CALIFORNIA WILD (AND TAME) LIFE

I'm always surprised, it seems, by the variety of wildlife in our beautiful lands.  On our recent trip to California I took some photos of what I could.  You probably saw the elephant seals in yesterday's post.  But on a quieter beach, the dominant species seems to be sea gulls.

If they're not scrounging for food along the shore they seem to spend a lot of time perched and just watching.  And who could blame them with a view like this at the W.R. Hearst Memorial State Beach at San Simeon.

"All right Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my close-up."

In this same area a couple of crows were courting.  (They might have been ravens.  I can never seem to tell them apart.)

Away from the coast, SWMBO and I were amazed at the numbers of cows grazing on what seemed to us like very steep hillsides.  We wondered if a strong gust of wind might send them rolling down the slopes.  But they remain unconcerned and sure-footed.

Whenever something out of the ordinary occurs, the cows stop and stare . . as when a tourist photographer pauses to take pictures.  These cows graze just across a small road separating them from tennis courts where Tom and his friends play in the mornings.  Tom says the cattle make up the audience.

Now how could a cat lover like myself go anywhere without bringing back a photo of cats.  These are two of Tom and Lana's trio, Hemingway on the left, Luke on the right.  Hemingway is so named because like Ernest Hemingway's cats he has six toes on each foot.  Such an animal is known as a "polydactyl".

And finally there's the third cat.  I caught this picture of her staring inside the house but too early for feeding time.  What a face!  Her name is Joy though she doesn't look too joyful at the moment.

There's still more to our California tour but we'll continue with that tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

THE GREAT ELEPHANT SEAL SAGA

As you know from yesterday's post (if you read it), SWMBO and I have just returned from a visit with our friends, the Cochruns, on the central California coast.  While there they took us to view the birthing area of the elephant seals.

This may look like the seals' graveyard but I can assure you it is not. There are upwards of a thousand males, females and newborn babies along this sandy beach nearly directly across the highway from the Hearst Castle.

When the pups are born they first identify with their mothers by sounds.  You can hear them yelping in their high pitched voices, which I assume means they want more milk from their mothers.  And they get it.

There is considerable territoriality among the seals.  Occasionally a couple of females will get into a roaring session.

The male, having found a secluded spot, naps and naps and naps.  After all he's fathered as many as 40 pups in his harem.  By the way, the males can weigh as much as 5,000 pounds!

The pups are weaned after about four weeks as the mother abruptly leaves them, mates and heads out to sea once more.  The males swim north along the coast as far as the furthest Aleutian Islands.  The females have been tracked two-thirds of the way to Japan.

It is important that the pups gain up to 300 pounds by the time they become "weaners", as they are called then because it takes 8 to 10 weeks for it to learn to swim well enough to head north looking for food.

I was surprised, with their huge weight, how fast the animals can move.  Take a look at this female moving across the beach.

And one more video.  This one shows a male driving a competitor away.  Amazingly he backs right over a young pup but he seems not the worse for wear.

The area is protected by a volunteer non-profit organization, Friends of the Elephant Seal.  There is a wooden walkway with railings along a lengthy section of the beach for visitors from all over the world.  You can learn more and view a LiveCam of the activity on the beach by visiting their website at Friends of the Elephant Seal.  

BACK FROM CALIFORNIA

SWMBO and I returned yesterday from a week-long trip to central California to visit our friends, Tom and Lana Cochrun.  If you read Tom's blog, Light Breezes, regularly you're probably already aware of that.  We went, in January . . . in the midst of a cold wave that produced much laughter about the Golden California Weather . . . because Lana was opening a new show of her art at the Windward Vineyard just outside of Paso Robles.  Along with us, it drew a crowd that delighted the artist.

This show was a new venture for Lana as she added abstract art to her ouevre.

Previously she was known for her plein air art, which we found hanging at another winery, Stolo near Cambria.

But wait!  There's more!  But you'll have to wait a bit for that.

At the abstract show, I linked up with a pal from "the good old days", Mike Griffin, on the right here with Tom.

Tom and Mike and I all worked for a couple of radio stations in Indianapolis, Indiana, back in 1969 - 1972.  Mike branched out, got into racing and is now one of the owners of Panther Racing which placed second at the Indianapolis 500 four years in a row.  We all think it's about time to find him in Victory Circle.

