From the deepest, darkest part of the ocean to where I feel more at home, following a path on terra firma…
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening — Robert Frost
Artist Micell A. via Pinterest
“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.” – Kahlil Gibran
My thoughts are about as insignificant as a drop in the ocean, but I’ve memorialized my observations as a way to try and wrap my brain around the tragedy that unfolded the last few days about the Titan submersible.
I’ve lived near the ocean most of my life and while I love it, I’m afraid of it at the same time.
I CAN swim but it’s not my most favorite thing to do; in fact, my chest gets tight and I can start to hyperventilate simply thinking about putting my head under water — even though I know I have done it many times.
The Angel Kids aren’t like me — they’re half dolphin — both of them, and swim and jump in the waves and dive and try to surf and paddleboard with no fear of the power of the ocean.
When I first learned about the concerns regarding the loss of communication with this tiny little submersible while it attempted to reach the wreck of the Titanic, the idea of being crouched into a tight space, freezing cold, in total darkness, with limited oxygen, miles away from help — was a recipe to ignite some of my worst fears.
Lost and alone, in the dark, unable to breathe, under the sea.
I don’t like to take the Bart tunnel from San Francisco to Oakland and can’t even think of an incentive that could motivate me to endure a two-hour ride on the Chunnel from London to Paris.
Yesterday, the United States Coast Guard said that an ROV found the tail cone of the Titan 1,600 ft from the Titanic, and the ROV then found additional debris consistent with the “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”
The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger.
Officials said that the location of the debris field matched “the location of last communication” of the submersible. The time of the implosion has not yet been determined.
From the Rear Admiral, “I offer my deepest condolences to the family. I hope this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operated the Titan, released a statement on Thursday saying that they believe all five passengers on the submersible had been “lost.”
Presumed deceased are Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, and his son, Sulaiman Dawood.
Also from OceanGate, “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the statement said . “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
What I find utterly fascinating and darkly eerie is the connection to the wreck of the Titanic.
From NPR: “The OceanGate executive who was piloting the submersible on its fateful Sunday dive is married to the descendent of a couple who died in the very shipwreck his expedition aimed to see.
OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush is married to Wendy Rush, the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who choose to remain onboard the sinking Titanic together so that others could escape to safety in their place.
They were the real-life inspiration behind the heartbreaking scene in James Cameron’s movie in which an elderly couple embraces in bed as water rushes into their room.”
There’s been a disgusting amount of unkind and vicious commentary on social media about the fact that these men were millionaires and billionaires.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how entitled they were or how much money they had; this is a tragic, horrible way to die.
From Julias Kim via Twitter: “There isn’t one person who is hating on billionaires right now that wouldn’t take a billion dollars if it was handed to them tax free…Beware. It’s a slippery slope when we start devaluing lives based on how much money people have.”
Yet…there’s this:
As every news report led with the OceanGate submersible, how many international efforts coalesced to rescue hundreds of migrants from the ocean off Greece?
It seems as if that catastrophe garnered little to no attention.
I feel terrible for the migrants who drowned in the waters outside Greece AND for the people who died aboard the Titan.
And yes, it’s possible to feel compassion for both.
Since it’s just about time to honor June’s Full Moon, it seems like the perfect opportunity to chat about Moonstone Beach, another sea glass location I need to visit. It’s in Cambria on California’s Central Coast.
It’s said that at Moonstone Beach beach you can find moonstone agates plus jade, jaspers, and other semi-precious stones.
Here’s a photo of some of my beach glass collection. Red is the third most rare type of sea glass, and I only have a couple pieces of that color.
Did you know? Orange is the most rare sea glass color. Turquoise is the second most rare color and the rarest type of blue sea glass. Red is the third most rare sea glass color and yellow is the fourth. I guess white and green and brown are more common to find because I have a lot of those colors, probably because most bottles were crafted in those colors.
None of the beaches around me have sea glass OR many seashells, although we have an abundant and endless supply of ROCKS.
