Great Shots of San Diego Architecture

Here is a website of visual splendor. It is chock-full of excellent shots of significant San Diego architecture. Among many other things are photos of the first Jack-in-the-Box, and the structure on the site of of the Kumeyaay band--among the most-ancient North American Indians. Some of the photos range around Southern California. A delight!

They're Back!

Quote of the day:
“I agree with the governor, it's a complete waste of time. For those people against same-sex marriage, all I can say is that they should get a life. I'm too damn busy working, trying to pay my bills, and just survive in this economy to worry about something that in no way affects me.”
--jfawcett1, leaving a comment this morning at signonsandiego.com

A good week, this.

Merrie is feeling good and getting lots of sleep. She had a routine trip to our doctor who confirmed she was doing fine, and recommended more rest.

Also, resident and migratory birds are hanging out here. The trees are louder than usual this time of year. There are mockingbirds nesting nearby, and a bevy of happy finches, sparrows, hummingbirds and doves.

A huge red-shouldered hawk regularly watches over the canyon from a perch just on the other side.

To top it off, the first migratory grosbeaks showed up this morning. Always a big event.

There’s a ground squirrel who appreciates the bird-feeder overflow, and seems to enjoy the sound of German Shepherds barking at him.

Now if we could just have a brief talk with the car-mirror-obsessed starling roosting in our driveway.

Beautiful Day for A Wet Roll in the Dirt

Quote of the day:
“Even the best of friends cannot attend each other's funeral.”
--Kehlog Albran, "The Profit"

The four of us went for a long walk on Fiesta Island at 3 this afternoon. The temperature was about 78 with a bright sun and an ocean breeze. A perfect day.

There were very few people and dogs there. Most folks were at work or engaged in Friday-afternoon responsibilities.

I thought about that a little as I watched Sophie tear into the water and out again, with Sherman herding her back to us. I was glad to be where I was.

See America's Future, Look West

Quote of the day:
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night.’"
--Charles M. Schulz

Quote of the day no. 2:
“In California, we’re the precursor of what’s projected to be happening for the rest of the country for the next half century.”
--John Weeks, director of San Diego State University’s International Population Center

On February 12, the San Diego Union Tribune reported on a forecast by Pew Research Center that, by 2050, America will “look much like California does today as it morphs into a far more racially and ethnically diverse nation....” The U-T said that “most of its population growth [will come from] immigrants and their offspring.”

I have been maintaining since just after I moved here in 1978 that for America to see its future, all it had to do was look at California. This is true for all kinds of trends, including population makeup.

This is why it always seems so ill-informed and snooty to hear the rest of the country dismiss this state as everything from a collection of fruits and nuts to a bastion of sodomites and immoral Hollywood liberals.

What is most curious to me is how such statements combine good-natured teasing with both envy and genuine loathing. I think many people realize perfectly well that California is a vision of their future, and they don’t like what they see.

All I can say is, too bad. Like it or not, this is your future. Get used to it. Better yet, begin to appreciate that California, while it has its problems, is a vibrant, widely diverse, very interesting and innovative place.

Isn’t that what America is supposed to be?

Yummy Orange Sweetness

Quote of the day:
“When Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, he may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant, according to a new study by an Israeli psychology professor. Writing in the British philosophy journal Time and Mind, Benny Shanon of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University said two plants in the Sinai desert contain the same psychoactive molecules as those found in plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca is prepared.”
--MSNBC

Today we celebrate the orange.

A neighbor is regularly giving us oranges from his tree. They don’t look as sparkly as the ones you see in the grocery store.

But put a quarter in your mouth, and man is it good! Juicy juicy, soft, no seeds.

Maybe because the oranges are very local, we are helping the planet. I suppose that would need a full evaluation.

The important thing is that they’re a joy to see, smell and taste in the morning.

And it’s also somewhat important to have the opportunity to behave like an eight year old and jam the orange quarter in your mouth and look at your spouse.

The San Diego Zoo

Quote of the day:
“Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.”
--John Benfield

Merrie and I had a delightful afternoon at the zoo the other day.

