Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Welcome May


May arrived on Sunday bringing with it blue skies, warm weather and no wind.


I mention wind because you can see from this photo that we have definitely had WIND for several days - the sand blew off the beach, onto our lane and almost covered the trash can.


We took advantage of the lovely day, left the garden behind and took Lulu for a walk to the pier which just reopened after heavy storm damage closed it for repairs.


I thought you might like to come along on our little 4 mile walk,


and remember to stop and smell the flowers along the way.


This quintessential beach cottage is on the corner of our lane and "the boulevard". 


We'll be walking on the boulevard until we get to the state beach.


Steve and I have a thing for poppies, but regretfully, they don't have a thing for us - I have no success growing poppies in our garden.


This is probably one of the oldest cottages at the beach and it sat neglected for years,


but recently a young couple rented it and they are lovingly bringing the cottage back to life.


This is another house that was a total eyesore and unfortunately the first house anyone saw when they turned onto the boulevard.


Fortunately, it has been brought back to life and I love the colors the owners chose for the house.


I am a sucker for picket fences and roses.


Steve and I looked at this house to buy when we moved to Ventura 39 years ago, but it was so expensive at $66,000 - it is valued at more than 10 times that now.


I love the boat in the yard at this house and the sunflowers - can you see the flip flops hanging on the picket fence?


The boulevard has a median running down the center and the median has been planted and is cared for by loving neighbors.


It's California - I have to show you at least one orange tree!


Let's cross the street and enter the state park where palm trees and Matilija poppies stand guard at the entrance.


Matilija poppies are one of my favorite flowers


and I am patiently waiting for ours to bloom.


Remember I told you we love poppies?


I climbed up the dune to get a close up of these.


I love this time of year when the path through the state beach is awash in yellow.


If you look closely in the pic, between the sea of yellow and the sea of blue, you will see rocks - the sand washed away from most of our beaches in the heavy rains this year, but by summer the sand should be back.


And here we are at the pier.


I hope you enjoyed our little walk.

42 comments:

  1. Hi Carol! Thank you for visiting my blog and IG accounts! I appreciate your thoughtful comments. What a lovely area you live in...my goodness! Love your candid photos and agree with you about picket fences. We are in East Anaheim, the last off-ramp on the 91 before heading to Corona. I'm hoping we've seen the LAST of those pesky Santa Anas until Fall. Looks like they almost buried your garbage can. They howl down the 91 and tear off our roof shingles. Anywho, happy beginning of May. :)

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  2. My dearest Carol, WOW!!!!!!! You have taken me on a walk with you as my mother used to escort me on walks....and the California cottages! That one stucco house with the arched window, you know what that reminds me of....and the poppies! We see them now here in red, and picket fences? YOU'VE GOT IT! I too love them, but one would not go with our brick "French" style cottage, but our neighbor across the street has one!

    Oh the glory of sunny days, huh? I am going to bask more and more outdoors this summer. I want it all.

    Happy walking!

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  3. I've only seen red poppies before … how delightful. What a wonderful place to walk you have.

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  4. Wonderful walk, Carol. Love the poppies, the flip flops on the fence, and the orange tree!

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  5. your neighborhood is so lovely. no wonder you are so committed to walking so far each day! I do miss California when I think of the ability to walk so often and see such lovely sights. In Sonoma where I grew up, my mother and I walked 3 miles each morning around 6 a.m. --down to the town square and back home--rain or shine.

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  6. I've said it so many times, but I just can't imagine the joy of living somewhere like that right by the ocean. I love the colorful homes, the flowers, the sunshine...all of it! Thanks for taking us on your walk.

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  7. I enjoyed my walk with you. I love it when people and restore an old house and not tear it down to build a new one. You live in a very pretty neighborhood.

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  8. What a lovely, wonderful walk. Refreshing and invigorating.

    Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

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  9. I enjoyed the walk! I love poppies also. I had one a few years ago but it didn't last long. Wrong climate I guess. I love when wildflowers are blooming, it really makes the world such a pretty place.
    hugs!!

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  10. Let's put it this way...I enjoyed the walk so much, that it makes me want to jump on a plane to CA right now! The beach cottages, the picket fences and roses, and all those gorgeous poppies...*sigh* So much beauty!

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  11. Gorgeous!!
    And nice to see flowers blooming in my beloved CA!
    Thanks for the lovely walk ~

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  12. What beautiful, beautiful pictures, Carol. Love them. I always feel like I have visited your area through your photos. I had to laugh at the 'expensive' house at $66,000. I remember those days well. Our first house was $22,000 and we improved it to $48,000 and thought we were rich. That house is gone now but it, too, would be worth about 10x what it was back then. xo Diana

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  13. My neighbor went to San Diego this past weekend and walking the beach rejuvenated her spirit. It's so true, I miss Carpenteria and all the beaches. So pretty with the flowers, citrus trees, and cute beach cottages.
    Love this post and you are certainly living the dream:) Kathleen in Az

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  14. What a place to live, it's just a slice of heaven! I enjoyed the walk and was totally in awe of the beauty, amazing place to live and wander!
    Lucky and bless are you!

