Last night’s photo class was rather fun. We were supposed to do a walk-stop-shoot expedition at a local park, but the ducks and geese and egrets were very distracting (as well as darned cute to watch). Some portraiture was thrown in.
What I found most interesting was just what a great composition a piece of trash can make.
Day 5
Today I drove up to Santa Barbara where I lived ages ago. It’s hard to believe I spent 15 years of my life there, but in many ways it hasn’t changed. While not the small town it used to be, it is still quite beautiful. Careful city planning makes sure that construction codes are stringent, and renovation of many of the sleazier or slummier parts of the city are increasing its beauty. The problem is that it is very unaffordable. Outlying communities offer more reasonable, but still expensive, housing, and the result is that what was once a small town is now a tourist attraction. The charm of the city is that it is walkable, surrounded by mountains and the sea. Many famous landmarks dot the city, and my favorites tend to be the mission, the botanical gardens, and Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. Above the city, the Santa Ynez mountains offer hiking, vistas, and if you are willing to travel the back roads, hot springs and other natural wonders. The ocean forms the western border of the city, and the best beaches are along the pier, at Henry’s, and at Butterfly in Montecito. Dining is phenomenal and ever-changing. Oh, how I wish I had bought property!!
Well, now that I have listed some pros and cons of the city, one of the cons I found was that the botanical gardens are now charging an $8.00 admission fee, unless you are a member. Since I didn’t have any cash on me – duh, why didn’t I? – I didn’t go in. I wish I had, though, as I love it, and certainly would consider being a member if I still lived in SB. Rising costs, though, make it necessary, and if you love beautiful spaces, it is a definite plus and worthwhile.
So, my photo shoot was limited to a park that went in when I was still living in Santa Barbara, Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. This has a pond, drought tolerant and low-water landscaping, beautiful trees, flowers and other plants. The pond is home to ducks and turtles, and at one time koi, and an abandoned piranha. It has grown a great deal, is beautifully maintained, and a place to relax, look, sniff, nap. When I was there, someone was playing a violin under a tree.
Besides taking pictures, I visited a few stores, called up friends for lunch, went to the beach. It was a very peaceful day, and certainly one I needed. There was a bit of nostalgia, too, when I think of that time in my life. Hard to believe the passage of time, of aging, of lost youth and love (tra la), and yet, here I am, despite (or in spite) of it all!
Below are some pictures I took at Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. This is a place of serenity and beauty, all within a city block. A very old city park, Alameda Park, is directly across the street, and is home to a bandstand, playground, old and fascinating trees, and the Summer Solstice celebration every June.
There were a lot of red-pink and yellow flowers in bloom, on stems and on trees!
Day 6
Today is Day 6, the midpoint of my spring break. Yesterday was Day 5, and a day of total relaxation. Today, I plan a work day. Papers will be graded, and I will sit down at the computer to start reading some books on software I bought. And that will be really, really difficult. I hate being inside when I can be outdoors! The patio has the papers to be graded piled on its table, and a couple of textbooks to look at for class prep. That should keep me busy for the morning. And tonight, our photo group meets. We will do a walk-around shoot in a local park – walk a bit, stop, look around. Find something to photograph in a creative way (a bench, a person, a piece of trash), move on, and repeat. Should be interesting to see our results.
Day 7 is already planned – a friend is arriving by bus to spend the day!
This is being written after the fact. The fact is I spent most of yesterday lounging around, and taking naps. Morning nap in the sun. Late morning nap in the sun. Afternoon nap on the couch. And to bed at 8 p.m. Anytime I have vacation, I usually do this sometime during the break, and yesterday was the day! I think it’s just something I need to do.
That said, I’ve reconsidered some of my list. In the knitting arena, I don’t feel especially like being challenged, so I pulled out a shawl in the Old Shale – a traditional Shetland lace pattern – I’ve been knitting off and on. The pattern is easy to remember, knits up comfortably, and can be done in front of the TV or outdoors while listening to an audiobook. I’m using 10 skeins of Noro in a worsted weight.
The pattern stitch is done in multiples of 18; the shawl has a 3-stitch garter edge either side, and is being knit lengthwise. So, if you want to do something like it, here it is in a nutshell:
Josh writes . . .
All right, here are some pictures from yesterday’s (the 23rd) rocket-flying trip. It was breezy tending to windy at the launch site, but we did see several successful launches and recoveries. We also saw some suboptimal flights.
The desert southwest. This is pretty much it, for miles and miles. Remember the scene from The Right Stuff, when all the pilots moved to Edwards AFB to fly X-planes? That overstated the beauty of the area. This is near the lovely towns of North Edwards and Aerial Acres and California City.
This will become my uncle’s Level 3 certification rocket. The body tube is a 12″ concrete form, and the motor mount is the 4″ tube in the middle.
Here are the nose cone and the motor casing for the body tube above. The motor casing is 4″ in diameter and the nose cone is three feet long from tip to shoulder – that is, not including the portion that will fit inside the body tube.
Here’s the nose cone stacked on top of the body tube. Assembled height is about 7 feet. This will fly on a strong M motor. The expected thrust is about 750 pounds for something like 4 seconds. That’s my uncle with the ball cap in the background, assembling an I motor for his first launch of the day.
This is the first rocket of the day – a Sidewinder model built by another club member. The engine used in this one did not provide a lot of thrust early, so it did not clear the tower with enough speed to fly stably. As a result, it turned into the wind and proceeded roughly parallel to the ground for several thousand feet before crashing, shattering the body tube.
The second launch of the day – a Patriot model. This was the first high-power launch by the builder, and flew beautifully. The rocket was recovered successfully and undamaged. The builder earned his L1 certification.
This is my uncle’s I-powered rocket ready for its first launch. He had a J he could have used, but the I seemed like a better idea given the wind. According to the altimeter, this got to about 3600 feet. A perfect flight and recovery. This rocket is rigged for a dual deploy, with one charge firing at apogee to deploy the drogue and another firing at about 1200 feet AGL to open the main chute.
After recovery, he set this one up for a second launch, which was less successful. Although the drogue fired just fine, the main did not deploy and the rocket made a hard landing. There was some damage to the nose cone and the altimeter, but the rocket was otherwise unscathed and will fly again.
Another rocket from another builder on the pad. This one was rigged for a time delay, motor-based ejection. Launch was beautiful, but the ejection charge did not fire in time, and the rocket hit the ground nose first at high speed. Impact was maybe 1000 yards from the pad, and it hit so hard it was clearly audible.
And this is another way they come back to earth.
Today began gloomy and damp, burst into sunshine, and now is back to gloomy and damp. Easter should be sunny and filled with all the bright colors of Spring!
Yesterday’s grapefruit cake was a success; we had it this afternoon with coffee and a game of cards. The recipe was simple to make, even if a bit time-consuming, but it certainly was worth the effort. If you followed the link to the recipe, which I posted yesterday, you can see some really beautiful photographs of it. Mine are hardly worthy of publishing, but you might be amused by our version of a cake box.
I also did accomplish two things on my list from Friday:
Ink, Yarn & Beer 