I was surprised at the large number of tourists at the zoo on a February weekday. Schoolchildren on field trips I can understand. But there sure were a lot of rental cars in the parking lot. Of course, it IS the most-popular tourist attraction in the city.

It was a little cool and around lunchtime, and I think many of the animals were being tended to. There was much more animal activity than usual.

Exotic lorikeets were exploring their cages. A bird of paradise bellowed at the top of his lungs. Mongeese nuzzled in together for a nap. An anteater carried two babies on her back.

The meercats pictured above were just inches from the edge of their enclosure. They were behaving like pampered celebrities. Which they are, of course. They have their own TV show.

There was a stunning black and brown squirrel, although I don’t think it was called a squirrel. Elsewhere there was a neighborhood ground squirrel jumping into a cage to steal some veggies.

We spent some time watching a pair of exotic grey pigeons the size of turkeys with Phyllis Diller feathers on their heads.

As I say, not a bad afternoon.

Rain

Quote of the day:
“I’d rather be reading the Republican party platform or similar, if the main character in the movie version could be played by Hannibal Lector.”
--Frank Van Alstine

We southern Californians have spent the last year quite concerned about our worsening drought. It looks like we have to worry no more.

We’ve been getting quite a lot of rain this winter. In fact, we’ve had so much that there was some fear about mudslides, especially in areas that burned during the October fires.

There have been a couple of slides--one of them may have been caused by a water-supply leak. Other than that, our major problems have been clogged drains and hundreds of traffic accidents.

I think we’re seeing more rain-related accidents than in past years because of higher average speeds. Cars are built so much better now that we often don’t realize how fast we’re going until we start skidding.

We live right on the rim of one of San Diego’s many finger canyons and I occasionally imagine us sliding right down into it one day. The chances of this happening are teeny-tiny. The very first thing we did after we moved in six years ago was have the property properly graded and water drains installed.

But I still think about it. Slides are one of the risks of living here.

The much-bigger risk is drought, and so I’m heartened to see healthy snowpacks accumulate in the mountains and reservoirs rise above normal levels. It's so good to see the earth turn green. Fiesta Island has burst alive with growth.

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

Now if I can only get the front downspout drain cleared so that water doesn’t pour onto our driveway.

San Diego County Fires

This picture is taken at 5 p.m. Sunday from our backyard in San Diego, looking northeast. You can see some smoke just above the hill in the distance.

There are two wildfires burning in San Diego County, each covering several thousand acres. One is 25 miles northeast of us near the town of Ramona. The other is 45 miles east and a bit south of us near Potrero (just north of Tecate, Mexico).

We are not in danger, but, like most San Diegans, we are concerned for our friends who are affected. And we are watching the situation.

The Exploding City of Dreams

Quote of the day:
“Look around you. Those are the people you are going through life with, like it or not. Be good to them. We’ll all be gone in 100 years.”
--Preston Creston

Las Vegas, the city of dreams. I had heard about how fast the city is growing, but I’m seeing it firsthand.

Construction is everywhere. There is a huge new casino going up on the strip. And that’s just a very small piece.

Merrie and I visited Red Rock Canyon. On our way back to the hotel we drove along the northern stretch of the city’s brand-new beltway, much of which is still being built. All along both sides for miles and miles there are developments planned or under construction. There are no visible signs of a housing slump.

It’s a regular population explosion. And it’s all because it is indeed the city of dreams. Dreams of good jobs. Dreams of starting businesses or investing in real estate. Dreams of hitting a jackpot.

Las Vegas is a regular meeting destination, and it is one of the few places that can host a very large convention--like the National Association of Broadcasters, for example.

It has always been a mecca for entertainment, gambling and partying. More recently it has become known for top-notch restaurants.

Our appetite for these things is insatiable. And so Las Vegas grows bigger and bigger--sprawling in every direction. It’s an amazing sight.

What Would Puccini Say?

