Sketch!
These past few weeks have been crazy and the craziness continues until the end of May. Two more weeks. Visits hither and thither to do the things needing doing, none of which are especially exciting. Too many things to do means little time to really focus on anything except the easier stuff. So, ink and watercolor and quick sketches from past visits to Summerland and Malibu Creek State Park.
Summerland is a little community in Santa Barbara County, between Carpinteria and Montecito, both south of Santa Barbara. A number of old houses, clapboard, and new, climb up the hill east of the 101 and west, above the Pacific, is a park with a path to the beach below. I have always loved this area, and this section of the California coast is always a pleasure any time of year. The cliffs sequester beach-goers from civilization which can be gotten to readily. In the fog it is rather eerie, but in the sunshine or June Gloom, it is quite lovely.
Malibu Creek State Park holds a number of fond memories, one being with a very good friend on photo safaris. It is about 15 miles south of me, in a canyon which winds through the Santa Monica Mountains and into the coastal town of Malibu. The park is a bit of a treasure as Malibu Creek winds through it and the canyon widens and narrows and branches off in various areas.
The ruggedness of the California mountains always amazes me – as do mountains in general. I grew up in the Midwest farm country where gentle hills are the norm, as are trees and endless green in the summer.
The same for beaches – I never saw the ocean until we moved to New Jersey and my family went to the beach just weeks after a major hurricane. Beach houses were upside down and wrecked. I was terrified of the waves, but my father, having grown up in Fort Lauderdale, swam in and out of the crashing waves like a dolphin. The rest of the family built sand castles and waded in the shallows.
And now, on to a visit to the vet as the gardener arrives and I get the house decluttered so the cleaners can have an easy time. Yeah, gardener? Cleaners? I have no McMansion here, but these tasks would never get done by us if we ever want to have a life. Luxury for us so we can do other forms of drudgery!
And the weekend cannot arrive soon enough.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 