These are growing in a pot on the living room coffee table. I snapped this image today and it looked so happy, I wanted to post it. Click image to enlarge.
Panoramas
Mission Santa Inés
One of the highlights of our recent vacation was visiting some of the El Camino Real missions. Mission Santa Inés is near Solvang, the famous Danish tourist attraction.
From the Mission’s website:
The Mission was founded on September 17, 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, and was named in honor of Saint Agnes, an early Christian martyr of the fourth century. The Spanish for Agnes is Inés, hence the name of the church; the American Yankees anglicized the spelling of the Spanish pronunciation and named the town Santa Ynez.
The Mission, which commands a superb view of the Santa Ynez River Valley and the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges, continues its central role in the spiritual and social life of the Santa Ynez Valley as an active parish church of approximately 1,000 families, and is administered by the Capuchin Franciscan order.
Happy Fourth of July
The neighbors two doors down got a permit to close part of the street to hold a block party. While that was in progress, this beautiful Torrance Fire Department Unit showed up in front of our house. I took two images from the front balcony and stitched this image together. Click to enlarge.
Lunchtime Walk
I took a walk after lunch near my office in Manhattan Beach, California today. It was the first work day in quite a while that was sunny and nice as opposed to the June gloomy marine overcast we’ve had recently. I walked over to the golf course and took this panoramic image of the links on a beautiful day. Click the image and scroll back and forth to view the full panorama.
The Coachella Valley
During our visit to Joshua Tree National Park two weeks ago, we took the short drive from the main road to a place called Keys View. From that point, you can see the Coachella Valley and the Palm Springs area five thousand feet (1525 meters) below. You can also see the San Andreas Fault which has been the cause of many Earthquakes in California, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Although it is difficult to see through the haze, the Salton Sea is visible at the left and Banning Pass on the right. A spectacular view for sure.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Panoramas of Joshua Tree National Park
When in a panoramic setting, I like to take panoramic photos. These three views were taken in Joshua Tree National Park on May 19th during our Spring vacation. Verna was also busy taking pictures of the trees, rocks, flowers, critters, etc. Click an image to enlarge.