Quote of the day:
“I’m a Republican, but I have to say he was an effective President.”
--Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, talking about President Clinton on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

North Park is a community of residences and businesses just north of San Diego’s Balboa Park. Housing there is a mix of apartments, condos, modest single-family homes and a few swaths of affluence--including a luxurious compound adjacent to the park where basketball legend Bill Walton lives.

It’s always been pleasantly diverse, with a very noticeable creative element in the population.

During our recent housing boom and condo-building mania, a high-end condo complex was planned and built right in the commercial heart of North Park. Construction is just now being completed.

I’m not sure how sales are going. The real-estate slump may have made it difficult.

The complex has a curious name. It’s called “La Boheme,” just like the Puccini opera. Merrie, who speaks French, reminds me that “La Boheme” means “the bohemian.”

There must be a resident bohemian. Or this complex is being marketed to bohemians who demand granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.

What are bohemians coming to?

Birds and Birdbrains

Quote of the day:
"In America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all that road going, all the people dreaming in the immensity of it ... and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen."
--Jack Kerouac

Let’s talk birds and “Big Brother.”

There are lots of birds around here, in addition to the large number of acorn woodpeckers. A bunch of wild turkeys slowly crossed the road in front of us today. The jays, as usual, are quite vocal. We’ve seen a bevy of quail right next to the house. And there was a non-acorn woodpecker just down the street.

All of these natural creatures are at our house, while at CBS, some questionable creatures remain confined in the “Big Brother” house. It restored my faith in humanity when Zach nominated both Donatos for eviction.

Dick Donato has to be one of the most unpleasant people ever to appear on television. And his daughter Danielle is a tad on the pouty and whiny side.

Of course, who wouldn’t be, after living in that house for more than two months?

This will be a very interesting week on the show. If you don’t watch it, you are clearly culturally advanced. But you’re missing a lot of fun.

Woodpeckers, Not Cardinals

Quote of the day:
“Cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists and consumed...by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.”
--Roland Barthes

This morning we woke up to a woodpecker pecking on the roof. It turns out that we are living among a community of acorn woodpeckers.

They are fairly large black-and-white birds with bright red skullcaps, like the Catholic church hierarchy. Our Sibley guide says acorn woodpeckers are common in oak forests. I’m not exactly sure what they’re doing here, because this is a pine forest. But who am I to pick such nits?

There are quite a few of them and they have clearly have an elaborate social structure. Certain birds belong on each tree, and a few are relegated to the nearby phone poll. They must have missed the housing boom.

They visit the gutters of our house for water from the morning dew. They warn each other when a hawk approaches. They gang up on invading jays.

In addition to finding tasty morsels when they peck, they also hide acorns in holes they find and enlarge. And they communicate with a wide vocabulary of squawks, chirrs, peeps and screams.

Clearly they were here first, and we can learn from them.

I Like My Air Conditioned

Quote of the day:
"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
--John Howard Payne (b.1791)

Very hot and humid again today.

Merrie was concerned that she might be having a reaction to one of her new medications, so she called for a doctor’s appointment and I dropped her off at about 10:30. He treated her and made an adjustment in her medication.

The doctor’s office was busy and she wound up spending two hours there while I hung out at Starbucks observing Labor Day latte culture.

Someone was sitting at one of the outdoor tables. As I walked by, I overheard her say into her cell phone that she’s an “outdoor person.” Good for her.

As for me, when it’s 95 degrees with 80% humidity, I’m an “indoor person.” Standing tall and proud. Not sitting and sweating unnecessarily.

When I first moved to San Diego I often heard someone make the following statement: “You don’t need air conditioning here.” This would usually be followed by some explanation involving ocean breezes, dry heat or the clause “it’s only hot for two weeks each year.”

I didn’t think much of this at first. But after I lived here a while, I started to get annoyed when someone said this. Because it’s not true. Read my lips.

One day it dawned on me that this statement needed translation. Once I realized that, I was no longer annoyed. These days I am bemused when someone says it. Especially when he says it with an air of authority.

