Tag Archives: Ventura

When I was Little My Mother Gave Me Castor Oil

Were you ever given Castor Oil? Saturday on our walk at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura we found a Castor Bush with clusters of seed pods. When we opened up the pods we found these Castor Seeds. These are what they make Castor Oil from.

We also saw and smelled the Fennel plants. Sweet Fennel is so much more appealing  than Castor oil. I’m not sure what the second yellow plant is and the sweet lavender colored plant is either. It was another great early morning walk on the beach with wonderful views of God’s creation all around us. This next shot was a special treat for us as we walked back to our starting point.

I’ll be posting more photos from this walk. We saw other herons, godwits, and gulls, all together but this heron seemed to be standing alone for us to appreciate.

 

Photo Hunters ~ Wild

Some Wild views from my walks

I think these are Mule Deer. This is from Willow’s neighborhood, my bloggy walking buddy.

Looking through a space in a wooden fence at a field near my home that is still in it’s wild state.

The Sea, the tide, the shore, the Sea birds, all untamed and wild.

For more Photo Hunters visit tnchick. If you want to see Wild early click over to Carver’s.

Fave Five for Friday

 

It’s time for Fave Five for Friday. If you want to play along visit Susanne at Living to tell the Story. Here are my favorites since last Friday.

1. Starting with Saturday I have two favorites. The first was a return to the beach with Dear for our early morning Saturday walks at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California. We were there at 6:30 A.M. and we saw a lot of birds…

2. After our walk we got ready to drive south for a family get-together to visit with my brother Leonard, his wife Mandy and their new daughter Hope. She’s 7 months old and they all live in Dallas so it’s a wonderful event when they come to Southern California for all of us to get our fix!

3. This made me laugh out loud on Monday when I listened to this You-Tube on Mighty Mom’s site. Click here and give a listen. It’s only about 23 seconds long…

No – I don’t think it’s for real but it still is so darn funny!!

4. Dear turned 55 on Tuesday and a highlight of the week was celebrating Him and celebrating with him at a nice Steak house close to us.

5. Today I’m headed to a planning meeting for our new year of Women’s Bible Study. This year I’ll be a table leader so I’m looking forward to the discipline and the friendships that I’ll form with the ladies at my table. We’re studying Grace.

For more Fave Five head over to Susanne’s and consider joining in. Blessings…

Dawn Walks with Dear ~

We were back to our Emma Wood State Beach Walk this past Saturday. It’s been 8 weeks since our last walk there. We left the house at 6:00 A.M. and met the Dawn at the beach. Every walk here holds new discoveries for us. The tides change, the shore changes from season to season, the birds change too. We saw a lot of younger Seagulls and some small birds we hadn’t seen before.

I love that God’s creation cannot be exhausted. I stand in awe at His creativity.

Psalm 104: 24-25 ~ “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small.”

I was glad I wore my sandals this week because the tide caught us off guard when it came in a little quicker than we expected.

By the end of the day on Saturday after we drove to Huntington Beach and walked to the beach there, too, we had logged in 14,032 steps! Willow and I walked 4 days last week, too, so my numbers were really good. But…Willow flew the coop to Oregon this week and my numbers will flounder…

 

Opening Doors ~ Day Two

This is day two of Jientje’s Opening Doors Photo Challenge. There are still 4 more days so you still have time to join in. I’m sharing 3 doors today that are a little outside the box…

Garages come in all sizes. These are two colorful Garage Doors that caught my eye. The first one I spotted in a beach side neighborhood in Ventura, Ca. The second one is a garage in Old Town Camarillo. Usually you would expect to find cars in garages but more than cars these days you’ll find them filled with stuff that doesn’t fit in the house!

This last photo is a door that is not fancy. It doesn’t have any great architectural beauty. It is a very ordinary front door in a very ordinary neighborhood in Southern California.

This door in Whittier, California was the front door of my family home in the 70’s. It is the door where Dear first kissed me after one of our dates. It is the door that opened many more doors to my relationship with Dear and our now almost 34 years of marriage. My parents moved away from this home and have made homes as far away from Whittier as a little village in Russia. They are now in a Senior Apartment in Southern California.

To see more photographs of doors around the world visit Jientje at Heaven in Belgium.

Opening Doors ~ Day 1

Good Morning and Happy Labor Day to those of you in the U.S.A. Busy holiday today watching and praying Gustav will lighten her load and that our far away neighbors will be spared another huge disastor!

Day One of Opening Doors Photo Challenge

For Day One of the Open Doors Photo Challenge I chose this gate and front door combination on a house I walked by in Ventura, California.

Make sure and visit Jientje at Heaven in Belgium to see more doors from around the world.

 

Bridging the Gap ~ Day 4

My bridge for today is from my favorite place to walk in Southern California. This is a foot-bridge we use when we walk along Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura.

This is Dear after he crossed the bridge. This shot was taken in the Winter. We usually start our walks at 7 A.M. so we pretty much have the beach to ourselves. The next shot is the same bridge taken in the summer time with my friend Jody from Washington crossing it.

I took it at this angle to get this great patch of Cactus in the photo.

For more Bridging the Gap Photos visit Alice at Iwasborn2cre8.

 

Fun Monday ~ A Favorite Photograph

For Fun Monday we are suppose to share our favorite photograph. A lot of my favorite photographs are taken on the walks my husband and I take early in the morning on Saturdays. I have so many favorites I decided to choose the Beach wave category this time and this is one of my favorite captures of a wave at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California. I took this photo in February of this year…

The Lurchers are the hosts this week so click on over and see some more Photo Favorites.

 

The Fountain ~ by James Russell Lowell

The Fountain
~
Into the sunshine,
Full of the light,
Leaping and flashing
From morn till night!

Into the moonlight,
Whiter than snow,
Waving so flower-like
When the winds blow

Into the starlight
Rushing in spray,
Happy at midnight
Happy by day!

Ever in motion,
Blithesome and cheery
Still climbing heavenward,
Never aweary;

Glad of all weathers,
Still seeming best,
Upward and downward
Motion thy rest;

Full of a nature
Nothing can tame,
Changed every moment,
Ever the same;

Ceaseless aspiring,
Ceaseless content,
Darkness or sunshine
Thy element;

Glorious fountain!
Let my heart be
Fresh, changeful, constant,
Upward like thee!

Photos from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington and from the Historical Olivas Adobe in Ventura, California.

Hope your hearts are content and looking up today! Happy Friday to all!