 4, 2013

Dawn's early light

The first hum of light from the front porch:

dawn-breaks-malibu-vdt.jpg


A bit brighter as we reach the beach:

glimmer


Good morning, Los Angeles...

downtown LA


It's not the nap, it's the Bloomies bag:

bloomie's bag

January 3, 2013

There in New Mexico

Let's empty the Santa Fe photo album, shall we?

Here's sunset over the mesa at my friends Maggie (oh, her flowers!) and Bill's house in the mountains:

sunset on the mesa



A minute later, it snowed. Again.

snow


The snow stopped...

santa fe



And you'd think you could leave your coat unbuttoned on such a sunny day.

brrr


You'd be wrong.

brrrr


So we joined the crowd in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

st francis in santa fe


Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

And angels watched over us.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi


Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

January 2, 2013

Here in New Mexico

Can you smell it yet?

don gaspar


The green chile at Pasqual's?

pasqual's


Oops.

pasqual's

January 1, 2013

Happy 2013!

We took a walk between snowfalls on the last day of 2012:

goodbye-2012-in-new-mexico-vdt.jpg


...where the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains looked like this:

snowy new mexico


...and like this:

snowy new mexico


...and for the briefest of moments, while pirouetting on a sheet of ice, like this.oops

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