The statement “You don’t need air conditioning here” can be translated one of three ways: 1) “I don’t need air conditioning here”; 2) “You don’t need air conditioning here, if you don’t mind being hot”; 3) “I don’t need air conditioning here because I don’t mind being hot.”

The last two translations are examples of what I call the “invisible clause phenomenon.” This happens when someone makes a seemingly cogent, short, mantra-like statement the truth of which only comes out when the invisible clause is revealed.

My favorite example goes way back. It is “Question authority.” The invisible clause is “except if it’s me.”

Blazing

Quote of the day:
"I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults."
--Molly Ivins

It’s a blazing Saturday morning, and it’s getting hotter. Conditions are unusually tropical for San Diego, which is a desert.

Our poor indoor plants that we moved outside for the remodel are really suffering in the heat. They look how I feel--a little tired, wilted and brown.

We know we’re supposed to be conserving water, but we give our small yard and plants an extra drink. The insects, birds and animals enjoy it.

Sophie is doing amazingly well being cooped up, out of the heat. Maybe she’s just so pleased that Merrie’s home that nothing else matters. Except treats, of course. As a German Shepherd mix, I know my priorities.

She is positively glued to Merrie. There’s no separating them.

Junior, our 11-year-old black-and-white cat, is shedding prodigious amounts of his thick fur. I comb about a pound of it off him during the day.

Rocco, our 4-year-old Tonkinese, spends his usual 2 daily hours prowlin’ and yowlin’, 2 hours socializing with all of us other animals, and 20 hours in deep reclusive hibernation.

Merrie is up for an outing, so we head out for late-afternoon pancakes at IHOP. They’re vacuuming the floor when we get there. The whole-grain pancakes and egg-beater scramble taste great.

Energized, we head to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a small griddle to use while we’re kitchen-less. A trip like this is a big deal right now.

It's Hot Almost Everywhere But Here

Quote of the day:
“We believed in forgiveness, and we believed in knowing exactly what we were forgiving people for.”
--Garrison Keillor

Much of the country is very hot right now. Southern California is not exempt.

Normally, there is a significant variation between temperatures at the beach and inland, with the thermometer going up with each additional half mile or so. Also, there are differences as elevation rises and falls.

This is why a place like Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley can be one of the hottest places in the country (as it was several times last year). Even though it’s just several miles from the ocean, any cooling breeze is blocked by surrounding mountains.

This year, it seems like all these differences are accentuated. In Cambria this week it actually is cool at the coast--temps reached the high sixties with a stiff, cold northwestern wind in the afternoons.

Inland a couple miles it is ten degrees warmer with a gentle breeze. In Templeton and Paso Robles--20 miles to the east--the high temperature is in the 90s.

What all this means is that, whatever our weather reputation and whatever San Diego or Los Angeles temperature is reported, most of us in Southern California are basking/roasting in the high 80s or low 90s.

Not only that, but we’ve been seeing more humidity than usual. Don’t talk to me about dry heat. In addition to being annoying, it’s not always true.

Ventura Highway

Quote of the day:
"I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find."
--Ian Fleming, talking about how he came up with the name “James Bond.”

The picture was taken today on the California coast south of Santa Barbara. It was surprising how few people were on the beach, on an idyllic 70-degree August day.

There were about 20 surfers in the water, and the waves were fairly small but coming regularly. A children’s camp was meeting just down the beach. Other than that, there were just a few people (and two dogs, including ours) in any direction.

When Sophie sees any body of water, a voice inside her says, “Oh, boy--run and splash!” And that’s what she does. Without asking if we brought along a towel. Which we didn’t. Oh, well. There’s always air drying.

This is some of the most-beautiful and most-viewed coastline on the world. Hundreds of people see it daily as they motor up or down highway 101. Many of them say, “I’ve seen this somewhere before.” This particular area has been the setting for dozens of TV and movie scenes over many years.

Over all those years, this stretch of coast has changed very little. It’s almost as if it’s frozen in time.

That’s somehow reassuring.

Backyard Families

Quote of the day:
"We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away."
--Walker Percy

We seem to have three new families in our backyard.