While in Cambria, we stayed at the legendary Cambria Pines Lodge and ate a couple of meals there.  

It's a wonderful, funky old place.  But we didn't explore the many gardens on the property or follow any of the trails.  We were too busy with our friends.

When you visit friends who live at the ocean, you must see the ocean.  I've always been drawn to it and we spent as much time as we could there.

This last picture is the view from the rear deck of a house owned by a friend of Tom's.  Not bad.

One day we drove just down the coast to Morro Bay.  We had to stop for a picture of the Morro Rock framed by fishing boats.

That day we were on our way to San Luis Obispo where Lana's third show was hanging at Alegria Wine and Ware.  And this was yet another example of the artiste's talent and range.

She calls these her divas and since glasses or bottles of wine are featured and because they are framed with wine corks, they seemed perfect for a modern wine store.

You may notice that the eyes are obscured in most of the paintings.  That's something Lana decided on when she first began doing the divas back in the 1960's.  

I have to admit, though I am proud to own one of Lana's plein air paintings, I think I like the divas the best of all her styles.  I call them whimsical and she agrees, though she thinks this may be the last of them.

But, y'know, every day in California brings a beautiful sunet.

And the next day . . there's another one.

That's enough for this day.  Tomorrow, the saga of the elephant seals.

BIRTHDAY PALS

Today is the day once celebrated as the birthdays of two wildly disparate people.  The first one you all know.

It's hard to believe that this handsome young man turned into this before he died.

Elvis Presley would have been 78 today and probably still would have been singing had not the drugs and weight problems taken him at the age of 42 . . far too soon.

Another whose birthday I always remember on this day is this young man.

Well, actually I don't remember Reed Schonfeldt in his cowboy suit as a young boy.  I didn't meet him until after he had moved to California, to Alaska and finally to Arizona.  Wherever Reed went he made lifelong friends.  I don't know anyone who ever had a harsh word for him.  I met him when SWMBO and I were running our bookstore.  Reed was selling advertising for a small weekly newspaper.  Occasionally we'd place an ad in it.  More likely Reed would buy a book to add to his collection of Native American history.

Reed became one of my best friends, especially after I learned he was suffering from a disease that finally claimed his life, muscular dystrophy.  When he became housebound I would stop by for a visit and occasionally run an errand for him.  I talked to him on the telephone the afternoon before he died in the evening.  He seemed fine then, though I knew he was unlikely to ever come back to his home.

He was a gentle, kind man and he, too, died much earlier than he should have.  It's been several years now and I still think about him and miss him.

Reed Schonfeldt

January 8, 1947 - April 18, 2010

FACE-OFFS

What is it, I wonder, in a man who has worn a beard for many years to suddenly decide he wants to try life without one?

I received a photo in my email this morning from an old friend and former colleague, Roger Ball, of his completely unshaven face.  As he noted it is "for the first time in 40 years, four months and three weeks" that he has been barefaced.

So first, we have a photo of Roger from a few years ago.

And then (brace yourselves) here's the photo of Roger after he administered the razor on January 1st.

Curiously, I have another friend and former colleague who has done the same trip as Roger.  First, a picture of a great photographer/videographer Steve Torbeck.

My buddy, Baseball Steve, had his beard for many years, too.  Maybe not as long as Roger but still, it was a distinctive part of his face and his personality for a long time.  

And then . . . what happened?  I don't really know but one day his beard was gone.

Steve is about 10 years younger than Roger and I so he has maintained his youthful looks better than we have.

The last time I was clean-shaven was in 1991, just before we left Mexico.  As I told Roger today, I was shocked to find my father under that beard.  I quickly grew it back and have been hirsute, in varying degrees, ever since.  We'll see how long Roger keeps his current "look".

Which brings me, of course, to the Gratuitous Critter picture of the day.

"I'm keepin' my plumage!"

AND THE WINNER IS . . .

. . . SWMBO, not to my surprise.  She's spent many decades (I won't say how many) standing over a stove so she correctly identified yesterday's Mystery Nuclei as . . . butter melting in a hot pan.  To be absolutely correct it was butter melting in oil in a hot pan but I'm picking no nits here.

