Pictured above is a sign that was hanging near the front room fireplace at Cold Springs Tavern, a few years ago. It made me smile the first time I saw it, and it still brings a smile to my face.Among friends and family, we usually turn off our phones. Especially these days, having endured the iso
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03/31/2022
Pictured is a row of lavender bushes. We spotted these at the entrance to a driveway. According to experts there are 30+ types of lavender bushes. They thrive in our Mediterranean climate. When we lived in the Napa Valley, there was a lovely lavender farm up in a hill. We used to take visitor
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03/30/2022
Pictured above is a cruise ship, or what we call a floating high-rise! This is the second time we have seen a cruise ship, and the first time I have had a chance to take a picture. We were at the harbor Santa Barbara Seafood Market buying freshly caught swordfish for dinner. While Ron was disc
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03/30/2022
Have you ever met someone who just talks and talks and says nothing of interest. They work at being interesting. They are usually focused on themselves, their careers and their successes. This is known as "selfing!" This is true of every profession including real estate.One of the keys to bein
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03/29/2022
We have all experienced the ripple effect. When you are kind, the kindness spreads every which way. We may or may not see it's effects immediately. And the converse is true when you act in anger or frustrationOne of the concepts we appreciate in Buddhism is known as Indra's Net of jewels. It
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03/28/2022
We woke up to a dense fog advisory yesterday morning. Driving up the San Marcos Pass to Santa Ynez was a great eye candy as we traversed in and out of the thick fog. After breakfast, we headed home and stopped to look at the vineyards. Some of the vines on one side were budding! On the other s
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03/27/2022
Pictured above is a dormant vine at the Gainey vineyards. I took this picture in the morning on March 12, 2022. And here is one of the vine at Gainey vineyards this morning, on March 26, 2022. Those pale green balls including the larger one to the left along the vine are new buds. These buds
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03/26/2022
Pictured above is a view of the Santa Barbara's downtown Farmers Market. It is held on Saturday mornings.Artichokes are here. Spring is when they show up in our area. We really enjoy them this time of the year.Fresh berries are here also. We appreciate how they are arranged.This array of cabb
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03/26/2022
We have been noticing the appearance of sweet broom pictured in landscaping around town. And it is prominent on the road to the wine country. It really is a nice contrast to the blue sage that is also showing up.We are also seeing it bloom on the freeway along with the mustard seed plants. We
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03/25/2022
Spring is taking hold of our climate as evidenced by our first rose of the season, pictured above. This one is called Ebb Tide, fitting for us, who watch the tides to time our walks on the beach.There are plenty of buds on my other bushes, but none have opened yet. We expect some will this weeke
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03/25/2022