Tag Archives: Southern California

Silence is Healing

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“When I am silent, I fall into the place where everything is music.” — Rumi

Whew, it’s definitely time for a Rumi quote to bring down sky high BP.

Today is Martin Luther King Day and that petty psychopathic orange POS removed MLK Day and Juneteenth from the list of fee-free days for our national parks and replaced them with days like Flag Day (his birthday).

My governor, California’s Governor Newsom, countered by making over 200 California State Parks free on MLK Day.

Enjoy this silent and stark tree from Mt. San Jacinto near Palm Springs, California.

Silence is healing.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

Cloud Art

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These clouds are works of art.

I like what Bob Ross said about painting clouds: “Let’s build us a happy, little cloud that floats around the sky.”

At the beach.
Looking east.
From the front door.
Clouds of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

(Photo credit to Enchanted Seashells)

New Year Greetings With a Fling of Sandpipers 𓅪

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And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.
Rainer Maria Rilke

We’re getting ready for another storm but yesterday it still was sunny and warm. Check out these south-facing sandpipers, all looking in the same direction. I wonder what they’re thinking about…

Maybe they’re hoping 2026 will bring peace and harmony and love to the world. That’s my wish, too.

Do you know what a group of sandpipers is called?

There are many recognized collective nouns for a group of sandpipers:

𓅪 a bind
𓅪 a cluster
𓅪 a contradiction
𓅪 a fling
𓅪 a hill
𓅪 a time-step

My personal favorite is a “fling” of sandpipers.

𓅪 Happy 2026!
Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou

Ode To Our Ocean

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This photo was taken at the beach on a spectacularly warm December afternoon. The sky was blue and the Pacific Ocean was full of sparkles; a magnificent day.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

Ode To Our Ocean

The sea sings out to its many saviors:
Teenagers with fists thrust into the air at climate strikes,
Scientists converging around their data,
A child who stoops to scoop up a piece of trash.

The sea sings out for its singular subjects:
Arching whales that wave from their waves,
Turtles that teeter down their shining shores,
Coral reefs shining brightly as cities.

The sea sings out its suffering,
Knowing too much of waste, screeching sounds
And pernicious poison, its depths bruised by
Atrocities in the Atlantic,
Misery in the Mediterranean,
Its tides the preservers of time past.

The story of the ocean and the story of humanity
Are one and the same, a Great River that
Knows no borders and notes no lines,
Only ripples.
While we might call it the Seven Seas,
Today we sing out your true name:
The one ocean.
For no matter how we try to separate your waters,
You are the colossus that connects us.

Water makes up 70% of Earth,
70% of the human heart,
And 70% of the human being,
All of us, bodies of water,
For we, too are oceans,
Or at least beings bobbing in the same boat.
To stand up for for our ocean
Is to stand up for our own ship
The sea is a restless, strong collective of many pieces.
So are we.
The ocean can recover.
And so will we.
Let us not divide the tides,
But discover all they have to teach us–
Green meadows of sea grass that survive pathogens,
Blue-bloodied marine snails that can fight off viruses.
There are more lessons to learn,
Still more work to be done.
So we lift our faces to the sun.
May the seas help us see healing and hope,
May we sing out the ocean’s survival and revival.
Being the people of this blue planet is our most
Profound privilege and power,
For if we be the ocean’s saviors,
Then it is surely ours.

Written by Amanda Gorman for World Oceans Day. Harvard graduate Gorman is an American poet, activist, and model. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate.

Another Hello Kitty Pink Sunrise

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Let the beauty of the sunrise keep your heart warm.
Lailah Gifty Akita

To fall asleep under the glow of a super moon and wake up to this gorgeous view is the embodiment of a joyful life.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

For a few seconds, the sky was really this vibrant and intense before fading. It literally took my breath away. What a lovely way to start a new day!

#grateful #gratitude

Winter Sunset

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No green flash, but a gorgeous sunset after a sunny, warm day in SoCal.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

A “green flash” is a rare optical phenomenon seen briefly at sunrise or sunset, where the sun’s upper edge appears to flash green due to atmospheric refraction. This optical effect is caused by the Earth’s atmosphere acting like a prism, separating the sun’s light into different colors, with the green light being the last to be visible as the sun sets or the first as it rises

Colors of The Cosmos

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The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between rainstorms, the sky around here has been especially lovely.

The rain stopped for a bit and I went for a walk before it got too dark. If I could paint, this is what it would look like.

This morning after an unexpectedly heavy shower, I was able to spot a rainbow before it completely disappeared.

“I’d rather see the world as a rainbow than endless shade of gray.” Amani Abbas






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All Alone

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…they opened their wings
softly and stepped
over every dark thing.
Mary Oliver

Sitting at the top of a tree near the lagoon, this lone egret seems deep in thought and as bewildered as I am about the time change; like why is it almost dark at 5pm?