“Remember, the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you.”- Rumi
My phone is too full of photos so I’ve done a complete Marie Kondo: delete, delete, delete. These are some great ones I thought I’d share before they’re gone forever…
You can’t see them, but I DID. Eight, yes EIGHT orca whales! Leaping and breaching, one right after the other; this experience was beyond magnificent. They were close to the boats that you CAN see, and yes, I was totally freaking out. It was my first sighting. Magical doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling because for me, it was as meaningful as the day I saw wolves in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. Joy filled all the spaces of my heart, but the moment was also tinged with sadness because I know there are still some killer whales in captivity and that is so, so very wrong.
Sand or gravel barge with push tug? I’m not sure.
Another big boat…
Snow on the Olympic Mountains!
Now the photos are gone, but in my heart and mind, they will live forever. Time to replace them with new memories.
I remember when rows upon rows of a colorful flowering ranunculus tapestry was only a quirky, delightful curiosity we’d point at as we drove north along the freeway. Back then it was an annual locals-only kind of attraction and now The Flower Fields enchants visitors from all over the world.
I can’t believe that it took me this long to visit The Flower Fields in all its glory, but it’s a definite recommended destination. It was a truly enjoyable day and best of all, it’s simply impossible to take a bad photo there!
The Flower Fields are located off the freeway at Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad. In addition to forty acres of beautiful ranunculus in peak bloom, there are tractor rides, wine tastings, food, yoga classes, a Mother’s Day picnic, and day-long educational and fun activities for children of all ages.
And a butterfly garden!
HISTORY:
The Flower Fields today are a direct result of nearly eighty-five years of floral cultivation that began with Luther Gage, an early settler and horticulturist who settled here in the early 1920s. Mr. Gage brought ranunculus seeds to the area and began growing them in his fields next to Frank Frazee’s small vegetable farm in South Oceanside. In 1933 Frank Frazee also started growing ranunculus and introduced his son Edwin to the art of seeding, cultivating, and irrigating this beautiful flower.
This is what it used to look like — the fields of flowers grew close to the freeway:
INFO:
Open daily from 9:00am-6:00pm until Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 14th, 2023)
Ongoing Specials (Starting March 6th)
Mondays – With the purchase of one adult or one senior/military, you receive one child’s ticket free (ages 3-10)|
Tuesdays & Wednesdays – Between 1:00pm-4:00pm, receive $2 off adults, seniors/military and children’s tickets.
Buy tickets online at theflowerfields.com
(Excluding the vintage photo, all photo credit to Enchanted Seashells.com)
@the_flower_fields
For the second time in a week, a train killed a pedestrian at virtually the same exact location.
On April 2nd, a train collision claimed the life of an unidentified pedestrian in Carlsbad. The deadly crash was reported to have occurred around 11:28 a.m. on the tracks south of Tamarack near Chinquapin Avenue.
According to authorities, the Coaster train was heading north when it collided with the pedestrian.
And last night, April 11, at approximately 7:30 p.m, a young man died after he was hit by yet another northbound train.
Witnesses said the victim and three friends, who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, were jumping back and forth over the tracks ahead of the train near Chinquapin Avenue, south of Tamarack, the location of last week’s accident. They said they heard the train begin to slow as it sounded its horn several times.
A friend who lives nearby told me what she learned: “Kids were playing chicken and one kid didn’t make it. A neighbor said he just saw sneakers flying in the air. The kids just left. They were sitting on the curb in the cold. They looked like high schoolers. They were issued citations by an officer and left with an adult female around 10:00 p.m.”
There is no further information available on either accident.
Sometimes I like to ride the Coaster from Carlsbad to San Diego because it’s a beautiful scenic route and an alternative to driving in heavy traffic but there seems to be increased human versus train catastrophes, whether it’s purely accidental or suicidal or because kids are playing deadly games.
Before there’s another horrific tragedy, Carlsbad needs to find a solution and make it a priority (over tourism and over destroying every single bit of land to build more hideous developments.)
Do you know who Julian Sands is?