    Nancy

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  15. Carol, You truly live in a beautiful place. I loved the fences. So many cute ideas. I loved all the flowers. :):) Blessings, xoxo, Susie
    p.s. I did a copy of your bl/wh dish display.

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  16. Oh I did so enjoy this walk! It is lovely to see the houses and the gardens and those homes being loved once more. The wild flowers close to the sky are fantastic too! I wish our cliffs could be awash with flowers. Sarah x

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  17. Beautiful walk, Carol. You live in an amazing spot! ;-)

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  18. Didn't finish what I wanted to say. Ha!
    Love seeing all these CA cottages and the gardens. Was shocked to see the deep sand drifts on you lane. Guess you were out shoveling sand. '-)

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  19. I truly enjoyed the walk! You live in such a picturesque place. Everything is just beautiful. Your walks are never boring...that's for sure! Hope you're having a lovely week.

    Hugs, Vicky

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  20. Happy May to you too and I so enjoy I enjoyed our walk today and you are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area...I'm open anytime you wan to take a walk.

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  21. Ahhhh loved the walk with you. So beautiful. Those sweet cottages are just adorable. Love seeing the pretty blue sky and white sand beach. Happy May to you too.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  22. Carol, what a beautiful 4 mile walk! The cottages are so interesting...flowers are stunning...and we got our exercise! Pam @ Everyday Living

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  23. What a beautiful walk Carol! Love that gorgeous white poppy!! Glad that the wind has subsided. We had terrible winds up North, but luckily not here.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  24. I always enjoy strolling along with you, Steve and Lulu. Everything is so beautiful, well, of course, it's Southern California! May you continue to enjoy all that SoCal offers you! Blessings, Cindy xo

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  25. I enjoy all your posts, but the walks and kayaking are my favorites. You make us all feel like we're right there with you.

    You are truly blessed (and I know you know that!) Enjoy!

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  26. Really nice post with fantastic photos.Thank you for taking me to a short trip!

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  27. It's a beautiful day in your neighborhood, Carol! I bet it's like that every day in sunny California. Lots of rain here, but that's ok, the beach is still pretty when it's wet! ;)

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  28. Love those cottages. I am a sucker for white picket fences. What a beautiful place to walk. Unfortunately Daytona Beach and surrounding areas are concrete jungles. Most of the areas that were sand dunes or quaint little cottages have been over developed or sank into disrepair and crime. I still like walking the beach however. I just focus on the eastern view, not the western shore. Your pictures brought back great memories of Daytona Beach before condos. Memories of spinning doughnuts on the beach at night, sand dune riding in old VWs and cruising the beach from pier to pier just to checkout who we could see.
    Thanks for the memories.

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  29. Carol your beachy scenes reminds me of my old area in Brooklyn, NY! I lived along the southern shore, near the Atlantic Ocean and I often would drive over to an area called Breezy Point that had a long beach shoreline and small cottages. It was so lovely to see your photos and I could smell the salt water and hear the sea gulls again....sigh. Thanks for taking me for a walk along your neighborhood and giving me sweet memories

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  30. So lovely! I hope to get to CA some day and see it all in person! I love poppies too! I have orange ones but they don't last long. I must plant some more.

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  31. I enjoyed that walk so much! We had a dreadful April here and now it's sunny and warm but I have so much late work to do in the garden that I haven't had time for a real walk by the seaside this week, so I enjoyed that virtual one!

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  32. I did enjoy our walk. What a beautiful place you live in! I'll bet you really enjoy it.

    After your comment, I took a hard look at my spring bucket list and decided I'd better trim it down a bit if I don't want to kick it!

    ~smile~

    Be blessed dear lady!
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

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  33. I enjoyed the walk and that picket fence and roses is just gorgeous. You know, come to think of it, I've planted poppies twice here and they never came up again...I am on the same poppy-cursed page as you! :)

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  34. Lovely walk and gorgeous photos, Carol. Too bad my fitbit didn't register those steps!

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  35. Hi Carol, so enjoyed walking with you. The flowers are beautiful and your photos are always incredible. You are so talented with your camera.

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  36. Thank you for such a lovely walk Carol. I loved it all...especially the cottages and the white picket fences!
    Helen xox

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  37. Hi Carol, I loved taking a tour with you and seeing those cute cottages, the flowers, the white sand, blue sky and water... It reminded me of the little beach town I grew up in south of you. Have a good weekend!

    Melissa

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  38. Carol,
    O MY! What a feast for the eyes! I love that you share all the beautiful landscapes and flowers from where you live.... We had 2 weeks of rain and drizzle, which we needed, but also cool weather with temps. in the 50's so I could not get outside to set up our little patio after the Winter!! Maybe today.....
    Thanks so much for stopping by!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  39. You do have a very photogenic life, Carol. It all looks so so pretty and picture perfect.
    Amalia
    xo

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  40. I love poppies too. I told David I want to see if we can throw some seed out at the farm when we throw out some more bluebonnets this fall. I see White one ones growing wild all around so maybe we can get some to grow. That rose bud sure is pretty.
    Very pretty walk

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