I spent much of the day at beautiful King Gillette Ranch, both staffing a booth for Malibu Creek State Park, and enjoying the music of the annual Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest. I plucked this mushroom from under the nearby valley oak and was intrigued by its strong smell, so I asked a few people to sniff and describe. We settled on soy saucy chocolate. Later I found fresh specimens of the same species; their aroma was much milder. No, we were not tempted to taste them.
I drove to San Francisco, and took a stretch-and-sketch break at Soledad Mission. Like every California mission I have visited, this one includes a statue of the Inquisitor Junípero Serra in the garden. He’s a controversial figure in these parts—many other Serra statues throughout California have been toppled or decapitated. His legacy is definitely complicated.
This dilapidated corrugated iron shed beside the bike trail in Ojai reminded me of Australia. It’s even in the shade of eucalyptus trees.
Museum again, from a different vantage point, and on toned paper.
I rode my bike into town, just for the joy of it. The museum wasn’t open, but I sat under an orange tree in the garden and did a minimal sketch of the tower. I have to go back Thurs-Sun to see the fiber exhibition they are currently showing.
We now have a working oven, yay! Next on the wish list is an operational washing machine. Until then, we’re laundromatting it.
I was told that the reason my social security application has not been processed, ten weeks after lodging it, is because of “staffing cutbacks”.
We spent Christmas night in Ocean Beach, San Diego. This was the view from my morning coffee spot.
hashiworks 