We’ve returned to our home sweet home. It feels wonderful to be back in my own home. One of the surprises was Red was waiting for me singing for my return. This vacation he didn’t hide and avoid me for weeks on end. I’m sure that had something to do with my neighbor making sure the birdseed was out every day. But Red did not look like himself. I’ll post photos later this week.
My trip highlights besides beach walks with my husband enjoying the ocean breeze would be spending time with our friends we don’t see often enough. Plus having my son and daughter-in-law with us for part of our vacation.
Here are some photos I took with my Nikon and 105mm lens on the beach. I was worried about getting sand in the camera or on the lens, but finally decided I could do it!
A man sitting and reading on the beach. I figured out to make photos black and white.
I found a piece of sea glass which is rare at this beach.
In the evenings, the misty fog comes ashore.
A sunbather enjoying a beautiful day at the beach.
Sunlight reflections on sand and water.
A Long-billed Curley foraging in the sea.
View of where we walk looking south.
Almost sunset and time to go home.
Beach vacation has ended until next summer. It reminded me of a Madonna song “Holiday.”
Are you ready for fall? Or do you miss summertime?
While you’re looking at some of my favorite houses at the beach, I’ll be headed home. I’ve been missing my home, but I’m sure I’ll miss this beach once I’m standing on desert sand. I got the most of my last few beach days with multiple beach walks and sitting on the beach to watch sunsets. I felt like I needed to get my fill of beach time until next summer.
Here are a few of my favorite homes on our favorite beach:
This is my number one home I would like to move into and live happily ever after! I like the roof lines, the shake shingles and the tree! This home reminds me of the home I grew up in on Lord’s Hill in Snohomish, Wash.
This is a pen and ink drawing I made of my childhood home for an art class in college. it doesn’t really look like the beach home above, but it shares some of the same roof lines, shake shingles and windows.
My son’s favorite house is next door to mine. What’s really unique is you can look through the front windows clear through the home to the garden behind the house. It’s beautiful.
This is the Kutcher house almost finished after a remodel.
This is the before photo of Ashton Kutcher’s house with a little cottage in front that didn’t make the cut.
A former home of Ellen’s.
The home of George Lucas.
Kevin Costner’s home at the end of the beach.
Of view of the beach where you can see how close the homes are to the beach.
I really like the smaller homes that have preserved their original flavor.
This little cottage is hidden behind a sand dune.
I noticed this home for the first time this week! I have walked by it without seeing it for years.
Below is another home I’ve never noticed before. Love it. I took this photo with my Nikon on later walk. It’s next door to the Lucas house.
I can only imagine how beautiful the views are from all those windows!
A last look at the beach.
Which one of these homes would you like to move into?
Happy September! What are your plans for this weekend and the month ahead?
According to All about Birds, the Long-billed Curlew is America’s largest shore bird. We see them every day during our beach walks near Santa Barbara, California. I’ve seen three types of birds I used to call Sandpipers, but have identified one species as Willets and the second identified is the Curlew. I’m still working on identifying the third one.
SIZE:
Length: 19.7-25.6 in (50-65 cm)
Weight: 17.3-33.5 oz (490-950 g)
Wingspan: 24.4-35.0 in (62-89 cm)
APPEARANCE:
The Long-billed Curlew is a speckled cinnamon and brownish bird with flecks of white. It’s chest and belly are light a solid light cinnamon color. It has a touch of pink at the base of it’s bill. Males and females look similar but the females beak is slightly longer and more curved than the male.
LOCATION:
FOOD:
When the Long-billed Curlew are not inland, they forage along the shore eating marine life such as shrimp, crab and other crustaceans as well as worms and mollusks. Their long, curved bill helps them forage for earthworms and other prey that burrows underground. Inland in grassy or muddy areas they will use their long bills to eat insects including grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars and spiders.
NESTING:
Long-billed Curlews are not monogamous for life but are for each breeding season. They may get back together for later breeding seasons. The males make several scrapes in the ground in dry areas. The female chooses which scrape she wants as their nesting place. Then they both complete the nest together digging it out deeper. Then they line it together with bark, feathers, grasses or other material. After two to three weeks after the eggs hatch, the female takes off and the male raises the chicks.
A view of the harbor in Ventura from Brophy Brothers restaurant.
One evening last week, we visited long time friends in Ventura and went out to dinner by boat after a harbor cruise. What an enjoyable evening and a great escape from a humid hot afternoon. We are on our annual beach vacation to escape the heat of the desert. Unfortunately, there’s been warnings of excessive heat most days and there are few places with air conditioning on the coast. Finally the heat warnings are over and our last few days at the beach should be ideal.
This is a view from inside the Duffy boat of our friends’ neighborhood. It’s called “the keys” and homes are on the water throughout several inlets. Everyone who lives here has a boat parked in their back yard.
I’m not aware of many neighborhoods with boat parking, although there were a few in Washington state where I grew up. Lake Washington and the San Juan Islands definitely had boat docks in front of homes.
The Bougainvillea below the restaurant was beautiful!
