Tag Archives: California

Sky Watch #15

 

These were taken this week at a farm in Moorpark, California where I met my niece and her son. Our weather has really heated up this week and we have had more Santana wind (dry hot devil winds). Yesterday we were in the 90’s and these temps are continuing. We hope to cool down soon :0)

For more Sky Watch Photos from around the world visit the SkyWatch Blog.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage demanding a ransom that I can’t afford. So frustrating as I try to clean up my posts and delete their ugly squares of black and grey off my blog posts!

Pumpkin Patch with Jack

On Tuesday I met my niece Michelle and my Grand Nephew Jackson at the Underwood Family Farms Pumpkin Patch! It was a hot sunny day in Moorpark, California and in all of Southern California.

 

We had a tractor ride around the farm and then we were dropped off at the patch where we each got to choose a pumpkin of our own to take home. The farm really caters to “youngins”. There were several pre-schools visiting this day. Animals, pony rides, play equiptment, a corn maze were just a few of the things to keep the kids busy. Jack fed the animals carrots (he wanted to start with the cow). There were goats, emus, llamas, ducks, donkeys, horses, and a pig.  Jack drove his own little motorized tractor.

 

They have built this great climbing apparatus for the Mountain Goats.

 

 

The Sunflowers were still blooming although many seemed to be at the end of their glory.

 

A fun day at the farm and thank goodness for sunblock!

Update on Wednesday: Our Santana winds are back today with a fury. We are dry and hot and a section of Camarillo where I grocery shop is without power. I was just going into the Von’s to buy a few groceries when the power went out so I came home instead hoping the power doesn’t go out here! I am really looking forward to some cooler fall weather but until then it’s sandals and t-shirts still in Southern California.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage demanding a ransom that I can’t afford. So frustrating as I try to clean up my posts and delete their ugly squares of black and grey off my blog posts!

WFW ~ Psalm 93: 3,4

Psalm 93: 3-4 (ESV)

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
    the floods have lifted up their voice;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
    mightier than the waves of the sea,
    the Lord on high is mighty!

For more Word Filled Wednesday visit Amy at 160 Acre Woods.

Ruby Tuesday ~ Halloween Decor

If it’s Monday it must be time for Ruby Tuesday! The Teach wanted us to find our Ruby in Halloween Decorations this week. Here’s what I found. Some of the red is harder to see but there is red in all of these…

 

For more Ruby visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

Photobucket is holding all my photos hostage from 2007-2015 seeking a huge ransom to give them back to me. I’m slowly cleaning up all my posts and it is very frustrating.

Round Robin Challenge ~ Your Hometown

Our Round Robin Challenge is to

 Photograph Your Hometown!

Grab your camera and show off the sights, sounds and flavors of your locale. One photo or a whole spread. Lets see your town and your favorite spots.

 ~Welcome to The City of Camarillo, California

Located in Ventura County California, the City of Camarillo (pronounced cam-a-ree-oh) straddles the 101 freeway about 50 miles Northwest of Los Angeles and 40 miles South of Santa Barbara in a coastal valley 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean at Point Mugu. In a semi-rural setting, the surrounding farmland is some of the most productive to be found anywhere, yielding up to three crops per year.

The Camarillo Ranch was originally a 10,000 acre Spanish land grant created in 1837, patented to Gabriel Ruiz in 1866, then purchased by Juan Camarillo in 1875. His son Adolfo built the Queen Anne Victorian home in 1892. Later the barn and stables were added to support the agricultural work and house the renowned Camarillo White Horses. Today the ranch is owned by the City of Camarillo and operated by the non profit Camarillo Ranch Foundation.

The historic land upon which the Camarillo Ranch now sits was a part of the original Rancho Calleguas, one of the last Mexican land grants (9,998.29 acres). It was given by Governor Alvarado to Jose Pedro Ruiz in 1847. Juan Camarillo (1812-1880) obtained the rancho from the Ruiz family in 1875. Juan was a member of the Hijar-Padres Expedition to California in 1834. He settled in Ventura in 1857. Following Juan’s death in 1880, Adolfo Camarillo, his oldest son, took over the ranch operations. He was 16 at the time. During next 68 years, Adolfo operated the Camarillo Ranch, changing the operations from mostly cattle to crops. He was a leading innovator bringing in lima beans, plus barley, corn, alfalfa, walnuts, and citrus.

Adolfo (1864-1958) married Isabel Menchaca (1861-1936) in 1888 and they moved into an adobe home on the Ranch, which was later destroyed by fire. They had seven children. In 1890, with the help of two Chumash Indian boys, he planted two rows of eucalyptus trees. The trees arched across Highway 101 in Camarillo for many years. Some of the trees still line the north side of the freeway. Adolfo also employed a number of Chumash Indians on the Ranch. [the first collage at the top of the page shows Adolfo Camarillo on one of his famous White Horses. You can read about these famous horses here]

The Camarillo House was built in 1892 by Adolfo and others using the services of Architects Franklin Ward and Herman Anlauf This three-story, 14-room home was built in the Victorian Queen Anne style.

Adolfo’s younger brother, Juan (1867-1935) later donated land for St. Mary Magdalen Chapel (completed in 1914) and St. John’s Seminary (completed in 1939), both prominent in Camarillo history. Juan chose not to stay at the Ranch and lived and worked in Ventura and Buenos Aires

We have only lived in our condo in Camarillo for two years. We have our established home in the state of Washington. Although we weren’t overjoyed about returning to Southern California, we feel blessed to be able to live in Camarillo in the interim. Camarillo is a lovely area with close proximity to the Santa Monica Mountain Recreational Area and Pt. Mugu State Park and Recreational Area.

