Rings!

Before leaving home, I tasted my favorite onion rings at our local hamburger place, The Habit. Mamma mia-- the best! I've tried onion rings across the country, and have never had better. Since I was taking a new route cross-country, I had to remember what the best taste like.

yummmmmm

FWIW, The Habit was once our local greasy burger joint. Somewhere along the line, new owners revived it and made it better. Much better. It's now a Central Coast chain, but the original location on Hollister in Goleta is where it all began. They're always busy. And why not, with perfectly grilled onions on the burgers. BBQ sauce to die for. They make real malts. And did I mention the onion rings?

The Habit's reputation is still intact after my return. Their rings are still the best!

5735 Hollister Avenue, Goleta: the heart of Old Town

Hiding in Plain Sight

One of the places our hiking class went this time is the coast at Devereaux/UCSB, where the threatened Snowy Plover has had a small comeback, thanks to fenced areas and volunteers who watch beach users.

It's truly wonderful to be able to see these very small birds nesting only a few feet away, but it's quite hard to see them at first. They blend into the beachscape so well! They look like just a few more smooth stones -- until they move!

This is one pic you will definitely have to click on to biggify. Otherwise you will miss the cutest birds on the planet.

Without further ado, I present my amateur photo of Snowy Plovers. Look carefully! There are more than one in the shot. Have fun counting. Don't miss the one half-hidden in its nest.

Home Sweet Porch

So, I discovered a soft spot on my front porch this summer. It's always something like that with an old house. The discussion with the contractor had begun several years ago, because I already knew that the front stairs needed to be reversed. They pointed away from the driveway. Not terribly useful. They were also in very bad shape. The soft spot was just the thing I needed for an excuse to get the front porch done up right.

Here we have the new front porch, stairs primly leading into the driveway. We built out over the former stairs, so the porch is larger than it was, and much more functional. I actually got some Christmas decorations up this year, and if I could take a photo in the dark I would put that up, too. The horizontal ropes of greens are lit! Too bad you can't really see the wreath on the door.

Next year, I may try for real greenery, but this year I just consider it good to have something on the porch!

Smoke in all our eyes

Yeh. It really is. I went to the beach about dusk to get some shots of the Gap fire from the pier (great panorama of the mountains), but rats- my camera batteries had croaked AND I had no new ones with me. I tried taking a shot or two with my cell phone, but talk about the wrong tool. I'm not posting those.

I walked out on the pier, despite all the floating ash, and found it busy with fishing folks and lots of others, more so than usual. Most were staring at the hills in awe. The fire seems to have doubled since last night, and active flaring was going on. It was impressive.

Frustrated, I spotted a guy with a camera and asked if he had any extra batteries. Nope, he didn't, but I asked if I could take ONE shot please on his batteries. Fortunately his were the same size as mine, and I got my one shot. Sadly, it was hurried, so it blurred. I'll have to process it and post it tomorrow. Power was off again when I got home. I read by candle lantern until power came back on.

Spent the rest of the evening digging out family photos and placing the boxes next to the back door just in case -- a further evacuation area is only a mile and a half away. Even with a freeway in the way, I'm getting prepared. These things can move very fast.

Tomorrow, I hope I'll have photo. And that I still have power. If you're a praying person, please pray for poor old Goleta, and blessings on you.

The pelicans were fishing tonight. The sky was quite dark with smoke, but there they were, cruising above the water like ghosts of the smoke, white patches on their heads gleaming in the grayness. I always enjoy watching them dive- they simply jacknife into the water and come up with fish. Tonight, the fire was omnipresent over my shoulder and the smoke kept reminding me of it. Somehow, I couldn't enjoy the pelicans as much as usual, so I went home.

Adding a link for Gap Fire photos

These are not mine. The photographer was at the fire lines with crews early yesterday morning. http://www.independent.com/news/2008/jul/02/ray-fords-gap-fire-photos/
Just go look- there are some good shots there, far better than my distant ones with cheapie point-n-shoot.

The Gap Fire, Goleta

The hills are alive, not with the sound of music, but with the scary sight of flames. A wildfire called the "Gap Fire" broke out July 1 in the hills above my home in Goleta. The last news that evening was that it was perhaps on 5o acres; tonight the report is 350, but it's probably more like 500 acres - and growing.

In 1955 the Refugio Fire burned that area. I remember being a very small child and standing on our back porch with my parents at dusk, watching the flames creep downhill. Last night I had the same feeling. Unsettling. This time, I am the responsible adult, with no mommy and daddy to make me feel safe. Good thing my Heavenly Father takes care of me .

This has been an opportunity for me to consider just what I would save, were I to have to evacuate. There's no way I can move my presses and type, though I can perhaps manage to pack a few of the antique faces. But my focus must be on family heirlooms, photos, genealogy; financial, of course; computer; and cats. Oh, yes, and my favorite small sewing machine. All that will fit in the car. Clean underwear, too.... clothes are replaceable, but clean underwear! Wouldn't you? I mean! I have no problem wearing donated clothing or thrift store purchases, but underwear! Nope, that would not be me. I wants me own.

Kitty carriers are at the ready. Likewise cosmetics, prescriptions, and computer. If I gotta go, I gotta go. At least the gas tank is full.

Here are a couple of my attempts at photography of the Gap Fire: The first shot is July 1, from my back porch. It was a baby fire then. The white blob is a street light that got in the way.
Second: about 6:30 PM today, June 2, from the Goleta Library, looking into the hills nearby. Fire had expanded about 10 times its last night size. In that shot it may be about 3 miles away from the Library.
Shot three, taken looking across Fairview from the Library. The sun was an orange blob in a smoky orange/gray sky. The camera doesn't do it justice, except to emphasize how ominous a wildfire sky looks.
Shot four was taken at deep dusk from the street a block from my house. Flames are much lower down the mountain than they were last night. The tree you are looking through is a palm tree, silhouetted against the firelight. Distance seems to flatten the image, but the fire is still about 4 miles from that palm tree.

Finally, this shot was taken about 9 PM from the Fairview Avenue Overpass (101 Fwy). The fire is expanded, lower, and flaring 20 - 30 feet high. You can see the freeway below, the horizontal lights of the shopping center, and the ridge alive with fire above. This is not even the entire width of the fire, just what the camera could capture with incredibly low light.