Same, egret, same.

No Kings Day 2.0 Rally For Democracy

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This was the largest single day protest in US history. We showed up to rally against the authoritarian policies of that orange POS and alleged corruption in his administration. We showed up because that’s what this country is all about.

We are anti-fascists. Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups, and individuals. It began in European countries in the 1920s.

Have you witnessed any of the ICE kidnappings? I haven’t personally, but I have seen videos of some in a nearby town. It’s absolutely disgusting.

It’s estimated that 10,000 people showed up to protest against the fascist regime in my very own little beachy town and a conservative estimate of 50,000 in San Diego. New York had 350,000 show up and there were 100,000 in Chicago and Boston.

Wherever you live, I hope you were able to participate. We’re the true patriots, we’re the ones who respect the Constitution and Bill of Rights and equality for all.

Here’s the confirmed count: more than 8.1 million true defenders of democracy showed up to be seen and heard.

The Bill of Rights is CLEAR, this regime is in violation of so many of our basic rights:

First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This was one of my favorite signs:

In addition to all the senior citizens and veterans who have consistently shown up to support freedom, this time there were a lot more young people, and that’s awesome.

The message is powerful…REMOVE THE ORANGE POS and RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!

Those of us in Southern California had another total bizarre shitshow to deal with. The sofa loving Vice President decided to stage dangerous war games by firing live rounds OVER our major freeway and OVER homes in a repugnant self glorifying display of power at Camp Pendleton. For safety, the California Highway Patrol had to shut down Interstate 5 for most of the day to feed the ego of a sociopathic lunatic. This narcissistic exhibition was touted as a celebration for the Marine Corps birthday–however, the MC birthday is on November 10, so it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out he chose THIS day to attempt to disrupt our peaceful protests and cause trouble. And since the rethugs have shut down the government, all of those soldiers from Camp Pendleton were working without a paycheck.

Also in California, we have an important item on the November ballot; Proposition 50, which authorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting. I already voted a resounding YES and I hope it passes. I like the way our Governor Newsom responds to the lunacy in Washington and look forward to voting for him in the next presidential election.

If you need any more evidence that we need to remove that demented, evil orange POS, check out his response to today’s rally for democracy:

A Glimmer of Hope

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In the midst of this dystopian hellscape in which we’re enmired, something beautiful happened in my little beachy town, a glimmer of hope that humanity is not completely dead.

A hundred or so of our neighbors showed up to celebrate the retirement of everyone’s favorite mail carrier.

When news spread throughout his neighborhood routes that our special and beloved mailman was retiring after forty-two years, a plan was formed to host a potluck in his honor at our local park.

This guy has been more than someone who simply delivers our mail; he’s become one of the family. There are few people who have an inner light that shines brightly. We all have been touched by his many kindnesses and we wanted to return the love, not that we haven’t gifted him with things over the years, but this needed to be a spectacular celebration, a send-off he’d remember.

Families from all of his routes showed up with food, decorations, and gifts. People we’ve said hi to for decades now had a name, and we shared stories about our personal experiences; especially his sweet tooth!

Since I’m known to be extra, I contacted our mayor and asked him if he could possibly create some sort of formal commendation or award to present to this exemplary human. He liked the idea which had actually never been done in the history of our city, and asked me to write a little speech for him, which I did. He took it a step further and created Mailman Steve Day and presented him with a framed award.

It was an old-fashioned community gathering, enjoying a beautiful SoCal evening AND happily for me, a little Leon Russell chat.

I yelled out to a neighbor, “Hey, Leon!” because he has long white hair and a beard, so of course I always refer to him as “Leon”, and another neighbor said, “Why do you call him Leon? That’s Jim.” and I told him it’s because he looks like Leon Russell. His response was, “How do you know about Leon Russell? Do you know Mad Dogs and Englishmen?” I showed him the playlist on my phone and told him to pick a favorite Leon Russell song and he chose two of my personal faves, “Girl From The North Country” and “Cry Me a River”.

Someone else requested “Tight Rope” and “A Song For You” and as a crowd gathered, we had a proper singalong. These guys knew every word and we all marveled at the musical genius of the one and only Master of Space and Time. #goodtimes

Best of all for me is that I’m still referred to as “Jason’s mom” even after all these years. It was so heartwarming to have several forty-year-olds (!) fondly remembering the backyard skate ramp and shared lovely memories about my original angel boy. I am so very proud to be Jason’s mom.

This happy community gathering to honor our mailman shows me that there IS hope for our country, even if it’s hanging on by a thread.

P.S. Next Saturday, October 18, is another day to protest the regime, another NO KINGS DAY, and I’ll be on the frontlines to again gather with my neighbors, this time to protect free speech and save America.