For the last few weeks a “teenage” hawk has been attempting to stake out territory just below our home in the canyon. We have heard his cries from early in the morning until the wee hours of the night.

He regularly swoops between our house and our neighbor’s. I’ve never seen him catch anything, but I know there is plenty for him to catch.

The neighborhood crows regularly try to chase him off. But he hangs in there. He’s likely a red-tail, and a neighbor down the street spotted a high-up nest which may have been his home.

I have seen skunks in our yard from time to time, and I saw a whole family cross our street a couple months ago. I haven’t seen any recently, but I sure have smelled them. A skunk is spraying three or four times a week, and it’s close to our house. So there may be a family of them close by.

Another animal I see only occasionally is coyotes, down in our canyon. But over the last several weeks, we have often heard them just a few yards from our house. (Yes, our cats stay indoors.)

Sometimes we hear them in the afternoon, more often at dusk, and sometimes in the middle of the night, piercing the silence.

The other night at about 8 o’clock there was a loud and distinct family conversation going on. We heard a mother’s barking and the high-pitched howling of pups. Maybe they were learning table manners.

From all this, you might think we live out in the country somewhere. But we’re in the city of San Diego, close to San Diego State University.

Unspoiled Coastline

Quote of the day:
"I can't stand purple. It doesn't suit me."
--Jenny Joseph, who wrote the often-quoted poem that begins “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.”

The photos for the last several days were taken on the Fiscallini Ranch Preserve in Cambria, California. It is a stunning piece of untouched countryside along the California coast.

In Southern California the coast is packed with population and development, pretty much uninterrupted from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara. (The coast of Camp Pendleton Marine Base in San Diego County is also undeveloped, but faces the unfortunate inconvenience of being bombed from time to time during training exercises.)

Just north of Cambria, Highway One begins its climb through spectacular Big Sur. The highway is very well-traveled this time of year. Most of those heading north don’t stop in Cambria except for gas or lunch, because they are anxious to see Big Sur or Hearst Castle. Most of those heading south don’t stop in Cambria except for gas or dinner, because they’ve seen enough coastline for one day.

Merrie and I have been going to Cambria every year for 20 years. It’s a real treat to visit an actual small town on the California coast. In between visits, we forget how different it is from anything in Southern California. Then we arrive again, and we walk across the Fiscalini Ranch. It is amazing.

Wide Open Spaces

Quote of the day:
“Say, you haven’t stopped talking since you got here. You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.”
--Groucho Marx, to Margaret DuMont

It’s a simple thing, but it always amazes me.

When you leave the city and travel almost anywhere in the heart of the west, you find yourself in wide open spaces, with little obvious evidence of human beings for miles in every direction.

I’ve lived in urban areas my whole life, except for four years in a small college town. So I’m not accustomed to this. Hence my amazement at seeing nothing but natural landscape surrounding me.

I wonder if anyone does get accustomed to this?

Georgia O'Keeffe On My Mind

Quote of the day:
“If you’re naturally kind you attract a lot of people you don’t like.”
--William Feather

Quote of the day no. 2:
“Myth is the step by which the individual emerges from group psychology.”
--Sigmund Freud

Years ago Charles Kuralt did a wonderful interview of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who lived her later life in the countryside outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Two things stick with me from that conversation. They both are responses to a question about how she found inspiration for her work.

O’Keeffe said that one way she found inspiration was to listen to Beethoven. But not just any Beethoven. It was the piano sonatas. And it wasn’t just any version of the piano sonatas. It was Rudolph Serkin’s recordings. When Kuralt asked her if she listened while she was painting, she emphatically said no--she simply sat and listened.

She also talked about the more-obvious inspiration of her natural surroundings. I remember watching as she attempted to describe how the quality of light synergistically met the landscape to create other-worldly moments.

That effect is indeed very hard to describe, yet it is real. There is something about how the altitude and latitude affects sunlight--it is both bright and slightly muted, and direct yet strangely angular.

Whatever the exact cause, the quality of light brings a unique beauty to much of New Mexico and Arizona.