He’s an amazing British actor, best known for his roles in The Killing Fields, A Room with a View, Warlock, Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena, and Leaving Las Vegas.
He went solo hiking on Mount Baldy In Southern California and was reported missing two months ago on January 13, 2023. Since his disappearance, all of our local mountains have had a record-breaking amount of snow.
His car was found in the parking lot, but no other signs of him. His outcome seems bleak.
This is a treacherous mountain to climb even with the best weather scenario. Others have gone missing, too. Some are found, some never are, nor are their remains located.
I haven’t heard any information about whether he was carrying a GPS location device or a satellite phone, and there hasn’t been an update about the search in quite a while.
I think it’s important to agree that no matter how experienced a hiker, one should never hike alone.
Years ago, my son and friend (both experienced hikers) were on the 10,000 foot Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs when there was a blizzard. They missed the last tram down because the winds were gusting to about eighty miles per hour. We were getting really freaked out because they hadn’t called at the agreed upon time. Just as we were about to contact all the officials, a park ranger called to let us know they made it to a ranger station and were OK. Whew! We were so worried!
Poor Julian Sands. Every time I see Mt. Baldy in the distance, I worry about him, too.
SoCal didn’t receive as much rain as they did up north, but we still had an impressive amount of sky water during our recent storm.
Northern California saw a historic nearly six inches of rain while we had two inches over the weekend with more forecasted this week. That’s a LOT in a short period of time, due to a phenomenon called an atmospheric river.
An atmospheric river is a narrow corridor or filament of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere. Other names for this phenomenon are tropical plume, tropical connection, moisture plume, water vapor surge, and cloud band. Wikipedia
During a brief dry period, we checked out the big windy waves. Fresh air feels so purifying and cleansing. A walk on the beach is a great way to start a new year!
Sand, sun, clouds, waves, even some blue sky.
And just like that, it began to rain again.
Check out this video…it was super windy, too!
I always thought “turquoise” was the most delicious word to wrap my tongue around. So much is going on with its delightful twists and turns.
Some summers saw us travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico to spend time with family who lived in an adorable adobe house. I loved it there. It was dusty and hot and full of colors and sounds and smells that we didn’t have in Detroit.
Our family has a long history in Santa Fe. Before and during WW2, my parents used to hang out in Taos with Georgia O’Keeffe and D.H. Lawrence. I wish I could remember more of their fascinating stories but I was an extremely obnoxious eye-rolling teen and ignored mostly everything they ever said. About anything, haha.
During those trips to Santa Fe, of course I had to have an elaborate fiesta dress and lots of turquoise jewelry. This was probably when I first fell in love with this exquisite rock. I surely wish I still had my little fiesta dresses for Angel Girl, but all I have is my mom’s dress.
We would go to La Fonda and the Plaza where the Native Americans spread their treasures on blankets and we’d spend hours walking around.
This isn’t very PC but one day a little girl yelled at her mom and pointed to me and said, “Look at her, mommy! That’s a real Indian girl!” I always thought that was the coolest thing although I’m sure it was because I was very tan from being outside all day (no sunscreen back then) and my hair was plaited in two long braids.
Sometimes we’d be there for Fiesta and the Burning of Zozobra, an event to dispel the hardships and travails of the past year. Zozobra is the creation of Will Shuster, one of Los Cinco Pintores, a group of artists who made their way to New Mexico in the 1920s. Shuster’s creation first burned in his backyard in 1924 as a 6-foot effigy, and over the years, has grown to a towering 50-foot high marionette.
Photos of Santa Fe from SantaFeSelection.com
Somewhere there’s a photo of me (with pigtails) standing on the steps just beneath the not-yet-burned Zozobra but I couldn’t locate it. When I do, I’ll update this post.
UPDATE: My memory was inaccurate! This is a photo I was thinking of, but it wasn’t me, it’s my older brother and my parents, way before I was born…
Another photo, during another summer visit in Santa Fe with Zozobra…
The Burning of Zozobra has been called the first Burning Man, but I don’t like the comparison at all as the intentions of the two events are lightyears apart.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 