High Tide at Emma Wood State Beach!

Dear and I returned to our favorite Saturday walk last weekend and we were in for a fun surprise. The Tide was so high that there was no sand to be seen. The waves were so powerful we heard the large rocks and bolders moving and hitting each other when the waves receded. We had to watch our steps so that we didn’t get sprayed by the waves that hit the beach walls and rocks.

We were experiencing Santana winds again over the weekend so the wind really whipped out and caused some spray off the waves.

Then when a wave would recede and hit the next wave coming in we got a big treat with an explosion of spray!

It was difficult to snap at the right time to make sure I captured the great spray.

Yippee I got this one without getting soaked!

The birds were patiently waiting for the tide to go out so they could dig for their food in the sand…

Psalm 89: 8, 9 ~ “O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”

Snowy Seattle or Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride…

On Christmas morning at 7:00 A.M. we left rainy Southern California and arrived in Seattle to this. We had to trudge through the snow with our luggage. When we got inside we found out (much to our dismay) that the power was out!

We lit some candles and Katie pulled out her Christmas gift from the Bagdanov family gathering on Christmas Eve and made us …

some tea to help warm us up so we could relax and enjoy the snowy scenes.

The power came back on just as we were leaving to have Christmas dinner with the Spiro Family and friends. The freeways were clear but the side roads getting into neighborhoods made for quite a wild ride!! The gathering at the Spiro home was wonderful as usual. Good food, good friends, good fellowship!

I will be posting some photos from our Christmas celebration in California later. Today we had to shop and clean and plan for our little family Christmas tomorrow morning and then Katie’s 23rd birthday dinner tomorrow evening. The fun just never stops.

Come Sunday I’ll have time again to crash and recuperate and do some blogging. Trusting you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Snow at My House in Washington!!

My daughter sent me these photos that she took at our house in Washington State today! She measured the snow at 3 inches and said it is coming down steadily…

This is the view from our front door looking at our neighbors homes.

Views looking out to our deck and garage.

My kids are staying put at home today. I hope they have a good stash of food to eat :0)

We even got snow in our Southern California Mountains and in some lower elevations.

October??

Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this forecast!?

Sorry I don’t usually rant on my blog but my resolve has been weakened by my cold which is ending with sinus pressure headaches and this forecast isn’t helping.

97° | 54°

92° | 52°

92° | 50°

92° | 50°

90° | 49°

Don’t worry though, I will find something soon to smile about and I will get help from one mightier than me to choose joy and contentment in this heat..

Sycamore Hike ~ Walking Club Totals

When we got to the Sycamore Canyon Campground Parking at 7:15 the gate was still locked. Hmmm see the sign that says gate open 7am – 10pm? The attendant finally arrived at 7:30 to open the gate…

We stayed on the main trail today and saw a few joggers and several groups of cyclists.

The trees are really interesting in this canyon.

The shrubs were blooming nicely. It was gloomy with a thick high marine layer.

These purple wildflowers deserved a photograph.

Spring is a great time to do this hike because of all the pretty blooms.

We even happened on some California Poppies.

Some of our old and new favorites. The wild fennel is an old favorite of ours. We love using fennel in cooking and the smell when we rub it between our hands is licorice wonderful. The coreopsis is such a interesting plant the way it grows on that stalk. In the Spring it’s all over the hillsides. The one downside to our hike today were the mosquitos! They were out in droves. Anyone know of an Avon distributor so I can order some Skin-so-soft?

This looks like a parrot to me.

At the end of the hike we strolled over to see the high surf.

My walking total steps for the week averaged out to 10,152.

I’m going to keep on walking. How about you?

Walking for Donuts? Is that what Lovella had in mind?

Dear and I decided to walk along the main road outside our neighborhood today so we could check out Calleguas Creek after the rains we’ve had all week. The sun was shining and the skies were clear.

This creek is generally pretty dry with maybe a trickle once in a while. The rain storms we’ve been having have made the creek flow strong and constant. (This photo was taken after the last rain storm, not today, but the creek looked just like this today with bluer skies)

We continued up the road.

The grade you see in the distance is what Dear has to travel everyday to get to work.

Oh no, look what I see, a donut shop. But here we are on a healthy walk…

On the way back to the Condo I got a shot of the Creek on the opposite side of the road.

Now where did that come from and how did it make it all the way to my condo?

I’m hopeless people! Not only were my walking numbers way down this week (6108 avg.) I rewarded myself for my dismal efforts with a donut! Not a little donut either.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend…

Surfers Point ~ Ventura, California

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY. SURF 6 TO 8 FEET WILL PERSIST ALONG EXPOSED WEST FACING SHORES.
62°F at 2:00 pm

We took a short drive up the 101 Fwy to Ventura on Saturday morning. We parked at Seaside Park and started our walk along the beach at Surfers Point.

We walked along the Promenade.

The Surf was exceptional today and there were tons of surfers and photographers waiting to catch the perfect wave.

The waves were so much more dramatic than my photos can show.

We were on the pier for these shots. The foam tells the story of the power of these waves.

Some of the waves were high enough to spray onto the pier.

The calm before the next set of waves. This is on the Ventura Pier looking back on Ventura.

Muddy Saturday Walk ~ Storm Watch So. Cal.

Here’s what our weather was like yesterday and what it’s suppose to look like today. Our muddy walk was on Saturday when we had weather very similar to Sunday.

This
Afternoon
Chance Showers. Chance for Measurable Precipitation 50%

Chance
Showers
Hi 58°F Falling Temperatures

Tonight

Showers. Chance for Measurable Precipitation 100%

ShowersLo 44°F

Monday

Chance Showers. Chance for Measurable Precipitation 30%

Chance
Showers
Hi 59°F

Monday
Night
Partly Cloudy

Partly
Cloudy
Lo 39°F

We picked the rainiest weekend of the year to check out this huge empty area behind our condominium complex that’s going to look like…

this in a little less than a year!

I’m hoping to get to see some fun soccer just steps away from my back door. Besides all these soccer pitches they are also putting in 3 baseball diamonds on the far end.

Here are more photos from our muddy Saturday walk.