This is our friends’ Duffy boat parked at the restaurant. They use the Duffy to cruise around their neighborhood and drive to dinner in the harbor. It’s a cute little boat. They have a big boat too, that they take to Catalina Island.
A few gulls hanging out on the docks.
I’m getting homesick and I’m ready to leave the beach for the desert. Just a few more days and we’ll be home sweet home!
Do you get anxious for home after vacation, or do you want vacation to last longer?
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings we went for beach walks and stayed until sunset.
On Wednesday night, we were with our son and daughter-in-law at our favorite beach. Everyone but me went swimming or boogie boarding. The waves were unusually big. This area is known for having the “world’s safest beach.” Normally there isn’t a current, rip tides or big waves. Wednesday was different.
My husband, son and DIL were out in the ocean in front of our beach chairs and umbrellas. After a few waves, they were way down the beach. When they walked back from the other end of the beach, they said there was a really strong current.
There were only four other people on the beach that evening — a couple including a stunning brunette woman under a pop up tent and two ladies walking their golden retriever.
The brunette jumped into the ocean. She was getting knocked around by the waves, right and left. We watched her swimming and diving under the waves and she looked like she had it under control. Her boyfriend was sound asleep under their pop-up tent.
We were sitting on the sand when my husband said, “Where did she go?” We couldn’t spot the brunette in the ocean. Since my husband had fought the current earlier, he walked down the beach to where he ended up. He spotted her more than a quarter of mile away. He called to her and asked if she was okay. Finally, she gave him a thumbs up.
The waves crashing against the rocks at the end of the beach. First time I’ve seen that.
The brunette walked up the beach to us. “I could have died out there. That’s my new boyfriend and he was asleep,” she said pointing to the man face down under the pop-up tent.
She and my husband talked about how strong the current was. He explained he was worried when she was out of sight. He said he could tell she was afraid and struggling. He wanted to make sure she was okay. She asked our names and introduced herself, Jennifer Lopez. She offered to buy us dinner downtown Santa Barbara next week to thank us.
I said, “No, that’s okay.” My son and DIL said, “You should do it!”
My son and DIL in the waves.
Jennifer said she was thankful someone was looking out for her.
Tip: If you’re swimming in the ocean, you need to have someone with eyes on you in case you need help.
Another Rescue Story:
More than ten years ago in Laguna Beach, my daughter and husband were at the beach after the lifeguards were done for the day. They noticed two panicked people stuck in a rip tide. My daughter, a swimmer and lifeguard herself, charged into the ocean and got them to calm down and helped them. My husband joined her and they got the two people to shore. Walking back to the cottage we rented that summer, my daughter noticed a neighbor’s dog out in the street. She called the dog and brought him back to his owner.
P.S. No, it wasn’t THAT Jennifer Lopez, but she said it was her legal name.
A Western Willet foraging for food along the California coast. There is also an Eastern Willet, but my photos and focus is on the Western Willet.
Willet — Tringa semipalmata
Willets belong to the shore birds more commonly called Sandpipers. I see several types of Sandpipers at the beach, but so far the only one I’ve successfully identified is the Willet.
SIZE:
Length: 13.0-16.1 in (33-41 cm) Weight: 7.0-11.6 oz (200-330 g) Wingspan: 27.6 in (70 cm)
LOCATION:
From All About Birds
DIET:
Willets forage along the shore, often alone. The tips of their beaks are sensitive and used to find food. They can forage at night as well as in the daytime. They eat crabs, insects, mollusks and worms. They feed along the mudflats, beaches and rocky shores.
A Willet getting a bite to eat along the shore.
NESTING:
Western Willets move inland from the shore for breeding along wetlands, grasslands or fresh water lakes. They nest on the ground and the male will scrape out a nest from the mud or grass. They line their nest with grasses or other soft materials. A typical clutch is four eggs. Males and females incubate their eggs, but the male takes over at night.
Although they are monogamous, they may separate after breeding season and reunite the next breeding season.
This is the view from our airbnb living room. The little cottage we have rented for nine summers has the feel of a tree house. The living room is upstairs at tree level overlooking the ocean. This is the one photo I took in this grouping with my Nikon and telephoto lens. The rest of the photos were taken with my iphone walking on the beach. I hope you enjoy a taste of California beach life.
This is our favorite beach to take walks and sit and watch the waves. This view is looking north.
There’s a canal along the walk and I caught this gull relaxing on a piece of drftwood.
This is the glimpse of the beach from the walkway that takes us to the beach. Ellen Degeneres used to own the house to the right of the fence, but sold it to have more privacy. It’s a gorgeous house by the way and sold last year for $35 million. Click on the link for a news story and photos.
The white house at the end of the beach is Kevin Costner’s estate. The tide gives him plenty of privacy because the beach is under water near his property.
We went out to dinner with friends and came back to our cottage to see this sunset out the side window.
I caught a Snowy Egret in action
A southward view of the beach.
I believe these are Willets but not quite sure. There are so many similar looking shore birds.
Father and son walking and talking.
I made them stop and pose. It’s such a joy to have our son and daughter-in-law join us for some relaxing beach time.
Which photos do you like the best? What are your plans for the weekend?
