Woo! Another wet day!

It has been raining!  All night it seemed to pound. This morning when I woke up it was coming down in sheets!  It reminded me of January, 1995, when we had a one of a few "500 year storms."  That year, there was widespread flooding.  San Jose Creek (among others of our urban creeks) overran its banks and flooded the whole corridor, including the adjacent playground.  It buried the playground equipment about 4 feet of mud!

This morning I leashed up the doggies and we went to take a look at the creek.  As you know, San Jose Creek is often completely dry in the summer.  Even when it is running in the winter, you can often hop across it.  I showed you this creek during our rainy days of December, and it was impressive then. Today, it was really raging, just a couple feet below the bridge.  It scared Kibble, and she didn't like standing on the bridge to take pictures.  Here are some pictures and a video.

Looking upsream

Looking downstream

This gal was a little lost--she was wandering our street.  I wonder where her partner is?  I wonder if her nest got washed away?  Poor thing.

COLOR!

Color from my garden!

I loved the colors of these flowers next to the bright orange temporary fence.

Oxalis and Mexican Sage

My native Little Witch Iris bloomed! So sweet!

Our Tsunami Day

It is so heartbreaking to see the images from Japan.  It is almost incomprehensible.  The force of the Tsunami was truly awesome. 

There was a tsunami "advisory" here.  The initial surge was expected at about 8:15am.   Kevin, the pups, and I had planned a trip to the beach, and at about 12:00pm, I called the authorities to see if the beaches were open.  Well, I called one authority.  And he said it was all clear.  But apparently beat cops don't know much about beach closures.

Here's what we found at Hendry's beach.

The real Authority.  He has tape and everything!

Empty.

Come on, really?

Ok, so we drove the mile to Mesa Lane and took Thousand Steps to the beach.

Some of the not-quite-thousand steps at Thousand Steps Beach

It was pretty much deserted so we got to frolic and play all by ourselves!

A young male Geologicus majorus in his natural environment.

EDITED TO ADD THIS PHOTO BY REQUEST:
The cliffs along here are really cool.

Some found objects:

  

 

 

HCJ311

Hiking with Chuckbert and JerBear, March 2011.

I'm so glad to have gotten a visit from Chuckie and Jerry last weekend.  Saturday was jam-packed full of nature!  Come along!

We hiked my favorite trail, Rattlesnake Canyon.

A wild cucumber, or Manroot.  I had never seen one before! Wicked looking fruit, huh?  One source stated this plant is one of the first to come around after a fire.  We saw lots in the burn areas of the canyon.

The view on the way up. We had the most perfect weather for hiking!

That's Santa Cruz Island

Chuckbert doing what Chuckbert does best. Photographing!

Can you see the orange parasailer center left, just above the peak?  There were a few floating around, and later we saw a hanglider or two.

JerBear at the Meadow.

 

A Glorious Swallowtail Butterfly enjoying some Blue Dicks

The creek was flowing really fast. We enjoyed waterfalls and rushing water.

The parasailer was still hanging around on our way down the mountain. (Remember, you can click any photo for a larger version)

He's on the left, center.

We made a quick visit to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.  I was impressed by the color in the meadow.

After an açai bowl lunch at Backyard Bowls, we headed to Coal Oil Point Reserve for some tidepooling!

Here is a sea urchin skeleton.

And a gallery of sea anenomes.

A closed sea anemone. I love how they get themselves purtied-up with shells and tidbits of this n that!

On the rock on the right, you see a keyhole limpet, a hermit crab inside an olive snail shell, and some pretty seaweed.  On the left, another anemone.

They were everywhere!

A mess o' sandy mussels

A pretty snail shell. It reminds me of the Giant Pink Sea Snail from Doctor Dolittle (1967).

Yanno, I think C & J thought our sofa bed was comfy -- why don't you plan a visit, too, and we can enjoy the beauty of Santa Barbara together!  Thanks for the weekend, guys!

Get on that pig and hold on tight!

The world has gone insane!