Thursday 9 August 2012

northbound

 

bet you can't guess what that is
[persevere with this post and i shall offer enlightenment]

+++

the journey northward from Goleta begins well
as
the very nice manager at the rental agency
offers me a ragtop Mustang as an upgrade on
my pre-booked econo-box.

i could have been driving this

sadly the nice man then also noticed there would be a drop off at SFO and with many apologies withdrew the offer as the vehicle needed to come back to Goleta.

ah well.
 just for a moment it was a fabulous prospect.

so singing Mustang Sally
i head north in a Nissan.


much driving and 
stopping to investigate leaves/stones/fabulous views 
later
i am ensconced in my room at Ragged Point
listening to the ocean far below


night falls and it occurs to me
that there might be stars
i venture out and for the first time in many years [in America] 
it is dark enough and there is no haze or cloud or fog
in fact so velvety black is the sky that the twinkling celestial bodies seem
 a myriad shades from silver to gold to red

from my balcony i espy the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius 
dancing cheek to cheek on the far southern edge of the Pacific
the Bear must be somewhere above but i can't quite make him out past the roof overhang
far below the waves keep tumbling and plashing on the rocks

 

earlier
an hour or so before sunset
i stood on the pier at San Simeon
watching the pelicans soar up high and then plummet from the sky like kamikaze pilots , beaks pointing straight down on hapless fish
only to be bombarded in turn by marauding gulls as they re-emerged from the depths
quite literally a feeding frenzy.
in the midst of this avian/piscine mayhem
  a hatful of seals frolicked about
forming infinity symbols
curving sleekly through the water
like a troupe of cheerful labradors
perfecting a synchronised swimming routine
[but not needing nose-clips]

in the distance
squeakyclean white egrets balanced on the floating kelp beds - bandylegged bleached surfers looking for waves

looking down on  drifting kelp

and that first image? seaweed gathered at Moonstone Beach
wrapped in silk
warming in the bathroom sink
it's what i do.





11 comments:

  1. I'm not going to tell you what I thought that first piccie was..... lets just say your disclosure was a far more attractive prospect than what my imagination supplied.....

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  2. tis said the western coast is a pretty place...

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  3. Indi you are a beautiful writer. I felt I was there with you, looking over the ocean........and gee "O" the Kelp.......I have memories of photographing it on the beach in Laguna.......and your pics of it swaying in the sea make me swoon.......wonder abouit the marks it will make tho......fingers crossed.

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  4. Replies
    1. i was born with the gypsy gene. for which i am grateful.

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  5. the curves of that seaweed are too gorgeous for words.... am intrigued to see the colours on the warming silk..
    hugs

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  6. ....and you do it so well!

    xo

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  7. i don't know exactly where you are/are going, but am guessing
    you can find some Yerba Mansa ... i am so curious for your
    experience of it.

    ReplyDelete