I must say that Steve from Germany gave her a run for her money with his guess of pancake batter testing the heat of a hot pan.  So I'll award him a light blue ribbon. 

Other guessers?  Like me, you have to spend more time in the kitchen.

Which, incidentally, I did this morning making an Apple Oven Cake, which was delicious.  You can find the recipe in the January issue of  Sunset Magazine.  It's very simple and quick.

SWMBO had just returned from the BRD's where she'd been house-sitting for the past 36 hours.  I welcomed her home with a spicy Bloody Mary and the cake for breakfast.

She was glad to be home.  The BRD apparently keeps her thermostat set at 64 degrees and that's just too cold for her.  She's tried several times to turn it up with no success.  With these new thermostats I guess you have to be a rocket scientist to adjust them.

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Apropos of absolutely nothing, here's an entertaining picture I found on the Internet this morning.

= = = = = = =

So . . . on to the Gratuitous Critter picture.  (Sorry.  I've been neglecting them recently.

"C'mon, take your best shot.  I dare ya!"

THE MYSTERY NUCLEI

Anybody know what this is?

I know.  It's kind of blurry.  Blame the photographer.

So, have you figured out what you're seeing, even though blurry?

All guesses will be accepted.

The answer  - - - - - tomorrow!

RASSLIN'

Oops, sorry.  I meant Wrestling.  Specifically college wrestling.  I went to a meet in Prescott Valley today.  Not that I'm a big fan of wrestling, though a way back in around 1951 when we first got teevee in North Dakota, wrestling was a big draw on the tube.  Gorgeous George and others of his ilk made us big fans.  What we didn't know was that wasn't real wrestling.  That was show business.

I had an uncle who lived in Minneapolis and he took us to a match once that featured Vern Gagne, who was a great college wrestler at the University of Minnesota and later went on to fame and fortune as a professional wrestler.

But about today.  My new next-door neighbor his KC Rock.  He's the new head wrestling coach at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, just north of Prescott.  And believe me, he's the real thing.  If you check him on Google you'll find out that he was an All-American and the PAC-10 Tournament's most outstanding wrestler in 2000, when he pinned all four of his opponents.

And by the way, his name really is KC.  I was talking with his wife today and she said when he was born his father had two very good friends, one whose name started with a K and one whose name started with a C.  So the new kid on the block became KC.  Now just as an aside, I think anyone named KC Rock has got to be cool.  But he probably has to know how to defend himself, too.  May be a reason he became a wrestler and a coach.

So there was a nice article in the local paper this morning about the team and about Coach Rock and it said they would be competing right here in my town this afternoon.  So I went and watched them for about an hour or so.  Having never watched college wrestling before it took me awhile to figure it out but when I did it was most enjoyable.  While I was there ER wrestlers won two matches (I think) and maybe lost one or two.  Coach Rock appeared calm most of the time on the sidelines but instructive and I'm probably wrong about the calmness.

By the way, he's got a nice wife, four kids and two dogs and he's a good neighbor.

STUFF & NONSENSE

Why I would not want to be John Boehner right now.

First, he couldn't sell the Republicans he supposedly leads in the House on his bill to avoid the "fiscal cliff".  

Then the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, held a news briefing in which he essentially said Boehner was more interested in maintaining a dictatorship than in doing what's right for Americans.  Boehner reportedly responded by telling Reid "Go f--- yourself!"  In the White House!  Within a few feet of the Oval Office.  When Reid asked him what was wrong Boehner reportedly repeated his epithet.

Then Mitch McConnell, Boehner's counterpart in the Senate, cut a deal with Vice President Joe Biden to raise taxes on millionaires but with hardly a lick of spending cuts in it.  The Senate then passed the bill overwhelmingly.

When Boehner brought it to his group, they angrily rejected it.  Even Boehner's right hand man, Eric Cantor, was against it.  After a couple of meetings with Boehner telling them if they sent a heavily amended bill back to the Senate it would be dead on arrival, the House voted on the bill as it was, passed it and the President signed it before hopping on Air Force One to take him back to Hawaii.