Camarillo has wonderful access to fresh farm produce and we have a farmers market year round on Saturday mornings. We have several good restaurants in town and one of our local favorites is El Tecolote. We enjoy Mexican food and we have many options for that in Southern California. Our Friends of the Library bookstore is one of the best I’ve ever been in.

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of my hometown. To see more Hometowns click here.

Sky Watch #14

Clear blue skies again in Southern California but I’ll throw in a bonus, some beautiful wild parrots!

 

The skies in Southern California were clear and blue this past Saturday when we went on a short hike in the Santa Monica Mountains. On our way back to the car we spotted some colorful birds in a tree. Upon closer inspection we realized they were wild parrots. Their coloring makes them blend in with the tree leaves so you’ll need to look closely to see them. I’ll apologize up front because I’m going to post 6 photos. This sight is so odd to see in Southern California.

 

 

 

 

Looks like a couple of the parrots are kissing here…

For more Sky Watch click here.

Photobucket is holding my photos hostage from 2007-2015 and replacing them with an ugly black and grey squares demanding money to release them, so frustrating.

ABC Wednesday ~ Mary Magdalen Church, Camarillo

M is for St. Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo, California

In my Sky Watch #10 Post I mentioned that I was trying to get inside St. Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo to see their historic stained glass windows. A few Sundays ago we went to the church grounds to buy some home made Mexican food at a fiesta they were putting on as a fund raiser. While there I was thrilled to see the church doors open and I went inside and was able to finally see and take pictures of these amazing works of art.

Here is an excerpt written in a historical site about the windows.

“The most notable chapel fixtures were its magnificent 13 stained glass windows.  These azure, crimson, green, and gold windows tell a double story — one of the life of Christ, the other of a world at war.

While on a trip to Europe, Juan Camarillo selected the windows in Munich, Germany. The year was 1913 and the early rumbles of the continent gathering its strength for conflict were growing with each passing day. Somewhere between the studios of glass-blower F. X. Zettler of Munich and the church on a hilltop in faraway Camarillo, the stained glass windows were lost. Zettler’s name can be seen at the bottom of the windows depicting the Holy Family (east side) and Christ with the children (west side). Despite the best efforts of the Camarillo family through consuls and ambassadors, the windows appeared lost forever. Mrs. Carmen Camarillo Jones recalled that her uncle Juan feared they were at the bottom of the sea. One day a letter arrived from a German official. This official in Munich had been noticing several large crates staked outside a building with Juan’s name on them. He had written Juan several letters and finally one got through at the end of Word War 1. Much to the joy and relief of everyone, the lost windows had been found. However, it was a painfully slow and long trek to Los Angeles, and then on to Camarillo, before they were finally installed in the thick brick and plastered chapel walls in 1919.”

After I had been in the church for about 5 minutes the caretaker came in and closed the doors behind me I figured my time inside was over.

To see more of the outside of this historical church click here.

For more ABC posts on the letter M visit the ABC Blog.

Blue Monday ~ The Blue Pacific

This week for Smiling Sally’s Blue Monday Challenge I’m showing you the rewarding views of the Pacific Ocean Dear and I got to see after hiking up just .7 miles off of the main Sycamore Canyon Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains. Even though it’s only .7 miles you are going UP so we get a lot of huffing and puffing in. But look at the sight at the top of the trail!

 

We like to do this hike anytime but summer. When the weather is cool there are less bugs, less heat (obviously) and less chance of running into a rattlesnake (maybe).

 

Too see more Blue visit Sally here.

Update: I’m leaving early this morning to take my mom to the hospital for my dad’s emergency gall-bladder surgery. Please pray for him. I won’t be around a computer today.

Photobucket is holding my photos hostage from 2007-2015 and replacing them with an ugly black and grey squares demanding money to release them, so frustrating.

We Thank Thee, Lord, For This Fair Earth ~ Hymn

 

We Thank Thee, Lord, For This Fair Earth

We thank Thee, Lord, for this fair earth,
The glittering sky, the silver sea;
For all their beauty, all their worth,
Their light and glory, come from Thee.

Thine are the flowers that clothe the ground,
The trees that wave their arms above,
The hills that gird our dwellings round,
As Thou dost gird Thine own with love.

Yet teach us still how far more fair,
More glorious, Father, in Thy sight,
Is one pure deed, one holy prayer,
One heart that owns Thy Spirit’s might.

So while we gaze with thoughtful eye
On all the gifts Thy love has given,
Help us in Thee to live and die,
By Thee to rise from earth to Heaven.

Words: George E. L. Cot­ton, in Hymns for Use in the Cha­pel of Marl­bo­rough Coll­ege, 1856.

Ht: Cyberhymnal

I want to wish all my Canadian Bloggin Friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. I know some of you are celebrating today and maybe some of you will be celebrating tomorrow. May God bless you richly with a thankful heart and gratitude towards Him!

Pink Saturday

 

I took this photo of the sweet pink flower on one of my walks this past week.

When I was at the local Goodwill this week I spotted this truck in the parking lot and decided it would be my Pink Saturday Post today. It was just too unique to pass up…

 

I didn’t get a chance to see Rosemary. I was done shopping and the truck was still parked next to me when I left.

 

For more Pink Saturday Posts visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Photobucket is holding my photos hostage from 2007-2015 and replacing them with an ugly black and grey squares demanding money to release them, so frustrating.