And then!  And then!  Not only was Boehner getting heat about what the hard right was calling a disaster of a bill, he postponed a vote on a bill to provide funds to New York and New Jersey for relief of problems associated with Hurricane Sandy!  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, never one to hold back, said he tried to call Boehner four times and his calls were not answered.  Christie and other politicians from the two states were fuming, boiling over, threatening to run amok. 

Boehner was again on the hot seat and today after meeting with Republican politicians from the two states said he would schedule votes on two votes promptly to provide the millions of dollars in necessary disaster aid.

Holy cow!  What a week!  And he still has to be re-elected House Speaker!  It's enough to drive a man to drink!

So, in spite of my enjoyment at his problems, that's why I wouldn't want to be John Boehner right now.

Incidentally I spoke to an 88 year old female friend of ours the other day.  She's always been a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat.  We were talking about the mess in Washington and she insisted on referring to the House Speaker as Boner.

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SWMBO and I are getting ready to pay a visit to our good friends Tom and Lana in California shortly.  Lana is opening two art exhibits and we had planned to surprise them by arriving at the second one, just walking in unannounced.  But the woman I share living quarters with told me the other day she felt awful about that because they might have other plans, other company or whatever and we would be throwing a wrench into their situation.  So I said I'd just call them and let them know.  When I did, Lana just kept saying "You're kidding.  You're kidding."  But they are as excited about our coming as we are to go.  And it's probably just as well that we broke the surprise to them because, without going into graphic detail here, Lana said if we had just walked in unannounced she would have embarrassed herself.  'Nuff said.

==========================

Lots of people have criticism of the Internet and how much time it takes out of people's lives.  But I'm constantly turning up things that I, at least, find interesting.  Here's one of them.

And with those weird thoughts, I'll let the Gratuitous Critters in for a second.

"Aw, c'mon, guys, you're acting like a couple of Congressmen!"

DIVE RIGHT IN!

The new year - 2013 - or MMXIII - has officially begun.  I found a message on my telephone this morning from the BRD and her Beau Jack.  It came in at 12:05 a.m. on the phone just a few feet from where I was already sleeping.  I never heard the phone ring.  The message was those two jokers singing (if I can stretch things by using that term) a loud and off-key Happy New Year.  Suffice it to say you are fortunate I can't play it here on my blog.

So today is January 1st once again.  I see the Senate overwhelmingly passed a tax increase for the wealthy.  It's now up to the House to do the same.

In spite of the weather where ever you are today is also a day for Polar Bear Plunges.  That's where people strip down to bathing suits and go for a (quick) swim in the usually icy water.  It is named, of course, after polar bears that swim in all kinds of weather.

"Huh?  Are you talkin' to me?"

Not all people (or bears) are ready for such an immersion into the new year.  I certainly am not.  But my late uncle, who lived in San Francisco, told me he had spent one entire year swimming every day in San Francisco Bay.  Brrrr.  Not for me the spartan life.

But I admit the Polar Bear Plunge, or whatever it's called around the world, does fascinate me.  So if you're looking to get your year started with a shock to your system . . . be my guest and dive right in.

"Ooooohhhhh, this looks like it's gonna be another belly flop!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012 has been a great year for me and I think 2013 is going to be even better.  For example . . .

Now yesterday it snowed, heavily for awhile.  It left this.

And this . . .

And this . . .

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  (Except Christmas here was brown and dry this year.)

But today the sun has been shining off and on, the snow is melting, the streets are clean.  It's looking more like Arizona, once again.

Contrast this with the first photo above to really see the difference.  Our home faces north so the snow lasts a little longer than near the south-facing homes across the street.

New Years Eve makes me think of that traditional song, Auld Lang Syne.  But as some of my friends would say, I'm a little kinky.  So it also reminds me of this version, sung by the late comedy song writer Allan Sherman.

For you traditionalists, there are many versions of Auld Lang Syne on You Tube.  I'll leave it to you search them out and pick your favorite.

With the help of some Gratuitous Critters, I'll just say for 2013 be nice to your family . . .

and your friends . . .

and let's make 2013 a year full of joy.

"NYAH, THAT STORM WILL MISS US."

Famous last words, eh?  Take a look.